Canadian Libraries

Recently, the OCLC (the Online Computer Library Center), posted a fantastic visual reference on How Canadian Public Libraries stack up!  The results were truly fascinating and I think we can learn a lot about how the public uses and views libraries, through it. The OCLC is a worldwide library cooperative that aims to improve access to information held in libraries and find ways for libraries to reduce their costs through collaboration.

A few of the fascinating comparisons? 

Nearly two out of three Canadians have library cards…almost the same percentage as people who have passports. (But of course, the library is your passport to anywhere, isn’t it?)

Canadian libraries circulate 10 times more DVDs each day than the online DVD rental company, Zip.ca.  (All right, no word on the comparison to Netflix users, but I feel like we could probably give them a run for their money, too!)

Nearly 200 public libraries offer meeting spaces…and Carleton Place Public Library is one of those included!

To see all of the unique comparisons, just click on the photo below to see a larger version.  It’s really something!

Science Fiction Writers of America Outraged Over Hydra Contract

When we purchase books, many of us probably never think about all the legal things that go on behind the scenes when a book gets published. Last week, however, the Science Fiction Writers of America were up in arms about a new contract idea from Random House that affects their science fiction e- imprint, Hydra. They are not happy, and Random House doesn’t seem to see the problem.

Traditionally, in simple terms, writers are paid an advance from the publishing company as payment for their work. The publisher assumes all costs for printing, binding, distribution etc., and the book is put on the shelves. As the book begins to sell, the publisher is paid until all their costs are recouped and the advance they gave the author has been recovered, and then the author begins to share the profits with the publisher. If costs are not recovered because a book doesn’t do well, an author might never see any more money other than their advance.

With this new model, there are differences because of the fact they are an e-imprint (which means no binding etc., but includes different costs such as digital marketing), but they’ve also switched up all the rules. An author picked up by Hydra will have to cover all the costs and will be paid no advance. That means, Random House might decide to pay their editors $5000 if they feel it is necessary, and their marketing team $8000 if that’s what they believe they need in order to make the book successful.  The author has no choice in the matter and must shoulder the costs.  Then, when the book starts selling, both author and publisher share the royalties.  The argument is that the publisher is taking a chance on the author by giving them the opportunity and providing them with the best people in the business, and yet they both get to reap the rewards right from the start.

It seems like it might be an interesting way to do business, and one which some authors would jump at the chance for. But wait…….

The catch is that the author now also loses all rights to their work, too...indefinitely. The publisher asks for all rights, in all forms, for the life of the copyright (which could work out to be 70 years or more after the death of the author). You can see why people are upset.

Last week, there was much uproar over the whole idea, and Random House replied with their own letter to the Science Fiction Authors of America to try to make them see the light. I’m not sure it worked.  It might be more work and cost more money and maybe not net the author the same residuals, but it’s looking like self-publishing might be the way to go to avoid the massive copyright problems. You can read the Random House letter here to see for yourself.

The real problem with this new model, if accepted, is that it might be game changing for the business. What if paper books went the same way? Many authors wouldn’t be able to afford the costs of producing the books and would be forced to release in ebook format only.  If other imprints follow this new direction, the world of publishing is changing, for good or not. Will this be the direction ebook publishers have been longing for since their inception? We’ll have to wait and see.

Community

The library is definitely a community hub and community partner. Have you noticed the special monitor we had installed earlier this year that plays community events? It’s right near our library catalog computers, just across from the front desk. The presentation changes weekly and includes all kinds of community items, including upcoming library events.  There are monitors installed in other places around town, such as the Town Hall and the Arena, so take a few minutes to stop and read what’s going on. You might be surprised!

Where are the ads?

Have you noticed? There really aren’t advertisements for books anymore. Maybe you’ll see an add for an upcoming book in the back of the odd woman’s magazine or in a featured article in the newspaper, but other than that, we rarely see book ads. And yet, they used to be quite common, with detailed information about the books as well as quotes from reviewers.  Very similar to new movies, in fact.  So why don’t we see them anymore and how do we hear about new books?

New York Times book critic Dwight Garner put together a compilation of  advertisements in his book Read Me : A Century of Classic American Book Advertisements.

The ads are fun to look at, sometimes lengthy, and often don’t make the book look as appealing as it should, but they certainly got people reading.  You can see a few of the ads at the Brain Pickings website right here. 

So where are book ads now? Do magazines and newspapers just not have the space to carry them anymore?  Or is the web a better source of advertisement for authors? With so many authors establishing their own websites, Twitter accounts, Facebook pages etc., it’s easy for people to find out about new books coming out. Similarly, for anyone who likes to read, there are plenty of websites out there that cater to whatever genre you might read. Maybe there’s no need for expensive advertising anymore.

That brings me to another reason.  Gone are the days publishing companies spent big bucks to help promote an author’s book. They just don’t have the funds anymore to carry that out.  If you read any up and coming author’s websites, you’ll hear the same story–that they’re stuck doing a lot of the promotion themselves, and sometimes at a significant cost to themselves.  If the book happens to get a bit of good press for a hot topic, for example, it might come easier.  But for most authors, there is limited funding available from the publishing house for advertisement. That’s why authors are encouraged to get out there and promote, promote, promote, to establish a following BEFORE a book is published and to really have a good online presence throughout the whole process. Difficult, but possible these days.

