Public Libraries

Promoting local public libraries since 1999

Author James Patterson advocates for book industry

The automotive industry got one. The financial industry got one too. So, author James Patterson asks, why can’t the book industry get a bailout from the United States government? The weekend of April 20, Patterson took out ad space in the New York Times Book Review as well as Publishers Weekly, hoping to raise awareness about the decline of the book industry. The goal of the ad was to point out that there are serious consequences to letting paper books die out, and he asks for help from someone — anyone — to help save books and the publishing industry. [Read more…]

Libraries can now get Penguin Random House ebooks on day of release

It looks like the European Union will approve the merger between Random House and Penguin.  This is big news, but there is even bigger news for libraries.

The Huffington Post reported today that Penguin Group has informed The Associated Press that libraries can now offer their ebooks as soon as the hardcover version is released.  This policy is basically the one that Random House was using for libraries.  This is a huge win for libraries. [Read more…]

The book industry’s new favorite color: green

With the advent of new technology and a push for all industries to treat the environment a little better, even the publishing industry is going green these days. Since the days of the printing press, the book industry has relied on resources such as trees in order to create paper and print books. While this is still necessary today, more and more publishing companies are taking an eco-friendly approach to the development of their books, according to a report by the Book Industry Environmental Council and the Green Press Initiative. [Read more…]

Court rules libraries must allow access to Wiccan and pagan websites

The ACLU of Eastern Missouri won a victory for a client yesterday that involved a public library censoring certain content on their computers.

U.S. District Judge E. Richard Webber yesterday ordered the Salem Public Library in Missouri to allow access to websites that contain Wiccan or pagan content.  The court determined that the filters that the library was using on their computers were violating the First Amendment. [Read more…]