Google plans to resume scanning copyrighted library books "soon"
although it will focus on works that are out of print and is seeking
publishers' permission to digitize books that are still available new
in bookstores, according to today's Wall Street Journal.
The article noted the "debate in the library community" about Google's Print Library Project. Articulating the point of view of one side: John Wilkin of the University of Michigan's library, which is part of the Google project, who said: "We think that what Google is doing is legal and consistent with copyright law because copyright law is about striking a balance between the limited rights of the copyright owner and the long-term rights of the public."
On the other side is Tom Garnett of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, who said, "In general I think that libraries need to observe copyright."
The president of the ALA, Michael Gorman, university librarian at California State University at Fresno, offered several objections, including one stemming from his status as a published author: "It's a flaunting of my intellectual property rights."
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Uh oh. After an article in yesterday's Sarasota Herald-Tribune revealed that one of the two buyers of Sarasota News & Books, Sarasota, Fla., has an outstanding warrant for his arrest, the closing on the store's sale was postponed, according to today's Herald Tribune.
Thomas Coelho and his business partner, Derek Filcoff, were to have bought Sarasota News & Books from Caren and Dick Lobo. According to Monday's article, the Lobos knew that Coelho had been arrested several times for fraud and theft and was convicted of grand larceny in California in 2000 for stealing $5,400 from an artist. The Lobos and Filcoff said they had talked about the matters and were confident that Coelho, who told the paper, "I'm not proud of my past, but I have learned from it," had turned his life around.
It turns out that the Lobos did not know that because Coelho had missed a probation hearing, there is an outstanding warrant for his arrest.
While Caren Lobo said yesterday, "We are and we continue to be in a binding contract," the couple have checked with their attorneys and are "exploring their options," as the paper put it. Coelho told the paper that he's trying to do something about the outstanding warrant. "I want to terminate all these issues once and for all," he said.
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Fear that demand will dampen when the weather turns colder and consumers face high heating bills--on top of other financial pressures--continues to drive general retailers to push forward the Christmas season, today's New York Times reported. Wal-Mart begins its holiday campaign today, two to three weeks earlier than usual. Other retailers will start next week. In addition, "some retailers are canceling parts of their holiday orders amid fears they may be overstocked."
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Hot topic. The AAUP's Books for Understanding, the online bibliography of university press titles dealing with current events and news, has a new category: global climate change. The section includes such titles as:
Incidentally Books for Understanding has been relaunched and has a new look and new features, including an RSS feed of new list topics, expanded cross-referencing of lists and enhanced expert directories for selected bibliographies.
The article noted the "debate in the library community" about Google's Print Library Project. Articulating the point of view of one side: John Wilkin of the University of Michigan's library, which is part of the Google project, who said: "We think that what Google is doing is legal and consistent with copyright law because copyright law is about striking a balance between the limited rights of the copyright owner and the long-term rights of the public."
On the other side is Tom Garnett of the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, who said, "In general I think that libraries need to observe copyright."
The president of the ALA, Michael Gorman, university librarian at California State University at Fresno, offered several objections, including one stemming from his status as a published author: "It's a flaunting of my intellectual property rights."
---
Uh oh. After an article in yesterday's Sarasota Herald-Tribune revealed that one of the two buyers of Sarasota News & Books, Sarasota, Fla., has an outstanding warrant for his arrest, the closing on the store's sale was postponed, according to today's Herald Tribune.
Thomas Coelho and his business partner, Derek Filcoff, were to have bought Sarasota News & Books from Caren and Dick Lobo. According to Monday's article, the Lobos knew that Coelho had been arrested several times for fraud and theft and was convicted of grand larceny in California in 2000 for stealing $5,400 from an artist. The Lobos and Filcoff said they had talked about the matters and were confident that Coelho, who told the paper, "I'm not proud of my past, but I have learned from it," had turned his life around.
It turns out that the Lobos did not know that because Coelho had missed a probation hearing, there is an outstanding warrant for his arrest.
While Caren Lobo said yesterday, "We are and we continue to be in a binding contract," the couple have checked with their attorneys and are "exploring their options," as the paper put it. Coelho told the paper that he's trying to do something about the outstanding warrant. "I want to terminate all these issues once and for all," he said.
---
Fear that demand will dampen when the weather turns colder and consumers face high heating bills--on top of other financial pressures--continues to drive general retailers to push forward the Christmas season, today's New York Times reported. Wal-Mart begins its holiday campaign today, two to three weeks earlier than usual. Other retailers will start next week. In addition, "some retailers are canceling parts of their holiday orders amid fears they may be overstocked."
---
Hot topic. The AAUP's Books for Understanding, the online bibliography of university press titles dealing with current events and news, has a new category: global climate change. The section includes such titles as:
- The Two-Mile Machine: Ice Cores, Abrupt Climate Change, and Our Future by Richard B. Alley (Princeton University Press).
- Warming the World: Economic Models of Global Warming by William D. Nordhaus and Joseph Boyer (MIT Press).
- Assessments of Regional and Global Environmental Risks: Designing Processes for the Effective Use of Science in Decisionmaking edited by Alexander E. Farrell and Jill Jäger (RFF Press).
- Red Sky at Morning: America and the Crisis of the Global Environment by James Gustave Speth (Yale University Press).
- Protecting Our Environment: Lessons from the European Union by Janet R. Hunter and Zachary A. Smith (SUNY Press).
Incidentally Books for Understanding has been relaunched and has a new look and new features, including an RSS feed of new list topics, expanded cross-referencing of lists and enhanced expert directories for selected bibliographies.