LISNews Librarian And Information Science News

The author of a recent book chronicling tales from Nebraska’s Sand Hills will print no more copies under a plagiarism and copyright infringement settlement.

Craig Savoye of St. Louis agreed last month to pull back “Nebraska Stories: Tales of Cowboys, Ranchers and Assorted Characters.’’ All 1,500 printed copies of the book have sold, Savoye said Wednesday.The author of a recent book chronicling tales from Nebraska’s Sand Hills will print no more copies under a plagiarism and copyright infringement settlement.

Full story here.

NY Times OP-Ed by Thomas Cahill on something else to celebrate every March 17th;

"Why should we celebrate the Irish? No doubt, several reasons could be proffered. But for me one answer stands out. Long, long ago the Irish pulled off a remarkable feat: They saved the books of the Western world and left them as gifts for all humanity."

Entertaining video prepared by the UK branch of Dorling Kindersley Books. Originally meant solely for a DK sales conference, the video was such a hit internally that it is now being shared externally. ...

What makes a bad book bad?
American academics have been grappling with this question and rounding up some unusual suspects
"Unfortunately, some of my colleagues judge everything by how close it comes to Joyce's Ulysses, which they reread annually," he reveals. "A friend of mine was at an academic conference session about Ulysses. Someone on the panel referred to an episode where a character in the
novel had coffee at a restaurant. The rest of the panel turned on him, and one of them hissed, 'It was cocoa!' Now do you see why this ridiculous list came about?"

Why read the 'Great Books' when you can laugh at them?
"All the Great Books" comes from a series of snarky parodies created by the Reduced Shakespeare Company; other targets include the Bard of Avon himself, the Bible, the history of America and Hollywood. Theatre Conspiracy produced "The Complete Word of God (Abridged)" and “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” in previous seasons with the same cast.

It's not 'just a book', it's "enriched". From the AP:

David Baldacci's next thriller, "Deliver Us from Evil," comes out April 20 as a hardcover, an e-book, and in an "enriched" electronic version which will include passages deleted from the final text, research photos, an audio interview and video footage of Baldacci at work.

"I have a pretty cool office, if I do say so myself," the author told The Associated Press during a telephone interview Monday from his office just outside Washington, D.C., where he sets many of his books.

"For a long time it seemed all people were talking about was pricing and the timing of the e-book. And I want to bring it back to the books themselves, to the content, because that's what should matter. I want people to have a great experience and give them a behind-the-scenes look at what I do, the way you would have it on a DVD."

The "enriched" Baldacci release will cost $15.99, according to Maja Thomas, senior vice president for Hachette Book Group's digital and audio publishing. The regular e-book will start at $14.99, then come down to $12.99 once it becomes a top seller, old hat for a Baldacci novel.

If you happen to be in the WNY or Southern Ontario area (like me!) don't miss the 2010 Buffalo Small Press Book Fair Saturday March 27th. The Buffalo Small Press Book Fair is a regional one day event that brings booksellers, authors, bookmakers, zinesters, small presses, artists, poets, and other cultural workers (and enthusiasts) together in a venue where they can share ideas, showcase their art, and peddle their wares. There's a Kickstarter fundraising page to help defray the costs.

The event is being held in the Karpeles Manuscript Library. The Karpeles Library is the world's largest private holding of important original manuscripts & documents. The archives include Literature, Science, Religion, History and Art. Among the treasures are .... "The original draft of the Bill of Rights of the United States", The original manuscript of " The Wedding March", Einstein's description of his " Theory of Relativity", The " Thanksgiving Proclamation" signed by George Washington, Roget's " Thesaurus", Webster's " Dictionary" and over one million more.

The Last Train from Hiroshima: The Survivors Look Back (John MacRae Books) is now priced at $89.99 on Amazon. Amazon itself no longer sells copies. The copies for sale are by 3rd party vendors on Amazon.

Here is an article about why the book is no longer being sold by the publisher if you had not heard the background on this story yet.

Very cool project here in Brooklyn, NY, the Reanimation Library.

Below, a video explanation of the project via Rocketboom. Ella Morton interviews Andrew Beccone, master librarian and founder of the Reanimation Library:

Additional information at the Reanimation Library website.

Sounds like THE perfect place to send of some of those old weeded illustrated volumes....