Library Programming for Teens Goes Virtual During Covid-19 - Publishers Weekly

While the post Panzer found today over at the Publishers Weekly site doesn't have anything to do with publishing, it does look like fun. The post is about what libraries are doing during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Publishers Weekly post by Sara Grochowski explains how libraries are dealing with the Covid-19 forced library shutdowns. Since all U.S. libraries are closed they've had to come up with new ways to present their programs and activities virtually for teens. The post includes an overview of five libraries and the ways they are offering each of their programs. The online activities range from trivia games to pet parades. There are links included in the post to most of the libraries' activities, but not all of them.

I can't wait to watch the parade.

Panzer says, "Mom! Mom! Where's What's His Name's cowardly lion costume from Halloween? There's going to be a pet parade at the library and he'll fit right in."

Note: This is a humongous post. Bring a thermos of tea and a dozen muffins for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links in the post, also bring half a gallon of cocoa and a dozen muffins and a dozen chocolate chip cookies (biscuits).

To read the post tootle over to Teen's library programs

Wintergatan - Marble Machine (music instrument using 2000 marbles)

Watch Just for Fun

B&N is Having Money Problems - The Digital Reader

It's not easy being a bookstore right now.

It's been a long time since Panzer has been to The Digital Reader site, so he decided to make a stop there today. With a little digging in the posts at the site he discovered a post about money problems at Barnes and Noble.

According to the post by The Digital Reader site owner Nate Hoffelder, Barnes and Noble earlier this month notified ebook distributors (Draft2Digital, Smashwords, etc.) the company would be late making payments for ebook sales and some distributors would be receiving only partial payments for their sales as well. Speculation is that because all of the Barnes and Noble bookstores are closed for face to face sales due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the company only has ebook sales as revenue to cover its expenses. The post includes links to previous posts and the Smashwords site about Barnes and Noble's late and slow payments.

Panzer says, "Inquiring kitties want to know, if you can still order a paperback (or hardcover) book online and then get it at the nearest Barnes and Noble bookstore (outside now) or did they quit doing that when they closed the stores?"

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for your reading selection. If you plan to follow the other links in the post, bring a second cup of tea and another muffin.

To read the post tootle over to Barnes and Noble

A New Panzerism

Panzer on helping Mom with her spring cleaning:

Mom said it's time for spring cleaning. She started in the bathroom.

She got one of those jars of mashed up flower stuff humans put on the toilet tank.

She said she wants the bathroom to be spring-time good-smelly.

I think she called it a poo-poo poo-pery jar.

Then she said she had everything clean in here.

Well ...

I don't think so.

I want to help her with her spring cleaning.

So ...

A quick flick of my awesome right paw ...

Oh look ... It floats. *

And ...

A splash ...

The toilet tank top is cleaned off.

Anything else you need help with Mom?



* From Cat Wisdom for humans

Kensington to Introduce Larger Mass Market Format - Publishers Weekly

Today, Panzer decided to make a trip to the Publishers Weekly site. With a little digging in the posts our inquisitive kitty boy found one about publisher Kensington's new paperback format.

A new market for Kensington?

According to Jim Milliot's post, publisher Kensington is introducing a new larger paperback format in September. The new format will be 4.75 x 7 inches with a new font. Of course, the increase in size means an increase in price of $1.00 more per book.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Larger format? Easier to read print? Appeal to an older reader market? Or just easier to hold?"

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Kensington

Authors Guild Petition to Close the National Emergency Library - Authors Guild

When Mom wasn't looking Panzer checked her email account and found an email from the Authors Guild about the Internet Archive's (IA) National Emergency Library. Panzer has posted about the Internet Archive and its National Emergency Library before.

It make this little kitty so angry.

According to the email Mom got, the Authors Guild has put together a letter to the Internet Archive asking them to close the National Emergency Library. Some of the reasons listed in the letter are that the National Emergency Library isn't a library at all it is a piracy site instead. This is because the site is committing copyright infringement by having authors' copyrighted works for free download without the authors' permission and without payment to the authors. After you read the letter there's a place at the top to the right to add your name and email to submit your name to the letter. (Be sure to click Submit.)

Panzer says, "It's not a library! Libraries don't steal the books!"

