E-book borrowers: we want to hear from you →

pewinternet:

For our next report studying the changing role of public libraries in the digital age, we’re supplementing our usual nationally representative phone surveys with online surveys to draw out the deeper, richer stories behind the data. If you check out or download e-books from your local public library, please take the survey and tell us about your experiences!

http://libraries.pewinternet.org/participate/survey/e-book-borrowers

(via thelifeguardlibrarian)

"Despite e-reading platforms’ emphasis on the social capabilities of pixellated consumption — collaborative marginalia, the ability to broadcast what you’re reading to your friends on Facebook, the belief that, overall, there’s a community in every book — it seems that, for the vast majority of Americans, sharing is still very much an analog thing. Pew’s findings are a nice reminder that books’ dynamism comes from the people who share the books, rather than the platforms that help with the sharing."

“Per the Latest Pew Study, the Most Social Way to Read Is Still in Print” - Megan Garber, the Atlantic

A Catalog of Bookstore Cats. →

(Source: stephenslighthouse.com)

Interesting presentation on how people discover books on Goodreads.

(Source: paidcontent.org)

Tim Carmody: The Future of Reading, From Avant-Garde Poetry to Sportscenter

vintageanchor:

Boris Pasternak, Nobel Laureate, Russian poet and novelist, and author of one of the most beautiful love stories ever written, DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, was born today in Moscow in 1890.  Who could ever forget…

“I don’t think I could love you so much if you had nothing to complain of and nothing to regret. I don’t like people who have never fallen or stumbled. Their virtue is lifeless and of little value. Life hasn’t revealed its beauty to them.”
―Boris Pasternak, Dr. Zhivago

(Source: vintageanchorbooks)

One Thing You Don’t Know About Dickens

libraryjournal:

laphamsquarterly:

@LaphamsQuart Named Benedict Cumberbatch from the grave. #10thingsyoudontknowaboutdickens

— Aidan Flax-Clark (@flaxclark) February 7, 2012

According to LQ, Cumberbatch joins the ranks of great Dickens names: Turveydrop, Sweedlepipe, Chuzzlewit, Pecksniff.

The Top 10 Books Borrowed at UK Libraries 2010-2011

UK’s Most Borrowed Titles 2010/11, via INFOdocket

1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
2. 61 Hours by Lee Child
3. Private by James Patterson
4. 9th Judgement by James Patterson
5. Worst Case by James Patterson
6. Caught by Harlan Coben
7. Don’t Blink by James Patterson & Howard Roughan
8. The Postcard Killers by James Patterson & Lisa Marklund
9. The Complaints by Ian Rankin
10.Worth Dying For by Lee Child

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
by Moonbot Studios

Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, “Morris Lessmore” is a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor. Morris Lessmore is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2D animation) award winning author/ illustrator William Joyce and Co-director Brandon Oldenburg present a new narrative experience that harkens back to silent films and M-G-M Technicolor musicals. “Morris Lessmore” is old fashioned and cutting edge at the same time.

“The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore” is one of five animated short films that will be considered for outstanding film achievements of 2011 in the 84th Academy Awards ®.

(Source: theblogonthebookshelf.blogspot.com)

As Goodreads Ends Sourcing From Amazon, Users Fear Lost Books- paidContent.org

Book-centered social networking site Goodreads, which allows users to keep records of the books they read and share the information with others, has long sourced most of its basic book data from Amazon. Now, saying Amazon’s API terms have become “more and more restrictive,” Goodreads is switching data providers and entering an agreement with book wholesaler Ingram—alarming some users who fear their reading records will be lost.

[…]

The changes take place January 30. Goodreads’ new data source is book wholesaler Ingram. Goodreads will pay to license data from Ingram, and will supplement it with book records from the Library of Congress and other sources.

Goodreads stresses that most book records will be safe: “Not a single review, comment, shelving, or rating will be lost in this transition. That’s the most important thing—your data is 100% safe.” It’s calling on “Goodreads librarians”—users who’ve applied for and received permission to edit data in the catalog—to help verify data for some titles that may be deleted otherwise. Here are the books that need to be “rescued”—including many foreign-language titles.

Books that are only available through Amazon, like Kindle editions ands self-published Kindle books, have no alternative data sources. “We anticipate keeping these, and will bend over backwards for all our authors who publish via Kindle to make sure their readers on Goodreads have a smooth transition,” the company says.

Read more…