Maryland’s new vague Digital Content Law, compelling publishers to license digital books and audiobooks “on reasonable terms that would enable public libraries to provide library users with access to the electronic literary product,” is considered by publishers to be blatantly unconstitutional. But it has yet to be challenged in court, so the Maryland Library Association is moving forward in advance of implementation at the beginning of 2022 to explain what they believe comprises “reasonable terms.” While the law does not define the terms any further, the MLA believes existing terms “often may not have been defined as ‘reasonable’ by library […]
Archives for July 2021
Obituary: Roberto Calasso, 80
Author and longtime leader of Italian publisher Adelphi, Roberto Calasso, 80, died on Wednesday following a long illness. In 2015 he bought back Rizzoli’s majority share in Adelphi, where he worked for almost 60 years, to prevent its sale to Mondadori. Rival publishing house Feltrinelli said, “Roberto Calasso has been and will continue to be a central figure of reference for the Italian and international literary panorama.” In the US, Farrar, Straus will publish Calasso’s new book, The Book of All Books, in November, and his The Tablet of the Destinies will follow in 2022. Calasso’s longtime editor, FSG president Jonathan […]
Pearson Recovers A Bit, Launches Textbook Subscription
Pearson announced six-month results for the period ended June 30, with sales of £1.597 billion, up £105 million or 7 percent from last year’s pandemic low. But those sales are still low compared to the £1.83 billion recorded in the same period in 2019. Global Online Learning was up 25 percent, “driven by strong growth in US Virtual Schools.” North American higher ed courseware sales were £346 million, down £29 million from a year ago (-8%) but up 2 percent on an “underlying” basis, excluding foreign exchange and portfolio changes, as increases in Canada outweighed the decline in US. Global […]
Earlier Kindle Models Will Get Bricked As Carriers Drop Older Networks
Cellphone carriers are sunsetting their 2G and 3G (and CDMA) networks, which means that a number of older Kindle ereaders will lose their cellphone connectivity. The earliest models will lose their internet connectivity entirely as a result. A number of other models, “from the third-gen Kindle Keyboard all the way to the 8th-gen Kindle Oasis,” will lose their cell-based service but at least retain wifi capability. Amazon notified customers of the coming changes by email and is providing a $50 credit towards a new device and and $15 in ebook credits.
Bookselling: Another Barnes & Noble Swaps Locations
Barnes & Noble will close their Cincinnati-area store in the Waterstone Center on August 22, and expects to open a new location at Deerfield Towne Center in Mason, OH in November. A similar swap was announced recently in the Chicago area, with the West Dundee location closing, and a new store in Algonquin Commons expected to open in October. In both cases, the announcements did not indicate the size of the locations, but other recent moves have featured smaller new locations.
Harper UK Settles One Suit Over “Putin’s People”
While a London High Court is still hearing testimony on Roman Abramovich’s lawsuit alleging defamation in Catherine Belton’s book from Harper UK, PUTIN’S PEOPLE: How the KGB Took Back Russia and then Took on the West, another suit involving the same book has been settled. In the case brought by Russian businessman Mikhail Fridman and Russian banker Petr Aven, Harper UK has “agreed to remove effectively all the material on which the actions are based from future editions of the book,” according to attorney Hugh Tomlinson (who represents the two men, along with Abramovich). A settlement document reportedly indicates, according […]