To read and sign the Authors Guild's petition tootle over to Open Letter
To read Panzer's previous post about the Internet Archive's National Emergency Library (with other links included there), tootle over to Internet Archive

Sweden's BookBeat Rides High on the Pandemic's Audiobook Boom - Publishing Perspectives

As Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today, he heard clapping and cheering outside the Panzermobile. Since our traveling kitty boy is getting really, really tired of hearing only bad news every day, he followed all the jocularity outside to the Publishing Perspectives site.There he discovered a post about the Swedish audiobook listening app BookBeat.

Are you tired of this virus thingy too?

According to the post by Porter Anderson, Sweden's BookBeat subscriber numbers are skyrocketing on the heels of the coraonavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Because of the pandemic lockdowns, people in Finland and Germany are flocking to the BookBeat subscription service app for their audiobook entertainment. BookBeat is a smartphone app for listening to audiobooks. The company's subscriber number has now hit 300,000 and is projected to continue to rise as the pandemic and lockdowns drag on. The last part of the post discusses the lack of commute time because of the lockdowns. This change in commute time has led to the loss of listeners for podcasts as listeners switch to audiobooks.

Panzer says, "MeWoW! 300,000! That's a lot of listeners!"

Note: This is a humongous length post. Bring a gallon of tea and twelve muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to BookBeat

Coronavirus: Germay Is To Follow Italy in Potential Bookstore Openings - Publishing Perspectives

What do you think? Too soon? Just right?

Today, Panzer made a quick stop at the Publishing Perspective site. There with some digging in the posts he found one about the limited re-opening of Germany's bookstores.

According to a post by Porter Anderson, Germany is easing coronavirus (Covid-19) restrictions by allowing small bookstores to open again. There are some restrictions on the bookstore patrons, such as social distancing will still be in place in the store. Germany is following Italy's relaxing of restrictions on bookstores.

Panzer says, "This is also a report about Covid-19 in Europe; so other news continues after the German bookstore announcement."

Note: This is a very long post. If you plan to only read about German bookstores, bring a cup of tea and a muffin. If, however, you plan to read the whole post, bring a quart of tea and four muffins.

To read the post tootle over to Germany's bookstores

A New Panzerism

Panzer on cat vocabulary:

Mom was carrying a roasting pan for cooking Sunday dinner ...

When ...

The phone rang ...

So ...

I love a good palindrome.

She set it down on the counter ..

And ...

I turned it into a nap-pan.

It's almost as good as a cardboard box.

Edgars Go Electronic - The Rap Sheet

Why not? That other human uses it all the time.

Today, Panzer found a short post at The Rap Sheet site about the Mystery Writers of America's annual Edgar Awards.

According to the post by j. Kingston Pierce, the Mystery Writers of America (MWA) plans to announce the Edgar Awards winners April 30 on Twitter. There are links in the post to the earlier announcement of the cancellation of the in-person Edgar Awards presentation and the newest announcement about the Edgars Twitter presentation.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... That virus thingy is ruining everybody's fun."

Note: This is a very short post. You won't need anything to eat or drink for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Edgars onTwitter

Bookwire Cites Growth in Spanish-Language Audiobooks, Ebooks - Publishing Perspectives

Today, Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard clapping and cheering outside the Panzermobile. Following all the happiness took our traveling kitty to the Publishing Perspective site. There with a little digging in the posts, he found one about the Spanish-language audio book and ebook market.

That virus thingy opened up the market?

According to Porter Anderson's post, the Spanish-language market for audio and ebooks is increasing. Bookwire reported a 36 percent increase in audio and ebook sales in 2019. There is speculation that because of the Covid-19 pandemic and the closing of physical bookstores there will be an even greater increase in 2020. The post includes graphs and charts showing sales, genres bought, subscription services and price points.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... Maybe this little kitty needs a Spanish-language version of his ebooks."

Note: This is a humongous post. Bring a thermos of tea and four muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Spanish language audio books

** In case you didn't figure it out, yesterday's free story Tex and his Stetsons is a re-imaging of Puss in Boots.

Free Short Story! - Fire Star Press**

Today, Panzer thought it would be fun to do something a little different. Our traveling kitty took a short trip to the Fire Star Press site. There he found a free short story.

Did you figure it out?

The short story, Tex and his Stetsons, by Angela Crider Neary, is a re-imaging of a fairy tale. The story features a cat with a certain magical ability.

Panzer says, "I'll leave it up to you to read the story and decide which fairy tale it's a re-imaging of."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of cocoa and a muffin for today's reading.

