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Mr. Michael Blackwell

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Michael Blackwell

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Ebook Friday at ALA Annual

Posted By Michael Blackwell May 15, 2026 10:56 AM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
If attending the ALA Annual Conference, make sure to attend "Ebook Friday," 9 am to 3 pm on (yes, of course), Friday June 26th at McCormick Place W 190. If interested in library digital content, this event is a must see. Beverages and refreshments will be provided thanks for our Sponsors: De Marque, ...

New Free Webinar: Hacking the Holds List

Posted By Michael Blackwell Apr 23, 2026 02:11 PM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
The Digital Shelf Publishing & Library Forum: Hacking the Holds List: How Library Market Makers Can Incentivize Fair Licensing Through Strategic Holds Ratios Webinar Description How Library Market Makers Can Incentivize Fair Licensing Through Strategic Holds Ratios In an era of rising costs and restrictive ...

Ebook Friday--save the date!

Posted By Michael Blackwell Apr 23, 2026 09:35 AM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Hi, ebook aficianados, Ebook Friday is once again back at ALA Annual, this year led by Micah May and Ellen Paul. It will be June 24 from 9 am to 3 pm. Here's a (for now, very!) tentative agenda. Lots of news and advocacy of interest. Coffee and pastries will be provided in the morning, ...

RE: PLA Ebook Meetup 1-2 PM CT in Conference Room 213 A/B at the Convention Center

Posted By Michael Blackwell Apr 01, 2026 08:32 PM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Hi, ebook aficianados, Carmi Parker has updated the Readers First Publisher Price Watch, and the Urban Libraries Council has released a state about the ebook pricing crisis. I've posted about both. https://www.readersfirst.org/news/2026/4/1/rf-ppv-and-ulc-ebook-pricing-crisis The ULC is shopping ...

Words&Money: An Ongoing Conversation about Library Ebooks

Posted By Michael Blackwell Mar 30, 2026 05:13 PM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Hi all, Andrew Albanese is kicking off an ongoing conversation about the library ebook market, as noted here: This article is the first in a new twice-monthly series on the digital library market. Having covered the market since 2000 (when I wrote a cover story for Library Journal on NetLibrary) I've ...

The Digital Shelf free webinar 3/26 - Publisher lighting round

Posted By Michael Blackwell Mar 18, 2026 08:16 AM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Hi all, Please join us for the forth installment of The Digital Shelf, Thursday March 26th at 1 PM EDT. Here is the full listing and you can register via zoom here. During this session you will hear directly from major publishers regarding: Offer models made available to libraires Their general ...

RE: PLA Ebook Meetup 1-2 PM CT in Conference Room 213 A/B at the Convention Center

Posted By Michael Blackwell Mar 18, 2026 08:14 AM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
I missed this question. It is April 2. Sorry not to reply sooner! Michael

What are "Reasonable" Terms for Library Digital Content?: Free Webinar

Posted By Michael Blackwell Feb 05, 2026 01:35 PM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Howdy, The Digital Shelf: Sustainable Library Ebooks (2/24) The last decade has brought many challenges to providing digital content in libraries. Unfavorable license terms, with costs often far more than libraries pay for print, have made ebooks and digital audiobook collections difficult ...

Core Ebooks IG : Digital Shelf Publishing & Library Forum on Ethical AI in Libraries

Posted By Michael Blackwell Jan 20, 2026 12:34 PM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Hi, all, This (free) webinar may be on interest, even though it is not specifically about ebook access: Ethical AI in Libraries: A Critical Look at the Promise and Potential We are at a critical juncture where generative artificial intelligence presents both immense promise and complex ethical ...

Introducing the Digital Shelf Publishing & Library Forum--First Event, December 9

Posted By Michael Blackwell Nov 04, 2025 11:11 AM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Hi all, Introducing a new free webinar series, The Digital Shelf Publishing & Library Forum, a collaborative webinar series from Lyrasis, ReadersFirst, and COSLA, that will provide a platform for open discussion about the evolving digital content ecosystem. Our goal is to foster honest, practical conversations ...

