Rediscovering the library 

At the Library, Finding Stacks of Pleasure by Sacha Cohen

Kids adore libraries. Where else can you find endless shelves filled with stories about curious monkeys, giant peaches, beanstalks and hungry caterpillars? The plastic library card and the responsibility of returning books on time is a rite of passage, one of many marking our entrance into the adult world.

Most adults, on the other hand, tend to favor the crisp, sanitized environs of chain book retailers, where one can flip through the latest John Grisham bestseller or fresh copies of Oprah-worthy selections while nursing coffee and biscotti. ...

But then the economy drooped, my career hit a wall, and Sept. 11 happened. [read more] (link via librarian.net)

E-Book News 

The Crisis in E-Book Publishing by George S. Machovec

No one doubts that ebooks are here to stay and will fundamentally change how publishing is done within the next few years. However, with the crash of the .com marketplace and continuing weaknesses within the economy, it is very unclear who or what will emerge as market leaders. The current track record is not good. [read more]

Free Books 

Virtual bookshelves brim with free text by Dave Peyton

For bibliophiles, it's a dream come true. The same computer that allows you to connect to the World Wide Web lets you connect to a world of online books at little or no cost.

Thousands of books and articles are available, and the number grows daily. Most texts are in the public domain; if they were ever copyrighted, the copyrights have run out. The relatively low cost of memory makes text storage affordable.

The ability of software to literally read pages of text and store them in a readable form online makes "translating" text from the printed page to a digital medium easy. [read more] (link via Library Stuff]

Can't decide what to read next? 

Try Book Forager.

Digital Preservation 

CLIR issues Number 25 January/February 2002

Of note: A National Plan for Digital Preservation: What Does it Mean for the Library Community? by Deanna B. Marcum

What does it take to uncensor a book? 

Marian and me by Kera Bolonik

When Michael Moore's publisher insisted he rewrite his new book to be less critical of President Bush, it took an outraged librarian to get it back in the stores. [read more]

It's 2002! 

Happy New Year! Let's hope it's a great year for all of us.

Do you know your books? 

Ten Things You Should Know about Your Books by Adrian Johns

Going to England? Need a good map? 

From the British Library, Lie of the Land: the secret life of maps

Happy Holidays 

Your Friends at
Acme Bookbinding
Wish You & All People
Peace on Earth.

Today will be the last day of regular AcmeBook News postings for 2001. Posting will begin anew on January 7, 2002. Have a very happy and safe holiday, see you next year!

Future of Print 

What's Next for Text? by Richard A Lanham

THIS IS A PRINTING OFFICE CROSSROADS OF CIVILIZATION REFUGE OF ALL THE ARTS AGAINST THE RAVAGES OF TIME ARMOURY OF FEARLESS TRUTH AGAINST WHISPERING RUMOUR INCESSANT TRUMPET OF TRADE FROM THIS PLACE WORDS MAY FLY ABROAD NOT TO PERISH ON WAVES OF SOUND NOT TO VARY WITH THE WRITER'S HAND BUT FIXED IN TIME HAVING BEEN VERIFIED IN PROOF FRIEND, YOU STAND ON SACRED GROUND THIS IS A PRINTING OFFICE

In the present cornucopia of print, this splendid declaration still rings true. It cheers me every time I walk by it. But my copy of the poster includes a very small footnote: 'In keeping with the look and feel of the original, this version integrates electronic publishing technologies with letterpress printing methods. The type was set on a WindowsÅ system. Film output was produced on a PostScriptÅ imagesetter.' Beatrice Warde's printing house now stands on a digital foundation. The generative substructure is electronic; only the final display mechanism remains the printed page. [read more]
(link via Serious Instructional Technology)

Book Drop 

Book Drop Update

The Book Drop vending machine is now averaging $110 per day (for the last 14 days). That even with empty slots and a number of items out of stock. Customers are extremely varied from upper adminstration to raggy undergraduates...but all have been really enthusiastic. "It's such a thrill to get books in a vending machine!"

"It's so post-digital!"

E-Book 

eBook Obituaries in Abundance

Over the past few months, there has been a deluge of reports of closures, bankruptcies and layoffs in the ebook industry. No wonder Consumer Reports was prompted to ask "Closing the Cover on e-Books?" (Trends Watch column, January 2002, p. 7) Here is a summary of the woes in the ebook industry. [read more]

E-Books Live On After Mighty Fall by M.J. Rose

In the last few months, several e-book-only imprints have closed up shop.

First, AtRandom (Random House), then iPublish (AOL Time Warner) and last week MightyWords (BN.com-majority shareholder) bit the dust.

But that doesn't mean e-books are a lost cause. In fact, e-book reading and sales are stronger than ever.

In the past year, 1,600 titles were downloaded more than 3.1 million times at the Etext Library at the University of Virginia. That's 8,715 free e-books per day.

Meanwhile, independent publishers and retailers such as Fictionwise.com, Booklocker.com, Hardshell Word Factory and Palm Digital Corp reported sales increases in 2001 from between 100 and 400 percent over 2000.

What hasn't worked is heavily invested companies -- such as iPublish and MightyWords -- setting overly optimistic expectations.

But what has worked, albeit on a smaller scale, is selling quality work from recognized authors (Palm or Fictionwise), or offering readers niche titles that they are interested in reading (Hard Shell and Booklocker). [read more]

University of Virginia Library Free EBook Library