To read the post tootle over to free short story

**A tip of the kitty hat to Kevin Tipple for the heads-up about the story at his blog.

Internet Archive Responds to Senator's Concern Over National Emergency Library - Publishers Weekly

Panzer hasn't been to the Publishers Weekly site for a few days, so he decided to stop in there today. With a little digging in the posts our illustrious kitty found one about the Internet Archive.

All a pirate site has to do is call itself a library.

According to Andrew Albanese, the Internet Archive (IA) founder Brewster Kahle is still trying to justify IA's use of scanned books in his National Emergency Library. U.S. Senator Thom Tillis expressed his concerns over IA's scanning books which are still under copyright. In response Mr. Kahle sent a letter explaining why his National Emergency Library is responsible for providing teachers, school classes and students with the digital textbooks they need. According to him, instead of getting the books from school and giving them to the students at home, it's easier to just scan a book and let all the students use the same copy. This is, he says, brought about by the closing of libraries making textbooks unavailable to students. He doesn't, however, explain why his "library" is scanning authors' fiction books (some bestsellers) that in no way could be called textbooks. He does say he wants to engage with the Senate to change the copyright laws to make it legal for his "library" to use authors' and publishers' copyrighted books for his own purposes. This is an ongoing argument between Brewster Kahle on one side and authors, authors' groups, publishers and publishers' groups on the other side about copyright infringement.

Panzer says, "If you believe that stuff, I've got some ocean front property in Nevada for sale real cheap."

Note: This is a l-o-n-g post. Bring a cup of tea and two muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Internet Archive
To read a previous post about the Internet Archive tootle over to copyright violation
To read another previous post about the Internet Archive tootle over to online library

Trouble in Audible - Indies Unlimited

Today as Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere, the Panzermobile was suddenly buffeted by ranting and crying coming from outside. Following all the hullabaloo took our intrepid kitty boy to the Indies Unlimited site. There with no digging at all in the posts he found one about changes to Audible.

You scammer guys know it's stealing, right?

According to the post by Melissa Bowersock, scammers have taken up residence on Amazon's Audible. Amazon's audio book producer ACX has been letting authors and narrators of audio books give away free promo codes so listeners could get their audio books for free. Audible would then give the authors and narrators royalties on those free downloads as if they were bought downloads. Recently scammers have entered the market putting up "fake" audio books and using the free promo codes to game the system and get unearned royalties. ACX and Audible have now done away with the free promo code royalty system. Legitimate audio book authors and narrators are the ones being punished for what the scammers have been doing.

Panzer says, "Those scammer guys can't leave a good thing alone. They just have to ruin it for everybody else."

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Audible

A New Panzerism

Panzer on wishful thinking:

I heard What's His Name tell Mom he got the credit card bill today ...

And ...

If she didn't use the credit card to gamble at the online casino ...

And he knows he didn't ...

Then ...

He thinks somebody else in the house has a gambling problem.

Well ...

Where's the checkbook?

I'll bet you two pennies and What's His Name's lost wallet that I don't have a gambling problem.

I'd bet more ...

But he just cancelled the credit card.

Download: Publishing Perspectives 2020 Spring Magazine - Publishing Perspectives

I'm ready for a nap now.

Panzer was cleaning the dashboard in the Panzermobile when he happened to find a short post about the Publishing Perspectives Magazine in the glove compartment.

According to the announcement, you can download a free copy of the Spring 2020 issue of the magazine. In the post is a section about what's in the magazine. There's information included about China's comic book market, AI, Russia's book market and more global publishing news.

Panzer says, "This is a 24 page PDF."

Note: This is a short-short post. You won't even need a cup of tea for this download.

To read the post tootle over to Publishing Perspectives Magazine

Quad Closes Book Printing Operations - Publishers Weekly

Today, when Panzer was washing the outside of the Panzermobile he found a post wadded up behind the front bumper. Flattening it out, our fastidious kitty boy discovered it was a post from the Publishers Weekly site about book printer Quad.

Why no notice?

According to the post by Jim Milliot, without any notice to book publishers Quad closed it's book printing operation. Publishers now need to find new printers who can add the publishers' books to their printing schedules. Quad isn't replying to requests for clarification on the reason for closing their printing operations or if the company plans to reopen at a later date.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... The company closed their printing operations without telling anybody. That's not a good business practice."

Note: This is a short post. Bring a cup of tea for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to book printers

Announcing the 2020 Hugo Award Finalists - Tor.com

I won't have to travel now.

Panzer hasn't been to the Tor.com site for a while, so he decided to stop in there today. With a little digging the posts, our traveling kitty boy found one about the Hugo Awards. The Hugos are given each year in science fiction genre.

