This new library-in-a-shipping-container plans on using growing Internet access in Africa to create a new model for making available both electronic information and physical books. It’s a conundrum that library advocates have struggled with for years: in many areas in the developing world, libraries run on donations, which means they often end up with irrelevant books that never even get removed from their boxes. People still come to libraries in these places for a quiet place to read and study, but certainly not because of the resources they provide. Recently, a crop of initiatives have launched that aim to make libraries more relevant again. Librii, a project from Libraries Across Africa that’s seeking $50,000 in funding from Kickstarter, is one of them. The project, which began as Librii director David Dewane’s thesis idea at the Rice School of Architecture, bills itself as "a digitally enhanced, community-based, revenue-generating library on the frontiers of broadband connectivity." In simple terms, the founders envision low-cost libraries (a single library in Ghana to start) that take advantage of the burgeoning fiber optic infrastructure in Africa to provide Internet access, curated content, educational programs, and of course, physical books.Read Full Story Continue reading at 'Fast Company'
[ Fast Company | 2013-03-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with:
#educational programs
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Wed, 20/04/2011 - 12:11 The Publishers Association has said it is "delighted" by the High Court ruling in favour of the government in a legal challenge against the Digital Economy Act. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#publishers association
#legal challenge
Forget digital versus print for a moment, and consider a cookbook's format. Think back to the last time you used a cookbook in the kitchen. Was the book covered in a dust jacket? A cumbersome, flappy dust jacket? If it wasnt, was that because you had ripped it off? Or were you cooking from an... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Written By: Graeme Neill Publication Date: Mon, 18/04/2011 - 09:19 Authors including Iain M Banks and Michael Moorcock have written to the BBC's director general Mark Thompson, attacking the treatment of genre fiction in its recent World Book Night coverage. In total 85 authors, across the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-18 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#genre fiction
#science fiction
The Knot, whose brands include TheNest.com and TheBump.com, is converting the print version of The Nest to digital. Continue reading at Folio Magazine
[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#print version
Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Fri, 15/04/2011 - 11:33 Roland Philipps at John Murray has bought a book on digital written by the author Nick Harkaway, which argues that the new technologies will make us more human. Philipps bought British Commonwealth rights through Patrick Walsh... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#john murray
#patrick walsh
#conville walsh
#cautious optimism
Written By: Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 15/04/2011 - 08:56 An e-fiction venture aimed at tweens and teenagers is being launched by packager Discovery Books in May. Called Fiction Express, it will invite teenagers to buy books in instalments and to vote to decide the direction of the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#digital series
#buy books
#released weekly
Written By: Benedicte Page and Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Thu, 14/04/2011 - 16:09 A libraries boss has admitted cutting spending on books is "the easiest" way to achieve savings, as wholesaler Bertrams reports its library sales have slumped by a quarter. Results put out by parent Smiths... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#benedicte page
#library sales
#operating profits
Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 13/04/2011 - 11:06 Library campaigner Tim Coates called on publishers to get involved in the fight to save public libraries, warning that the 500 currently threatened with closure will be followed by many more without action to protect the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#public libraries
#london borough
Longtime Time Inc. executive John Squires, last seen running the magazine industry's version of Hulu, has a new gig: He's at Akademos, a Connecticut-based company that runs digital bookstores for small and mid-sized colleges. Continue reading at AllThingsD
[ AllThingsD | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#magazine industry
Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Wed, 13/04/2011 - 09:26 Sales at wholesaler Bertrams dropped 3% in the last six months, with library sales down 25%. But strong international sales and a "resilient" retail performance in the face of a slowing consumer book market helped arrest the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#library sales
Written By: Benedicte Page Publication Date: Wed, 13/04/2011 - 13:59 Libraries must embark on a programme of digitising content if they are not to be left behind amid changes to the sector, a senior figure in European library digitisation has claimed. Speaking to The Bookseller, Jon Purday,... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#stay relevant
#consumer demand
As the London Book Fair goes through its annual run this week, American agents are trying to figure out the best way to sell digital rights to foreign publishers in markets that are far behind the U.S. in ebook sales. Even though many international publishers are just starting to dabble in... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#foreign publishers
#ebook sales
#international publishers
#digital books
#local market
#major houses
#foreign deals
Written By: Philip Jones Publication Date: Sun, 10/04/2011 - 16:03 Enhanced ebooks are dead, discoverability is the most important issue facing ebook vendors, while pricing strategies should be measured against other digital content, not physical books. These were the key themes that emerged... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#digital content
#digital conference
#enhanced ebooks
#pricing strategies
#physical books
#key themes
Written By: Lisa Campbell Publication Date: Tue, 05/04/2011 - 15:22 Quercus has nearly matched the £1m digital revenue it made from ebooks last year in the first three months of 2011. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 04/04/2011 - 13:02 Cornerstone and Vintage are planning to release historian Alison Weir's backlist in ebook format for the first time. read more Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#published digitally
#ebook format
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 04/04/2011 - 16:11 Brent Council has recommended closing six of its libraries, as protests continue against the cuts. The report follows a three-month community consultation on Brent's "Libraries Transformation Project". It has been... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#protests continue
#published ahead
#executive committee
#11th april
#library policy
Given that nearly 90% of Russian households are expected to have Internet access by 2012, it is easy to see why ebooks, online retailers, and electronic libraries are getting so much attention (and investment interest) in recent years. Russian publishers, fueled by the success of their U.S.... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#online retailers
#russian publishers
#service providers
#titles online
#challenges ahead
Written By: Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Mon, 04/04/2011 - 12:26 The Publishers Association and Booksellers Association have written to all local authority chief executives, saying they are "deeply concerned" about potential spending cuts leading to libraries disappearing from... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#publishers association
#booksellers association
#deeply concerned
Written By: Katie Allen and Caroline Horn Publication Date: Fri, 01/04/2011 - 08:49 Childrens author Patrick Ness and Annie Mauger, chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) have called for a "properly resourced and professionally staffed"... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#katie allen
#annie mauger
#chartered institute
#professionally staffed
#open letter
Written By: Philip Jones and Charlotte Williams Publication Date: Fri, 01/04/2011 - 08:50 Literary agent Sonia Land has warned book publishers they will lose control over authors digital backlists unless they improve their royalty offer. Land this week announced her decision to publish 100 of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2011-04-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with:
#digital rates
#philip jones
#week announced