In on fell swoop Google has significantly increased the number of libraries they have under contract and has introduced a new species of digitization; digital escrow.By corralling the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), a consortium of the libraries of the Big Ten and the University of Chicago, Goggle brings the number of partner libraries to 25 and add over 78,000,000 potential items to their digi-mix.Some of terms of the agreement:-The CIC makes at least a 10,000,000 volume commitment.-Google "reserves final discretion over which Available Content it will Digitize."-Google shall own all rights to their copy and can use it at...
Submergible
Bachelor - The Dual Body by the South Korean artist Ki-bong Rhee2003, plexiglass, steel, water, book, water pump,light150 x 65 x 196 cmThe concept came to Rhee after he accidentally dropped a book in the bathtub. While watching the closed book fall into the tub he began contemplating the effect the water was having on the "rigid" solitary book.In the piece the book is submerged in a tank of water and set in motion, transcending its solitary closed state into a dreamy fish-like dance across time.In a 2004 interview in Para 21 Rhee was asked about the piece and said...
Mailer Goes LongPen
The Guardian is reporting that Norman Mailer will be appearing at the Edinburgh International Book Festival via the LongPen.Mailer, who is 84, says the "Triple As', age, asthma and arthritis" make traveling very difficult, forcing him to "cancel his trip to the "great luminous grey city" Edinburgh."Catherine Lockerbie, a spokeswoman for the festival, says Mailer's canceled visit has become "an opportunity to showcase the LongPen system."Queen LongPen Margret Atwood will be in attendance. She is scheduled to interview fellow Canadian Alice Munro and then "coordinate a trans-oceanic book signing."George over at Bookninja has his take on the story complete with...
Changing Reading Habits
"Insomniacs used to read, but now they turn on TV and there's 200 channels, with everything from the pope saying mass in Brazil to Girls Gone Wild to QVC selling cheap diamonds" - John Shaver talking about the closing of his shop, Shaver's Books in Huntsville, Alabama, after almost 20 years in business."Your heart can lie to you, but your balance sheet won't...The numbers reached out to me and said, 'John, it's time.'" says Shaver.Shaver also points out that the old mantra for retail success - location, location, location has now evolved to price, price, price and there is no...
Simon & Schuster 2.0
Simon and Schuster has been on the loose lately.In January they partner with Gather.com and Borders for a nationwide literary contest that reeked of American Idol. They framed it this way "Publisher Leverages Power of Social Media to Find America's Next Great Writer"Then they go ahead and Long Tail their standard author contract so that technically a book never goes out-of-print.and now they've launched the ambitious BookVideos.tv. A "social media video site...where you can engage with the literary community on a whole new level."All the books on the BookVideos.tv website are available for sale directly from S&S. They provide you...