In a move that will surely rattle the already shaky publishing world Simon & Schuster has added a bit of text to their standard author contract that will "allow Simon & Schuster to consider a book in print, and under its exclusive control, so long as it's available in any form, including through its own in-house database -- even if no copies are available to be ordered by traditional bookstores."A much longer author noose is the last thing the industry needs.With the advent and broader acceptance of print on demand technology S&S would like to retain their authors rights forever....
Book Prayer
Worshipers at Jimbocho, Tokyo's book district, home to over 100 bookshops.Image 1 courtesy perkeImage 2 courtesy aptronym
Shelfitis: A Strain of Bibliomania
David McKie's piece in the Guardian today "My obsession with spines" deals with a strain of bibliomania that affects many of us book types. The need to know what is on the shelf behind that person in the picture. He talks about recent images in the Guardian and his desire to identify all the titles lurking on the shelves in the background.He calls it a "form of voyeurism, a lust to discover guilty secrets."Like McKie whenever I visit someone's home it is the books on the shelf that grab my attention not the furniture, not the kitchen appliances but the...
Voters Reject Levy to Fund Jackson County Libraries. The Dark Ages Remain
The voters of Jackson County have overwhelmingly defeated the levy that would have reopened their public libraries.By a large margin the citizens of Jackson county refused to raise their property taxes to ensure the functioning of a public library system.From the Save Our Libraries website: A Dark Day...Thank you to all who voted to support Jackson County Libraries. The failure of ballot measure 15-75 marks a dark day in the history of our county. Nevertheless, our citizens and library supporters can be proud of a campaign filled with honesty, passion, and courage; a campaign that told the truth on behalf...
Independents and Community. It’s More than Economic Impact
A couple of weeks ago the San Francisco Retail Diversity Study was released. The goal was "to provide consumers and policy makers with an understanding of the economic benefits of redirecting spending from chains to independents."The study, sponsored in part by the American Booksellers Association (ABA), concluded that " independent retailers as a whole -- bring far more economic value to their communities than do chain stores."This is far from rocket science. Owners of independent businesses tend to live in or around the communities in which their business operates while the corporate chain store tends to feed the minimum wage...