Feedback | Letters to LJ, September 1, 2011
“What we need now is serious business-minded discussions that create sustainable and valuable ebook alternatives for authors, publishers, and librarians alike” Sept. 1, 2011Issues with ebooks
Thank you for your honest and refreshing take on one of the reasons I waited 20 years between American Library Association (ALA) memberships (Heather McCormack, “ALA Annual 2011: Louisiana Deep-Fried Angst,” LJ In the Bookroom blog [ow.ly/5Ugql]). I tire of the “victim” status and the constant insistence of speaking in an echo chamber. As you saw, it makes us ill-prepared when we actually talk to people outside of that arena of nodding heads.
As a Colorado librarian, I have been trying to wrap my head around the apparent “all or nothing” plans that have been proposed. As a former independent bookseller I am thrilled that the many talented independent publishers and authors have an opportunity to publish in e-formats. However, I refuse to throw out the Big Six. The death knell of publishing has been ringing for decades, and the industry is still here.
What we need now is serious business-minded discussions that create sustainable and valuable ebook alternatives for authors, publishers, and librarians alike. Let’s be intelligent and realize the difference between nonprofit and for-profit missions to their clientele. We may not like it, but that is how it is. We need to suggest realistic alternatives that will give libraries the ability to use ebooks just as they do paper books. We don’t “own” the content of paper books, yet we are not limited in what we do with them once we purchase them. Why is it so different with ebooks? As in anything virtual, when people can’t touch it they freak out. I am also wary of libraries as publishers—what happens to our nonprofit status?
Okay, done ranting, but I do think a lot of it is perspective, and when we as librarians talk to publishers, we need to show that there are a variety of perspectives.
—Melissa Powell, Consultant, Fort Collins, CO
Europe’s libraries
Francine Fialkoff’s editorial “The End of Euro Envy” (LJ 6/1/11, p. 8) was very interesting. I had just visited three European libraries and blogged about them. While I generally visit smaller libraries (so my impressions may be tainted), I was amazed at the lively atmosphere at Cambridge UK’s Central and the main Copenhagen facility. These are not your grandmother’s libraries. In Copenhagen, especially, most of the users seemed to be teens and twentysomethings, and it was very, very busy (ow.ly/5UnTV). There were also a number of resources/collections in different languages for immigrants.
The modern design/amenities/ease of use of both of these facilities really attracts a huge variety of young/new adults—something U.S. libraries don’t always do well. The libraries also strive to respond to their communities’ needs by providing nontraditional services in conjunction with other government entities and taking local business interests into consideration when choosing how to provide service.
—Justine Shaffner, Littleton, CO
Genre, not gender!
I could not agree more with Stacy Alesi’s “Fiction BackTalk: Summer Reading Sans Gender Stereotypes” (ow.ly/5UikI)! I find gender-specific reading lists offensive, not to mention that the are a very outdated concept. I have been as sf fan since middle school, and guess what rarely shows up on “women’s” lists? I want to see genre lists, not gender lists.
—Rita D. Lyons, Circulation Specialist, McConnell Lib., Radford Univ., VA
I know it’s true
In his Blatant Berry column “Libraries Misunderstood” (LJ 5/15/11, p. 10), John Berry articulated what down deep in my heart I know is true. It’s a simple message with a wellspring of meaning.
—Ronnie Swett, Dir., Island Park P.L., NY
Still best sellers?
I was puzzled that the July LJ Best Sellers list (LJ 7/11, p. 116) on DIY books featured as the #1 title an older (2005) book on an obscure topic (Water Storage) by a niche publisher (Oasis Design). I scanned the list for any similar, older, obscure books, and, lo and behold, at #6 is a 2006 title on another specialized topic (The New Create an Oasis with Greywater) by the same publisher.
What gives? Is the publisher moving large quantities of these obscure books via huge discounts? Giving them away free? Paying for promotional considerations? Surely these aren’t naturally best-selling/best-circulating titles in the period? I would appreciate information on the methodology that produced the rankings of these two “best sellers.”
—John Roth, Southfield, MI
ED. NOTE The July LJ Best sellers list is specialized and difficult to compile but uses our standard methods of circulation, holds, and sales data from Baker & Taylor (ow.ly/60G3D). That No. 1 title is still most in demand by libraries in the subject area it discusses. The same is true of No. 6. As a cross-check, you can see that No. 1, Water Storage, is much more in demand than No. 2, Refresh Your Home, according to another vendor, Amazon.
