Previous by Date Index by Date
Threaded Index
Next by Date


Previous by Thread Next by Thread


Re: CBC and Liblicense list

At 04:18 PM 4/12/98 -0400, you wrote:

>The following message, my first here, is a wake up call of sorts - be it a
>bit on edge and "counter culture" to what I'm seeing in this discussion.

Dear Mark,

Well done, your opinion on the anti-business slant of some of the
commentary from librarians.  Many of the comments in the lib-list reflect
naive thinking that gives a bad name to a good liberal arts education.  I
am in a similar situation, being a small publisher of academic titles, and
I am continuously amazed at the demand of some librarians that I become a
non-profit organization because any behavior otherwise is morally suspect. 
Yet these same librarians complain about the difficulty with ordering from
small publishers, how we should use an aggregator, become part of a major
distributor chain, and must discount single copies because of the
inconvienience we cause them with a small order.  Add to these reasonable
requests that we provide our titles for next to free, do not offend the
eye with advertisements, use the browser software they personally approve
of, and place no restrictions on access or use. 

As the Internet and e-pub medias are purportedly an equalizer for small
publishers, how come so few small publishers manage to survive producing
quality titles?  That answer must address the maturity of market.. which
to no small part is the librarians.  To them I say, show some purchasing
discrimination, critical analysis of quality (both content and delivery
media), and put your money where you mouth is. 

Like you, I have a very liberal policy of giving away CD-ROMs to teachers
and worthy educational organizations.  On one title of ours, the "Darwin
CD-ROM", I have given away over half as many as we have sold.  This title
has received many exceptional reviews by scholars (not computer
magazines), and how many libraries have purchased a network license? 
ZERO. 

Why do academic libraries subscribe to Time, Newsweek and People anyway? 
All they seem to record is the failure of journalism. 

Pete Goldie

**************************** 
* Pete Goldie, Ph.D.       *
* President                *
* Lightbinders, Inc.       ******
* 2325 Third Street - Suite 324 *
* San Francisco, CA  94107      *
*********************************************
* Internet: pg@lbin.com   http://lbin.com   * 
*********************************************
* Voice: 415-621-5746    Fax: 415-621-5898  *
*********************************************

*** NEW! DARWIN Multimedia CD-ROM 
- The Collective Works of Charles Darwin on CD-ROM (2nd Edition):
http://lbin.com/darwin/

*** NEW! Orchids of the Tropical New World CD-ROM:
http://lbin.com/orchids/



http://www.library.yale.edu/liblicense
© 1996, 1997 Yale University Library
Please read our Disclaimer
E-mail us with feedback