According to the post at Tor.com, the 2020 Hugo Awards, Lodestar Award, Astounding Award and 1945 Retro Hugo Awards finalists have been announced. The awards are to be presented at the 78th World Science Fiction Convention in New Zealand. This year because of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic the convention will be online. The post contains a link to the announcement of the transition to an online convention and the entire list of all the finalists in each division.

Panzer says, "At least the convention isn't cancelled."

Note: This is a humongous post. Bring a quart of tea and a dozen muffins for today's reading selection. You might also want to bring a blanket and a pillow for a nap in the middle of your reading, because there are a lot of divisions and a lot of finalists in each.

To read the post tootle over to Hugo Award finalists

Macmillan Lays Off Some Staff, Temporarily Cuts Some Salaries - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere when he heard crying and shouting coming from outside the Panzermobile. Following all the hullabaloo took our brave kitty boy to the Publishers Weekly site. With a little digging in the posts, he discovered one about publisher Macmillan's cost cutting efforts that was causing all the noise.

It may never be safe to leave here.

John Maher's post says publisher Macmillan has announced the company has laid off some staff members, closed the Thomas Dunn imprint and Tom Dunn has left the company. In addition, salaries for employees making more than $60,000 per year are being cut on an increasing scale ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent depending on the employee's salary amount. These cost cutting measures are in response to Covid-19's impact on closing book stores and the lack of book orders and book sales from those stores.

Panzer says, "That Covid-19 thingy is really impacting the book publishing industry."

Note: This is a medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Macmillan

A New Panzerism

Panzer on card games:

Everyone knows that dogs play poker ...

Because you've seen those paintings.

Well, cats play poker too ...

Only better.

You see ...

Dogs can't hide their emotions ...

Not even for a good poker hand.

You know ...

Panting and tails flapping like a broken windmill.

And you need a new deck of cards every few minutes from all that dog slobber.

Now cats ...

Do I look excited?

We invented the stone face.

Tell the truth ...

Have you ever seen a cat excited about anything?

Copyright Violation Redux: The Internet Archive's National Emergency Library - Writer Beware

Panzer hasn't been to the Writer Beware site for a while so he decided to stop in there today. With a little digging in the posts he found one about the chaos the Internet Archive is causing.

According to Victoria Strauss at the Writer Beware site, the Internet Archive's (IA) National Emergency Library is causing financial harm to authors. The post addresses authors' concerns about IA's unauthorized use of their copyrighted books. IA is scanning authors' books and then giving the digital books to reader for free. The authors and their publishers receive no payment for their books. The post explains the Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) theory that it's okay for IA and libraries to make unauthorized scanned copies of books. There are several links to authors' groups sites, publishers' groups sites, and individual author's sites containing information about and problems with the Internet Archive. The post also includes instructions for how to get your books removed from the IA site.

Repeat after me: Stealing is wrong.

Panzer says, "Hmm ... And libraries agree with this CDL stealing thingy?"

Note: This is a humongous post. Bring a quart of tea and a baker's dozen of muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Internet Archive copyright infringement

'Emergency' Online Library Draws Ire of Some Authors - The New York Times

As Panzer was tootling around in the Catosphere today, he decided to make a stop at The New York Times site. There he found a post about the Internet Archive's "National Library Emergency" declaration. Panzer told you about this so called 'Emergency' a couple of days ago.

According to the post by Alexandra Alter, the Internet Archive (IA) has 1.4 million digital books online. All those ebooks are available for anybody to "check out" for free. Some authors have found that without their permission their books were available on IA. These authors have been asking to have their books removed and most have been, although one author reported scanned copies were still available. It turns out IA has been scanning books and turning them into digital books without telling the authors or publishers what the company was doing. Authors and author groups see this as copyright infringement; however, IA says its not because they call themselves a library and scan donated and bought books.

We get our ebooks from the local library.

Panzer says, "This little kitty is wondering, since my local library system (King County Library System) here in western Wshington is advertising on television that you can check out ebooks and audio books from them online, what is the Internet Archive's emergency?"

Note: This is a long post. Bring two cups of tea and three muffins for today's reading selection.

To read the post tootle over to Internet Archive

To read Panzer's previous post about IA's Emergency declaration tootle over to Authors Guild outraged

No Post Today

Today is Mom and What's His Name's anniversary.

We'll be back tomorrow.