Take a Survey, Win a PUP Book

Posted By Michael Blackwell Oct 23, 2025 02:28 PM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Hello, Ebook Aficionados, The Princeton University Press would like to hear from public librarians, Please consider taking their survey. They will send you a book. Here are some details: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7QTM3JG Greetings from Princeton University Press! Hello! We are ...

Article Published in Computers in Libraries

Posted By Michael Blackwell Jul 07, 2025 12:27 PM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Hi all, The ReadersFirst Working Group has published an article in Computers in Libraries. We are happy that a long follow-up study to the Monash University/our 2018 study of the ebook book market in Canada and the USA was published in July of 2025. It's rather detailed, so to summarize: among ...

LIbrary Futures Podcast on Ebooks in Libraries

Posted By Michael Blackwell Jun 05, 2025 12:39 PM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Hello, Ebook Aficionados, Laura Crosset and Mary Needham from Library Futures are creating a podcast in three parts that will air over the next three weeks. It promises to be lively and provocative. If you have any interest in how library digital content is provided, acquired, read, and-al ...

Ebooks Interest Group Agenda updated (again)

Posted By Michael Blackwell Jun 02, 2025 12:53 PM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
"Ebook Friday" Agenda June 27, 2025: Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center, Room 103 B C 9:00: Introduction, Ground Rules 9:05 - 9:30: Andrew Albanese: his new site, trends in the digital market, thoughts on advocacy going forward (keynote) 9:45 to 19:45: Conversation: Where are we? Do ...

New Jersey's Ebook Bill Introduced

Posted By Michael Blackwell Jun 02, 2025 11:08 AM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Sen. Andrew Zwicker of New Jersey has introduced a bill that, if passed, would not only stand alone as an important step towards fair library digital content terms but would also "trigger" the new Connecticut law. Thank you, Sen. Zwicker! Andrew Albanese has provided a discussion on Words&Money, ...

eBooks, Collection Development Policies & AI

Posted By Michael Blackwell Jun 02, 2025 10:38 AM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Hi all, Sharing a post on the ReadersFirst site from Carmi Parker discussing a hot topic. What are your libraries doing about ebooks generated from AI "Content Farms"? Do you have a policy All best, Michael eBooks, Collection Development Policies & AI May 30, 2025 As we know ...

RE: ALA Annual CEIG Meeting

Posted By Michael Blackwell May 20, 2025 08:54 AM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Thanks for the info! I enjoyed talking with the Ocean State folks at last week's Eastern Ebook Summit Meeting. Would you please consider sharing your data at some point? We can arrange to post it on the RF site and to share here. I appreciate seeing use trends from all over. Michael

RE: ALA Annual CEIG Meeting

Posted By Michael Blackwell May 20, 2025 08:29 AM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Hello, Library Digital Content Aficionados, Carmi Parker has updated the ReadersFirst Publishers Price Watch, commenting as follows: As we have time, Readers First updates its Publisher Price Watch, a project where we select 20 popular books from each of the top trade publishers and compare their ...

RE: ALA Annual CEIG Meeting

Posted By Michael Blackwell May 16, 2025 01:24 PM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Hey all, Big news! Make that HUGE news! I am just back from the Eastern Ebook Summit, where I had the pleasure of sitting with Connecticut librarians as their legislature passed a bill for fair library digital content terms. They were very grateful to Maryland for leading the way and said they ...

ALA Annual CEIG Meeting

Posted By Michael Blackwell May 05, 2025 11:29 AM
Found In Egroup: Core Ebooks Interest Group \ view thread
Hi everyone, We have a room for our annual meeting: June 27 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM EDT Ebooks Interest Group Meeting Location: Pennsylvania Convention Center, Room 103 B C Here is an agenda. Please note it might change, but we're getting close to a final version. ...