Chris Stephen interview on NCTI

Chris Stephen, Founder, ReadHowYouWant

Interview on NCTI web site.

This is a fascinating interview with the founder of ReadHowYouWant, the company for which I am now developing a library and institutional services program. Chris had a strong background in publishing and marking up electronic text when his sister developed MS and began having trouble reading. To help her, he applied his publishing and markup skills to create special fonts that her eyes could track on, as well as a software system for converting normal text to these fonts.

From the NCTI web site home page:

The National Center for Technology Innovation (NCTI) advances learning opportunities for all students, with a special focus on individuals with disabilities. Funded by the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education, NCTI offers technical guidance to facilitate growth and sustainability of assistive and learning tools by fostering innovative technology solutions.

Please note that the font examples giving in the interview are some of the more specialized ones that RHYW uses. Most of their books are printed in fonts that look quite conventional, except for being larger and darker, so they are perfect for public library large print sections.

The big thing that ReadHowYouWant does for most libraries is to produce these large font editions of books that previously were available only in smaller type.

He Wrote 200,000 Books (but Computers Did Some of the Work) - New York Times

He Wrote 200,000 Books (but Computers Did Some of the Work) - New York Times

This is one of the most brilliant applications of search and AI technology I have ever heard of. If you read the article, you will see that there are definite limits in terms of how well the computers can interpret the data that they gather, but on the other hand, if computers can be used to gather the data and present it in graphical format (with limited instruction from human editors) then much of the drudgery of locating and compiling statistics can be eliminated. The article gives the example of a book on market projects for bath mats in India, which would be of limited interest, but if you were in the bath mat business this book might be extremely useful considering the size and population of India. Fascinating!

ALA | School Library Media Month

ALA | School Library Media Month

Yes, it's April so it must be School Library Media Month.

isbndb.com - free ISBN database

isbndb.com - free ISBN database

I ran across this fascinating tool when one of my Google alerts picked up a title from one of the publishers I work with. Tracking down books by ISBN has always been a challenge, and here is a web-based tool that will help. Probably of most use to Tech Services people. Since other people seem to be quoting me about it, I thought I'd better mention it here.

Swiss Army Librarian » Another Announcement from OverDrive :: Brian Herzog

Swiss Army Librarian » Another Announcement from OverDrive :: Brian Herzog

This was an April fool spoof on the idea of large print audio books form OverDrive. I don't think it's that far-fetched if you are looking for large print ebooks, rather than over-enunciated audio (though I would love over-enunciated audio so I could hear words clearly over the road noise in my car).

Outsell Issues Forecast Report on Libraries

Outsell Issues Forecast Report on Libraries

Outsell is a research and consulting firm that specializes in publishing. They just issued a report on the global market for information spending by libraries. Well worth reading the article in Info Today if you don't want to pay for the full report.

A short article for the OYAN newsletter.

Graphic Novels on the Web

by Peyton Stafford

When I was a child, my parents bought me Classic Comics as a way of getting me interested in Greek and Roman mythology. As a young man, I subscribed to many of the Marvel Comics series and often ended up with two copies of each edition, since I would buy one copy at the local drugstore while waiting for my subscription copy to arrive by mail. The first graphic novel I read was Art Spiegelman's Maus, when he came to the old Looking Glass Bookstore in downtown Portland. Now, graphic novels are big business. We tend to think of them as hip and out of the mainstream, but a whole industry has grown up around publishing, marketing and distributing them. Here are some links to relevant web sites related to graphic novels, as they pertain to public libraries. If you use Delicious, you can also get them in the Graphic Novels bundle at http://del.icio.us/peytonstafford. The links below are only a few of the ones I have on Delicious, so you can get into the subject without becoming overwhelmed. Each link should open in a new browser window. If a link doesn't work, then just Google the link name.

Graphic Novels and Libraries

(good stuff if your boss doesn't think you should waste your budget on them) or if you are the boss and want a primer on what your YA librarians are talking about:

The Librarian's Guide to Anime and Manga

Good overview of the formats, their conventions, reviews, etc. Best place I have found to start learning.

Graphic Novels Sources for Libraries:

Diamond Book Distributors

THE major distributor. John Shableski works here. If you don't know who he is, then read this for some interesting insights into the business from someone who seems to eat, sleep and breath graphic novels:

http://mjroseblog.typepad.com/buzz_balls_hype/the_graphic_novels_guy/index.html

Ingram and some other general distributors handle some graphic novels, but they tend to get buried under science fiction and fantasy. Diamond's web site lets you focus on graphic novels without struggling to identify them among other formats. Why mess around? Diamond makes ordering them easy.

Graphic Novel Reviews & Collection Development:

ALA | 2008 Great Graphic Novels for Teens

YALSA's newest hot list. Read what your youth librarian colleagues think are the best.

Graphic Novels Core Collection

H.W. Wilson core collection recommendations. Reminds me that my interest in graphic novels doesn't make me weird anymore. H.W. Wilson's imprimatur says they're legitimate library material.

Graphic Novels for Public Libraries

Written by a public librarian. Dated 2003 so a little old but includes recommended opening day collection.

Words Without Borders

International reviews of literary works. Tip: use Google Site Search for Graphic Novels, and you will find author interviews and title information from around the world. The graphic novel format is popular far beyond North America and Japan.

And Last, Readers Advisory and info for aspiring authors:

The Graphic Novel Archive: trade paperbacks, manga, comic strip collections, original graphic novels.

Current info of interest to graphic novel authors. For librarians, searchable database of graphic novels by series, publisher, etc. Great for reader's advisory work and for filling in missing numbers in series.

no flying, no tights

Original blog of graphic novels reviews for teens. Also good for collection development.