Bookseller blogs

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02/14/12--01:38: A brave new world? (chan 1007721)

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Are councils sleepwalking their way to disaster by using volunteers to run libraries?

Suffolk’s public library service is to be handed over to an organisation run by volunteers. The Industrial and Provident Society will be created this spring and community groups will take over the management of branch libraries. The plan is to save £2.4m from the library budget, but it will cost £625,000 to set up the IPS. Volunteers will be expected to raise 5% of the library running costs, and 20 jobs (12.5% of the workforce) will be lost.

Tue, 14/02/2012 - 09:36

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02/16/12--07:45: Premiering print (chan 1007721)

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Printed books are under threat from e-books—but one simple step could turn the tide.

A million e-readers were given as Christmas presents in 2011, the year when digital books broke through to a mainstream audience. The Bookseller reported that e-book downloads may have outstripped paper book sales in the week following Christmas, as owners of shiny new Kindles, iPads and Kobos rushed to find content for their screens.

Thu, 16/02/2012 - 15:44

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02/17/12--07:19: Getting it right (chan 1007721)

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The Hargreaves Review's Digital Copyright Exchange is promising, but only if the government gets it right.

The big idea of the Hargreaves Review on Intellectual Property is to create a “Digital Copyright Exchange” (DCE) to solve problems around copyright licensing in the digital age, and to make the UK a world leader in licensing creative content. It is a great idea. The publishing industry has welcomed the proposal, and the DCE Feasibility Study being led by Richard Hooper.

Fri, 17/02/2012 - 15:17

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02/17/12--07:22: To thine own self (chan 1007721)

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The ascent of e-books is enabling self-published authors to have a shot at the big time.

The news that self-published content now comprises about a quarter of the volume of e-book fiction sales should serve as a wake-up call to traditional publishers.

For years publishers have looked down their noses at self-publishing, condemning it as vanity publishing, near enough a scam in which deluded authors part with their cash to publish unreadable books. It was the last option available for those who never escaped the slush pile.

Fri, 17/02/2012 - 15:20

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02/21/12--03:11: Get organised (chan 1007721)

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High street retailers mustn't just roll over.

The high street is under threat as never before. Supermarket bosses and chain retailers are singing the praises of out-of-town shopping and at the same time the move to online is intensifying. A few years ago we feared the onward march of soulless clone cities, now we are fighting the threat of vacant ghost towns.

Tue, 21/02/2012 - 11:00

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