Here are a few recent articles and posts that we thought you might find of interest:
- For Libraries, MOOCs Bring Uncertainty and Opportunity In this article in the Chronicle of Higher Education, Jennifer Howard reports on “a conference held here at the University of Pennsylvania last week, librarians talked about the chances and challenges that open online courses throw their way. The conference, “MOOCs and Libraries: Massive Opportunity or Overwhelming Challenge?,” was organized by OCLC.” It offers a number of viewpoints on the potential roles and responsibilities of librarians in the MOOC movement.
- How Libraries Can Launch Community Publishing Initiatives with Self-Published Ebooks In this post from the SmashWords founder Mark Coker, he provides the three-part presentation that he made at the Midwest Collaborative for Library Services symposium. In this presentation he “outlined the opportunity for libraries to expand their community role by developing programs that promote a culture of authorship...”
- Ebook sales in Europe make up less than two percent of market This article focuses on the concerns expressed by Neelie Kroes Vice President of the European Commission responsible for the Digital Agenda, regarding the fact that Europe is lagging the US in ebook sales. Ms Kroes claims that Europeans “are not doing enough to take advantage (of the digital revolution) and that is because we are too scared to take risks. In the US, she said, where they are a brazen bunch of risk takers, ebooks account for a quarter of sales. In Europe just one country goes above two percent.”
- Copyright Ruling Rings With Echo of Betamax This fascinating piece from the New York Times draws some interesting comparisons between the recent Kirtsaeng v John Wiley case and one decided more than 30 years ago. Commonly known as the Betamax case pitted Universal City Studios vs the Sony Corporation of America with the ruling preventing the film industry’s attempt to control and limit the nascent home video revolution. The article contends that “like the Betamax decision in 1984, the Supreme Court’s ruling last week underscores the challenges placed by globalization and information technology on the very idea of protecting intellectual property. It adds to a maze of laws, legal decisions and technological barriers governing what companies and people can do with their stuff in the new economy. And it will probably change the way companies deliver media…”
- Kickstart this book! What I learned about crowdsourced publishing Clinton Kabler, COO of Riot New Media Group which operatesBookRiot.com, writes in PaidContent about the ups and downs of starting and successfully funding a kickstarter campaign for their book ”Start Here: Read Your Way Into 25 Amazing Authors.” He discusses the business aspects of the project, developing a promotional plan and working out the logistics of rewarding your backers.
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