Amazon Tightens Its Chokehold

Goodreads, according to Salon’s own publishing maven, Laura Miller, “was the single major readers’ community independent of Amazon.” But maintaining that independence hasn’t been easy. Up until January 2012, Goodreads used the Amazon Product Advertising API as its primary source for book data. But as Jon Mitchell explained last year, getting in bed with Amazon comes with some rather stringent handcuffs. For one thing, Goodreads wasn’t allowed to use that data in conjunction with any site or app “designed or intended for use with a mobile phone or other handheld device.”

Disappointing indeed.

Nation's First Bookless Public Library Could Be in Texas

The library system, dubbed BiblioTech, proposes to make thousands of e-books available for county residents both online and at a 5,000-square-foot physical location on the South Side of the county, according to a statement issued by Bexar County officials. Visitors would be able to check out books to read on their own e-readers or tablets, or borrow one of the library’s 150 take-home e-readers.

Libraries See Opening as Bookstores Close

“A library has limited shelf space, so you almost have to think of it as a store, and stock it with the things that people want,” said Jason Kuhl, the executive director of the Arlington Heights Memorial Library. Renovations will turn part of the library’s first floor into an area resembling a bookshop that officials are calling the Marketplace, with cozy seating, vending machines and, above all, an abundance of best sellers.

As librarians across the nation struggle with the task of redefining their roles and responsibilities in a digital age, many public libraries are seeing an opportunity to fill the void created by the loss of traditional bookstores. They are increasingly adapting their collections and services based on the demands of library patrons, whom they now call customers.

Today’s libraries are reinventing themselves as vibrant town squares, showcasing the latest best sellers, lending Kindles loaded with e-books, and offering grass-roots technology training centers. Faced with the need to compete for shrinking municipal finances, libraries are determined to prove they can respond as quickly to the needs of the taxpayers as the police and fire department can.

“I think public libraries used to seem intimidating to many people, but today, they are becoming much more user-friendly, and are no longer these big, impersonal mausoleums,” said Jeannette Woodward, a former librarian and author of “Creating the Customer-Driven Library: Building on the Bookstore Model.”

10 Contemporary Politicians’ Favorite Books

Mitt Romney – The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Mitt Romney has gone on record saying he enjoyed the Twilight series. But his all-time favorites are Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and East of Eden, at least according to his Facebook page.

I’m speechless right now.