We thought we’d never see the day, given the labyrinthian issue of digital rights protection, Apple compatibility and several publishers’ reluctance to make their audios available without DRM for library borrowing, but OverDrive made this announcement yesterday,

…digital audiobook catalogs from leading publishers will be compatible with iPod® and other Apple® devices after a simple upgrade of OverDrive’s free, easy-to-use audiobook software…Participating publishers include Random House Audio, Hachette Audio, Penguin Audio, BBC Audiobooks America, Brilliance Audio, Tantor Media, and many more.

Beginning in mid-June, OverDrive’s “Transfer Wizard” will enable iPod compatibility. According to OverDrive’s David Burleigh, “A simple software upgrade is all it takes to allow the transfer of thousands of additional bestsellers to the popular media player.”

This seems like a win-win for all parties. Publishers will still have Digital Rights Management software and libraries can now offer audios for the most popular listening device.

Tell your teens that they will soon be able to download Twilight from the library to their iPods!

The full press release is available here.

The hot book news from the weekend is that Amazon suddenly and inexplicably stripped sales rankings from  ”adult” books (which includes gay-themed books, even those that wouldn’t get an R-rating, such as Ellen Degeneres’s bio). Online sites lit up in outrage, boycotts were threatened, and the tag #amazonfail became the top trending topic on Twitter.

Amazon is now saying this was a “glitch” and will be fixed shortly. We may never know the truth of what happened, but it’s another lesson in how swift the reaction can be from unhappy customers.

A new Twitter group has formed, #glitchmyass.

Salon, Why did gay books disappear from Amazon?

PC Magazine, Amazon Eliminates Sales Rankings; Twitter Erupts

Entertainment Weekly, Amazon.com under criticism for de-ranking gay-themed books

The Guardian, ‘Gay writing’ falls foul of Amazon sales ranking system

Los Angeles Times, Jacket Copy blog, Amazon responds to queries, blames a ‘glitch’

Many of you knew Jean Scrnecz, B&T Sr. VP of Merchandising (translation: head of buying and inventory management), who was killed in a plane crash in Buffalo last month. Today’s Shelf Awareness has a touching recap of the memorial service held for her last Saturday.

In her honor, B&T has created a scholarship fund in her name for the children of B&T employees. Donations can be sent to the Jean Srnecz Memorial Scholarship Fund at the Baker & Taylor Foundation. For more information, e-mail btfoundation@btol.com.

We’re happy to welcome the HarperCollins Library Marketing team to the library book blogging world.

That’s Virginia Stanley, head of the department in the middle; with Kayleigh George on the left and Bobby Brinson, right.

Yes, they always dress that well.

They’re calling their new blog “Library Love Fest” and they’re living up to the title by offering lots of goodies (my personal favorites are the pix of the team as kids. Jeez, Virginia, you always were an imp!).

Others may prefer the galley giveways (currently, they’re offering  The Laws of Harmony, by Judith Ryan Hendricks – click here for info. on entering) and live author interviews (Mary Kay Andrews is coming up).

Harper is the most recent in a growing trend of adult library marketing departments blogging. Random House Library began theirs a few months ago: Random House Library Blog.

In audio, PlayAway started Just Press Play, which highlights new titles on PlayAway; good for keeping up with simultaneous releases (the new 39 Clues is on PlayAway as well several titles on the current NYT bestseller list).

I believe that the more you know about publishers and how they choose which books to publish, the better buyer and readers advisor you are. That’s why I am excited to introduce a series of podcasts from the publishers at Perseus Book Group, made specifically for Early Word readers, about titles they are bringing out in late Spring. Click here, or on the banner ad above, to hear what they have to say. In addition to listening to the podcasts on the site, you can download them to your iPod or MP3 player.

The podcasts represent a wide range of publishers who are well-represented in libraries (links are to the individual publisher’s podcast pages). 

• Avalon Travel, Bill Newlin, Publisher

“Publishers of Rick Steves, Moon, and many other series and travel guides.”

• Basic Books, John Sherer, Publisher

“Renowned publisher of serious nonfiction by leading intellectuals, scholars and journalists.”

• Da Capo Press, John Radziewicz, Publisher

“Entertaining and Informative Books for the Way You Live.”

• PublicAffairs, Susan Weinberg, Publisher

“Good Books about Things That Matter”

• Running Press, Jon Anderson, Publisher

“Creative…Engaging…and Lots of Fun”

• Seal Press, Krista Lyons, Publisher

“Groundbreaking Books. By Women. For Women”

• Vanguard Press, Roger Cooper, Publisher

“Bringing you the best in general trade fiction and nonfiction books”

• Westview Press, Cathleen Tetro

“Distinguished publisher of academic and college books in the social sciences, humanities, and sciences”

Give them a listen and let us know what you think.

