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Tuesday, February 08, 2022
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What’s New With Public Library Ebook Vendors
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by Brandi Scardilli
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Library ebook vendors sign contracts with publishers to get books delivered to their platforms and then sell their licenses to public libraries at the prices the publishers set. The pandemic has accelerated patron use of ebooks, which has brought the fight for fair prices back into the spotlight. While public libraries and publishers are hashing out what ebooks should cost, the vendors have been working to provide public libraries and their patrons with the best user experience possible (and make a profit themselves, of course—with the notable exception of The Palace Project). Let's take a look at what's new with some of the major library ebook vendors.
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CCC Plans Feb. 9 Town Hall on Librarians and Researchers
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CCC is hosting a town hall on Feb. 9, 2022—titled What's Ahead for Librarians and Researchers?—that will feature "the latest research on the powerful forces bringing disruption to an age-old partnership—and [explore] why change may mean opportunity to widen access, accelerate discovery, and close the information gap."
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'Synthetic Voices Want to Take Over Audiobooks' by Tom Simonite
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Tom Simonite writes the following for WIRED: "Synthetic voices have become less grating in recent years, in part due to artificial intelligence research by companies such as Google and Amazon, which compete to offer virtual assistants and cloud services with smoother artificial tones. ... Speechki is one of several startups developing speech synthesis for audiobooks."
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IMLS and FCC Join Forces to Expand Broadband Access to Tribal Libraries
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IMLS is partnering with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) "to expand broadband connectivity to Tribal libraries. The agencies will team up to raise awareness about the E-Rate program among Tribal libraries and organizations, which can use program funds to increase broadband access to serve their communities."
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EveryLibrary Gets the Word Out About Book Banning News
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EveryLibrary shared some recent news about book banning, stating, "In the last few weeks we've seen dozens of new attacks on libraries. We're working on quite a few of them. Luckily, we have found just as many new allies to help fight for libraries."
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'Scribd Opens Free Access to Targeted Titles' by Porter Anderson
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Porter Anderson writes the following for Publishing Perspectives: "Based in San Francisco, the international subscription service Scribd has on Friday (February 4) announced that it's making banned books available to read without charge-and without a credit card or other commitment required."
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Data Colonialism: A New Way to Look at the Complex World of Information
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by Nancy K. Herther
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Unlike exploiting natural resources, data colonialism is "appropriated"—built into the passive agreements that people take on whenever they use the web-based systems or internet services that virtually everyone on the planet is a part of. However, people have no control of or real influence on how the data is gathered, used, shared, or maintained. And perhaps worse yet, there are no legal or ethical standards on how individual privacy can be guaranteed. Researchers today are recognizing that some type of international conventions and/or legal framework governing the capture, maintenance, and use of this data is needed.
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If you are interested in sponsoring the NewsLink newsletter throughout the year, please contact account executive LaShawn Fugate for details: lashawn@infotoday.com.
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