If there were more ads for books, either in mags, newspapers or online, would you find yourself reading more?  I’m not so sure.  It’s not that books have become passe, it’s just that the method of exposure has changed.

How do YOU find out about new books?

 

What’s Inside?

People come in to the library all the time and tell us that they’ve just tried a new author.  Sometimes, it’s successful, other times, it isn’t. So, it got me thinking about magazines.  There are those I read religiously, and others I’ll scan through on occasion.  But what about those magazines I never, ever under any circumstances, read?  Do they not have good articles?  Or is the content just not something I’m interested in?

I stood in front of our rack of magazines in the library and thought about those questions carefully.  Then, I chose four–two of which did not seem appealing to me and two that I knew I could probably get through. I’ll admit, I didn’t read them all cover to cover, but I was surprised at what I found.  They were all interesting! (Or at least, I found something interesting in each of them.)

So, what did I read? And what kind of content did I find? Read on…..

The first one was the August 18th issue of The Economist.  It was a surprisingly interesting mix of articles, broken down by geographical region! If I wanted to read about what’s happening in China, it was easy to flip to the section. And under each region, there was a nice selection of political news, economic information, sports and business etc.  the magazine also included a section divided up into topics like arts, politics, money etc.  I found this format to be very different than most magazines, and yet very easy to work with.

There were also some fascinating executive job postings that you wouldn’t normally see in other mags. For example, there was one for a Director of Research for the Africa Economic Research Consortium.  Where else would you come across something like this if you were job hunting, or even thinking about it?

And finally, the article that grabbed my attention most was one on France’s difficulties with Romanian Gypsies setting up camps throughout their country. Apparently, the government is having trouble controlling the unsanitary and dangerous conditions they live under. Who knew?

The second magazine I chose was the April 2012 issue of Canadian Geographic.  I expected to like this one a little bit. What could be bad about photos of interesting places and people? I was a little surprised (although I shouldn’t have been) that it was very much in the same vein as National Geographic Magazine, with lots of long, long, long articles (think 13 pages for one article on the Niagara Tunnel Hydro Project) and a few accompanying photos.  There were, however, wonderful photos  and a whole section on travel-themed book reviews.

I think I would pick this magazine up again and maybe flip through, but it won’t become one of my regular reads. Just too much commitment for an article. I might read something that is five pages, maybe a little more, but it would have to REALLY capture my attention.

The next magazine was a shot in the dark, one of the mags in which I would never normally even read the cover headings! Men’s Health, the June 2012 issue, was a surprisingly GREAT magazine…and one which barely strayed from the format and articles I read in women’s magazines, only aimed at the opposite sex. Okay, that’s probably why I thought it was great. I was comfortable with the read, and didn’t find the content all that biased towards men (except for a couple of very specific articles.)  This was the Foodie Issue, so there were plenty of great articles about great food, along with some fantastic looking recipes. I considered trying one of them out, even.

There were the usual pages about health, geared towards men, of course, but anyone could get something out of these articles on Biking for Fitness or the Boot Camp Workout. I was particularly impressed with the article which was several pages long, regarding over the counter medications. Sure, they were the ones men might be looking for most, but there were some great pointers in buying pain relievers etc.

My favourite (and most serious) article, was a short tips page on how to prevent armpit stains on your shirts!  It seemed comical at first, but as I read it, I realized the tips were good and it explained why some shirts get soiled more easily than others, even when there isn’t a lot of sweating involved.

Last, but not least on my desk, was the September 24, 2012 issue of Sportsnet Magazine.  Yes, I read it. No, I’ve never read a sports magazine in my life and have to admit, I don’t have one sport that I eagerly follow. The pages were full of a variety of sports, and not just Canadian teams, which surprised me a little. There was a preview of the upcoming football season, which is probably as eagerly awaited for football lovers as the TV guide new fall show preview is for TV lovers. I’m going to pass this magazine along to one of my co-workers, who has a dream of doing an entire baseball stadium tour one day.  Well, someone did it here and it’s documented well in a very engaging article.

So as not to lose any fashion-forward sports lovers, I guess, there was a Men’s Fall Fashion Update included (maybe so men could show their wives they’re reading about something other than golf?). I learned how to fold a Pocket Square correctly, which was NOT what I thought I’d say when I first opened this magazine. Interesting mix!

I won’t be taking out a subscription on any of these magazines, but I won’t make any snap judgements on similar spreads in the future. Maybe I’ll even pick one up while waiting in the dentist’s office sometime, instead of reaching for the usual Chatelaine or Hello! magazine. It opened my eyes, and I hope it might influence you to also try something new on the shelf once in a while.  You never know what you might learn!

Useless Flyers

One of our former co-workers likes to post funny pictures of flyers on her Facebook page from time to time.  Usually, these are flyers or posters with wildly misspelled words or funny phrases or both. So when I came across this article about crazy, useless posters, it made me laugh.

Smosh.com posts these type of funny photos on a regular basis (although the website isn’t one a lot of people would probably read often, be warned), so I have to thank Mental Floss for bringing this to my attention.  You can see the entire selection right here.  Have fun!