OverDrive announces the debut of the Overdrive Media Console for the Mac today. 

Earlier this summer, OverDrive announced they had been able to break through roadblocks to make some titles downloadable in the MP3 format (the format that runs on Mac, iPods and iPhones). The Media Console makes downloading and managing those titles easier for library customers.

Unfortunately, there are fewer titles available from OverDrive in Mac’s MP3 format than there are in the Microsoft format (Windows Media Audio, or WMA), which is often difficult to explain to library customers.

In order to make titles available in MP3, publishers must be willing to offer titles without Digital Rights Management software (the software that puts limits on how the audio can be used). This is because Apple software can only read titles encrypted with Apple’s DRM, available exclusively on titles downloaded through iTunes and Audible. Thus, OverDrive cannot encrypt DRM on titles in MP3 format the way they can titles in the Windows format.

Many publishers have been reluctant to give up DRM for fear of piracy (true, publishers don’t seem overly worried that CD’s can be ripped and downloaded, but that takes a bit more effort). Random House recently made their titles DRM-free, so they could be sold to iPod users through more vendors than Audible and iTunes. However, they specifically excluded libraries from this arrangement, because, they said in their press release, without DRM, there’s no way to limit “borrowing privileges.”

Until Apple makes its DRM software available to other vendors, or until all publishers make their titles available DRM free to libraries, you will have to continue to try to explain why iPod users can only download a limited number of titles.

If you’re a glutton for punishment and want to learn more about DRM, check out A Closer Look at Digital Rights Management from Law.com.

OverDrive just announced that Tantor’s audio titles have been added to their collection of downloadable titles. Tantor’s catalog includes popular titles such as Three Cups of Tea, White Tiger, and Chelsea Handler’s Horizontal Life.

Tantor’s downloadable catalogs are listed below:

Winter Quarterly, with full backlist

Spring Quarterly

Summer Quarterly

October Monthly

November Monthly

OverDrive announced today that Penguin audio and eBook are now downloadable from their system. Libraries can add the titles to their collections by going to OverDrive’s collection development portal at www.contentreserve.com.

Penguin imprints include:

• G.P. Putnam’s Sons
• Viking
• Berkley Books
• Dutton
• Riverhead Books
• New American Library
• Grosset & Dunlap
• Penguin Books
• The Penguin Press
• Philomel
• Plume
• Puffin

All week on my local NPR station, I’ve been hearing ads for NYPL’s event in Central Park this Sunday, “The Digital Bookmobile“ 

This is the first event in Overdrive’s “Digital Bookmobile’s National Tour” (hey, I hope there’s t-shirts!)

What a brilliant idea; by helping the library promote the service, OverDrive insures that library customers use it (they even sprang for the NPR ads).

The Digital Bookmobile is an 18-wheeler (the increased cost of gas must be causing agida). After New York, the Bookmobile will travel to Boston, Long Island, Washington D.C., and places in between (I plan to be there when it come to Brooklyn P.L. on Tuesday).

This follows on the heels of the successful Digipalooza event that OverDrive held in Cleveland last month, the second “international user group conference of OverDrive partner libraries.” From reports of bloggers, it was an inspiring event (e.g., Thoughts of a Well-Rounded Librarian and Top Librarian). OverDrive plans to do a third Digipalooza, but haven’t selected a date yet.

Can libraries look forward to offering downloadable audiobooks for iPods now that Random House will no longer encrypt their audios with digital rights management software? In a word, no.

In the Wall Street Journal on Monday [full article available only to WSJ subscribers], RH Audio publisher Madeline McIntosh explained why they’ve decided to abandon DRM, “If we insist on using DRM, our audiobooks can’t be sold to consumers who have iPods, unless they buy them from Audible or iTunes.”

The Journal article did not address the situation for libraries, but in a letter (posted on Corey Doctorow’s site, craphound.com) sent to agents on Thursday, RH Audio publisher McIntosh emphatically states (bold-faced items are in the original) that nothing will change in that area:

We are not making any changes at all to our library digital download program. That marketplace operates under very different conditions than retail. In the library environment, DRM is used not just to prevent copying, but also to control the limited borrowing privileges attached to the digital library edition. To be clear: all titles distributed in download form from our Books on Tape and Listening Library lists through our two existing library distribution partners, OverDrive and NetLibrary, will continue to have DRM.

Our friends over at Shelf Awareness report (under “Childrens Book News”) that Tim Ditlow, who just recently left Listening Library (founded by his father and purchased by Random House in 1999), is now joining Brilliance Audio (another family company, recently bought by Amazon}.