• The 42 line Latin Bible of Gutenberg, the first book printed with movable type and dating between 1451 and 1455.
• The Sifra, a Hebrew manuscript written between the end of the 9th Century and the middle of the 10th, one of the oldest extant Hebrew codes;
• Greek testimonies of the works of Homer, Sophocles, Plato and Hippocrates;
• The famous incunabulum of Pius II’s De Europa, printed by Albrecht Kunne in Memmingen in around 1491;
• The Code-B, one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Greek Bible, dated to the 4th Century.

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The library lending company highlighted the top libraries in a fascinating list today, revealing that New York Public Library patrons checked out 1.1 million books during the same period.  Here’s more from the release:

During 2012, hundreds of millions of online visitors turned to their libraries’ OverDrive-powered eBook catalogs to browse, sample, and gather recommendations for what to read next. These readers generated over 2.7 billion page views at 22,000 libraries and schools across the OverDrive network … Lending leaders recognized in this report reflect 2012 “checkout” data for standalone library systems (versus consortia), and growth is based on the rise in lending from 2011 to 2012.

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OverDrive also reported that 70 million digital titles were checked out from its platform in 2012 and that 2.7 billion digital pages were viewed, which was up 65 percent from 2011. The OverDrive catalog, which is available at a network of more than 22,000 libraries and schools, now includes 1 million pieces of media. This includes eBooks, audiobooks, and music and video titles, 300,000 of which were added in 2012. continued…

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In honor of Swartz’s memory, scholars around the world are posting free PDF copies of their work at the #PDFTribute hashtag. Read more about his life and legacy at this tribute site.

UC Davis professor Jonathan Eisen posted more details: ”I should say, sharing your PDFs is not necessarily clearly not enough (the license on the PDF may affect what people can do with them if they feel constrained to follow the law).  It is also critical to think about the level of openness of a paper, but I will save most of the comments on that for another time. What I wanted to do here is point out various ways to share PDFs for people who don’t know how … UPDATE 1/14: See follow up post 10 things you can do to REALLY support #OpenAccess #PDFTribute” (image via)

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Below, we’ve included an infographic they created to show massive digital book growth at libraries, including the fact that 39 percent of libraries have eReaders available for check-out.

Here’s more from GalleyCat: “The American Library Association released an E-Book Media and Communications Toolkit, helping libraries campaign for digital book access. The package includes statistics, graphics, reporter contact advice, sample public service announcement scripts, and templates for writing op-eds and letters to the editor.”

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Reading ebooks in one of OverDrive’s apps will no longer be a solitary activity, thanks to a new update which was made available this week. With the release of OverDrive Media Console v2.5, OD is enabling users to share their enthusiasm for library eBooks and audiobooks via social networks.

The apps have different sharing options depending on the platform. The iOS app lets readers share via Facebook, email, and Twitter, while the Android app can work with nearly any social media app installed on the device. The Windows Phone app can only share via Facebook, but that will likely only matter to the 5 or 6 people who own one.

You can find the apps in iTunes and on the OverDrive website.

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The report found that 52.4 percent of libraries saw their technology budgets (money that goes towards the purchase of computers, eReaders, telecommunications and software) remained unchanged for FY2012.

Twelve percent of libraries reported that their technology operating budgets went down, with the biggest cuts coming from libraries located in urban environments. Check it out: “Urban libraries report decreases in all technology expendi tures since FY2010, with the most significant reductions in expenditures between FY2010 and FY2011 for telecommunications (-88 percent), outside vendors (-73 percent), and computer hardware/ software (-63.3 percent).”

The report also found that 63.2 percent of libraries do not have replacement schedules to update old technologies. Meanwhile, 58.4 percent of libraries have applied for an e-rate discount, which would give the libraries discounts for technology services.

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“There are an estimated 300 million active Android smartphones and tablets worldwide, with 850,000 devices activated daily,” said Matt Barnes, ebrary’s Vice President of Marketing. He added, “The launch of our Android app is a direct response to the many requests we’ve received from users who want a way to utilize scholarly e-books from trusted publishers on the device of their choice.” continued…

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Library Link is designed to work with Softlink’s partner libraries and allow patrons to interact with a libraries web resources, all from within the app.

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Even though Pottermore only released the ebooks in the last week of March, and OverDrive could only distribute them for 3 days, the Harry Potter series still managed to jump on to the list. Harry Potter & The Philosopher Stone, the first book in the series, debuted as the 6th most downloaded juvenile ebook. It’s on the list as the 5th most downloaded juvenile audiobook, as well. The second book in the series also made the list as the 9th most downloaded juvenile audiobook.

Among the titles bumped by Harry Potter were Breaking Dawn, the 4th title in The Twilight Saga, as well as other titles by popular authors like John Grisham and Christopher Paolini.

OverDrive

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The South Shore Public Library explains the price increase in a press release: “… a copy of Catherine the Great, Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie was $30 for libraries in January 2012, $130 on March 1 and $85 on March 20. An individual ordering the same title would pay $25 through Amazon, $22.69 through Kindle or $20 through Random House or Google Books.”

However, the libraries cannot buy directly from retailers. Myers stated: “It would be great if we could just purchase ebooks through Amazon or Random House for the lower price. However because we provide the books for loan, we must purchase copies of the books through a service like OverDrive, instead of buying copies directly.” (Via Quill & Quire).

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In a press release, Molly Raphael, president of the ALA stated: “While I appreciate Random House’s engagement with libraries and its commitment to perpetual access. I am deeply disappointed in the severe escalation in ebook pricing reported today. Calling on our history together and our hope to satisfy mutual goals moving forward, the American Library Association strongly urges Random House to reconsider its decision. In a time of extreme financial constraint, a major price increase effectively curtails access for many libraries, and especially our communities that are hardest hit economically.” continued…

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While most librarians find out about books through the trade press, librarians also rely on direct publisher out reach, word of mouth and catalog browsing to find new titles. The report also found that 41% of librarians use digital galleys to find new titles to recommend to patrons.

More than 85% of the respondents said that they read digitally. Apple devices dominate librarians reading, followed by desktop computers, the Kindle, then Nook. Follow this link to see the complete study.

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EBN: What are the challenges associated with getting equal access to books in an eBook era?

TC: Obviously eBooks are only available to people who have eReaders and who like using them. On the other hand print books have proved to be one of the most enduring and universal technologies. So for eBooks to be widely used there are a number of issues that have to improve. The eReaders need to be cheaper and become almost disposable. There has to be ten times more material available. Conversion from print to eBook has to become more efficient and inventive. The catalog of eBook publications needs to cover the whole range of in copyright and out of copyright editions. Rights percentages have to be resolved. The price to the customer has to reflect the price of production and distribution and not be related to the price of print  books.

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The new service, called Freading, is different from most of the competition. A number of library eBook services act just like they are selling paper books. A library can buy a copy and lend it out to one person at a time. Freading, on the other hand, acts more like a rental service. They charge the libraries per use. This lets the libraries lend as many copies of  title as they want, but it does tend to increase their costs.

Libraries currently using service include the Orange County Public Library System (FL), Edmonton Public Library (AL), L.E. Phillips Memorial Library (WI), Westport Public Library (CT) Edmonton Public Library (AB), and Paris Public Library (TX).

Patrons can check out eBooks and read them on Android and iOS apps. Title selection is still limited, and Library Ideas reports that they have signed over 40 publishers, including Sterling Publishing, Sourcebooks, Andrews McMeel and Regnery Publishing. They’re looking to add more names to that list in the near future.

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