As municipalities across the country face large gaps in their budget, Philadelphia is taking “drastic new steps” to face the “economic storm” that include closing 11 of the 54 branch libraries that comprise the Free Library of Philadelphia. Three other branches will have Sunday hours eliminated. Mayor Michael Nutter said the branches were chosen “after careful review of building conditions, utilization and distance to other libraries in the Free Library system.” Cutting 220 jobs throughout the city government, approximately one third of those layoffs will come from the library staff.ABC News
Indigo Has An e-Content Play
Canada’s dominant retailer Indigo has plans for a electronic text offering focused on free and paid downloads for mobile devices, Quill and Quire reports. The enterprise will be established as a separately-branded subsidiary of Indigo, serving customers throughout North America (with intentions of going global), and set to launch in early 2009. “The final details won’t be unveiled until December,” the magazine reports, but Indigo cto Michael Serbinis confirms certain detials. Material on offer will range from complete e-books for mobile reading to small chunks (chapters, articles and short stories) and user-generated content. It sounds as if download fees will […]
Distributor Tells Clients No Cash from Borders
Distributor IPG told clients in an e-mail (now cited on multiple websites) that Borders “tell us that they will not be paying us for two months due to anticipated excessive returns.” In the letter, clients were told that for new shipments to Borders, the distributor will guarantee only the actual printing cost of those books, for as long as “there are serious concerns about Borders viability.” IPG president Mark Suchomel tells us that “almost all of the clients” have instructed the company to continue shipping orders to Borders. He notes that “we’ve typically been very conservative and that’s been a […]
December 2008 Indie Next List
The Hour I First Believed: A Novel by Wally LambBlindspot: A Novel by Jane Kremensky and Jill LeporeAmerican Buffalo: In Search of a Lost Icon by Steven RinellaA House in Fez: Building a Life in the Ancient Heart of Morocco by Suzanna ClarkeMade From Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Handmade Life by Jenna Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman by Hank Winger, Christopher Golden, Stephen R. BissetteThe Private Patient: An Adam Dalgleish Mystery by P. D. JamesThe Elfish Gene: Dungeons, Dragons and Growing Up Strange by Mark BarrowcliffeTribes: We Need You to Lead Us by Seth […]
People: Marmor Moves to TBR; Younce to Holt
NYT deputy editor for travel Laura Marmor will move over to the Book Review as senior editor in December, following Dwight Garner’s departure to serve as a book critic. Sam Tanenhaus says in the memo quoted by the Observer, she “will be making a broad range of review assignments in addition to helping Bob Harris and me put the section together each week and collaborating with our editorial team to upgrade our enterprise projects.” Marmor was an editor at the WSJ before moving to the Times post-9/11.Observer Webster Younce will join Henry Holt next week as a senior editor reporting […]
On John Leonard, 69
Former editor of the NYT Book Review during the 70s John Leonard, 69, died from complications of lung cancer. Most recently he was TV critic for New York Magazine and a book critic for Harper’s Magazine. “As a critic, Mr. Leonard was far less interested in saying yea or nay about a work of art than he was in scrutinizing the who, the what and the why of it. His writing opened a window onto the contemporary American scene, examining a book or film or television show as it was shaped by the cultural winds of the day. “Amid the […]