Publishers & libraries

Why do publishers like to have their books in libraries?

Think about it.

You see an intriguing new book at your local bookstore, but YIKES! It's $29.95! That's almost enough to take your date to the movies. (As long as you share your popcorn.)

But . . . hey, check it out from the library, read it, see what you think. If you really like it, then you can either go ahead and buy it (if you like hardbacks) or wait until it comes out in paperback next year.

And then when the next book by the author comes out, you don't want to wait, so you go ahead and get it in hardback. And then you look for the backlist and buy those in paperback.

And chances are you'll tell your friends how good it is, too, and they may go buy it.

So having one book at the library sells a whole lot more.

Currently Reading: "Design for Survival: Nuclear Strength and Its Role in Preserving Peace" (1965) by Gen Thomas S Power, USAF (ret)
Currently Listening To: "The Clansman" by Iron Maiden

TV on the Web, Take 2

A web-only commercial for a TV show? Based on a TV-only commercial? (PC vs Mac)

If you weren't already convinced of the importance of the web in getting information to "the masses," here's another example:

The Mathematician and the FBI Agent

Because of the Writers Guild strike which resulted in a hiatus of new episodes, CBS wanted to let viewers know that there are new episodes coming. As they chose the web for their distribution channel, though, you have to wait through a commercial to get to the commercial . . .

Fortunately the video is pretty cute, so it's worth the wait.

(I have a soft spot in my heart for this show . . . when we did the Teen Math Challenge a couple of years ago, the producers sent autographed scripts to give to the participants.)

Currently Reading: "Harvard Mandates Open Access [for faculty's scholarly works]" Library Journal 3/15/08
Currently Listening To: "Like a Star" Corinne Bailey Rae

Professional Reading Society - April 15

We'll be reading "Velocity, Speed With Direction: The Professional Career of General Jerome F. O'Malley." Yep, the same O'Malley that Offutt's O'Malley Inn is named after.

From the Air University Press blurb about the book:

This storyline addresses the only question mark on O’Malley’s career—the Lavelle raids of February 1972. Using appropriate Nixon White House audio recordings and top secret messages (sent by the Joint chiefs of Staff to Vietnam) that were acquired through the Freedom of Information Act, Aloysius and Patrick Casey rescued from character assassination the reputation not only of Jerry O’Malley but also the reputation of Gen John D. Lavelle. They reveal the real culprit in the matter—the Nixon White House.

Go here to read or download a free pdf copy of the book. (If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader, go here to download it.) The discussion will be on April 15 from 11:30-1:00 in the Base Library's conference room. Bring a lunch - we'll provide drinks and cookies.

Currently Reading: Library Journal
Currently Listening To: "Black Stallion Returns" soundtrack

Sanctuary, Starcrossed & SciFi.com: Watching TV Online

TV sure is changing. Not only are we all going digital and having the choice of going High-Def, but we're getting other new options as well. How about TV shows that are only available on the web?

Enter SciFi.com, which seems to be leading the way to TV-less television.

• Their Sci Fi Rewind video player is being upgraded for better streaming video of full-length TV shows.
• They're premiering the debut episode of Battlestar Galactica's last season online, nine hours before broadcast.
• They're creating original scripted and unscripted shows for broadcast on the website -- including Sanctuary, starring Amanda Tapping from Stargate: SG-1 (filmed entirely against green screens) and Starcrossed, a series about a sci-fi space soap. Eight webisodes of Sanctuary are available, and you can buy them to watch on the web or download to your computer. (Each webisode is as long as is needed to tell the story; in essence, all shows will be directors' cuts. And a side note: the creators allow purchasers to pretty much do whatever they want with the downloaded file. Burn it to a DVD, share it with a friend, whatever.)

Why do I, a librarian, care about where TV is going?

Well, I care about stories, whether in print, audio, on film, or even told over the campfire. The delivery mechanism for stories is changing -- reaching out through new technologies to people it could never reach before -- and that I care about very much.

I've been talking up going to the library without walking through the doors of the building, and what SciFi.com is doing is right down my (virtual) alley. So you don't get good TV reception. So you live in an area that only gets three channels. So you're vacationing in Spain, working in Hong Kong, or fighting in Afghanistan. Or maybe you're living in London or even at the South Pole. Got the internet? Then you can kick back and watch new shows that aren't chopped up by commercials, censored because of advertisers, or chopped into bits that don't really make sense so they'll fit in a particular time slot.

The story IS what it needs to be.

And a librarian can sure get behind that.

(Starcrossed is written by Stargate Atlantis' David Hewlett, and its creation is a web story in itself. For a preview, see Hewlett's indie film A Dog's Breakfast, available for download and on DVD.)

Currently Reading: "How Starbucks Saved My Life" by Michael Gates Gill
Currently Listening To: German Requiem by Brahms

Free Nebraska Public Libraries?

For those who are new to Nebraska, no, not everyone in Nebraska has a free public library. Including those who don't live within city limits, and for a long time, that included people who lived in military housing. Why?

Nebraska libraries are supported by city taxes. Therefore, if you don't live in the city & pay city taxes, you aren't entitled to "free" library service. (I put the "free" in quotes because you are, in fact, paying for library service via property taxes. However, a $100K house in Bellevue has something like $50 in property taxes given to the Bellevue Public Library, where if you walk in as a non-resident and ask to sign up, they'll charge you $25. A pretty good deal in my book.)

But what about Douglas County? Well, Douglas County hands over a certain amount of taxes to the Omaha Public Library so that all Douglas County residents have access to the Omaha Public Library system.

This was the state of affairs until a year or two ago. At that time, in appreciation for the sacrifices of military personnel, the Omaha Public Library decided to offer active duty personnel a free library card to the OPL system. Then the Bellevue Public Library offered free cards to active duty & their families.

And that's the current state of affairs. Not that there aren't those in Sarpy County who like the Douglas County model . . .

Currently Reading: "Over the Edge" by Suzanne Brockmann
Currently Listening To: "Legends of the Fall" soundtrack