The Biblio Files
eBooks and libraries: Checking it out for you!
[September 2005: please note that we are
no longer publishing this newsletter.]

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Welcome to Mind Like Water's debut, monthly newsletter about ebooks and libraries! You will receive this newsletter JUST this one time, unless you choose to subscribe to it. Details on how to subscribe are found at the bottom of this newsletter. We invite you to forward The Biblio Files to your colleagues and friends. 

Mind Like Water, Inc., is composed of a group of professional writers, artists and programmers dedicated to helping ebook authors publish and promote their ebooks. Since 1999, Mind Like Water has been offering innovative services and products, including one of the largest ebook directories on the Web at http://www.mindlikewater.com.

Our most recent initiative has been to help authors promote their ebooks to public libraries across the country. We created an ebook catalog that currently profiles over 100 authors and their works. The eBook Catalog is online at http://www.mindlikewater.com/ebook_catalog.html. We invite you to make this catalog available to your patrons by providing a link to it on your web site.

As part of our library initiative, we decided to launch a newsletter that would accomplish the following:

  (1) Allow libraries to share their views of, and problems and successes with, adding ebooks to their collections. The column Coming Unbound will feature a different library each month. If you would like to contribute an article for this column, please email me at dino@mindlikewater.com.

  (2) Educate libraries about ebooks. Each issue will contain an article that discusses an aspect of the ebook industry.

  (3) Introduce ebook authors and publishers who appear in our ebook catalog to libraries. Mind Like Water does not make any money off of the sales of ebooks by authors profiled in this newsletter. We are simply interested in bringing their works to the attention of libraries. 

I hope you enjoy the content provided in The Biblio Files, and we look forward to continuing this dialogue about ebooks and libraries.

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Coming Unbound: Cleveland Public Library (Cleveland, Ohio)
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The Cleveland Public Library (http://www.cpl.org), which was among the very earliest public libraries to provide public access to Internet resources, is coming unbound. The Cleveland Public Library this month launched CLEVNET Digital Library Connection (http://dlc.clevnet.org), an "on-line anytime, anywhere lending library" of electronic books, available to patrons with a CLEVNET library card. Patrons can check out up to three ebooks at a time from this digital library, which includes over 1,000 fiction and nonfiction titles. After going through the checkout process, the patron is directed to a page where the ebooks can be downloaded to the patron's computer. A novel of about 300 pages takes only a few minutes to download.

The CLEVNET Digital Library Connection offers titles for both Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader and Palm Reader. With Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader, a patron can read ebooks on a notebook or desktop computer. With Palm Reader, a patron can read ebooks on devices such as Palm Handheld, Sony Clie, or any other Palm OS device, as well as on a Windows or Macintosh desktop or laptop computer. The reader software can be downloaded for free from the library's web site. eBooks can be checked out for 21 days. The titles expire automatically after this time period, so patrons do not have to worry about returning the ebooks or receiving overdue fines.

Overdrive Digital Library Reserve (http://www.overdrive.com/library/how_it_works.asp) powers the CLEVNET Digital Library Connection. DLR allows a library to build and manage an ebook collection on the library's own web site. The library can choose from thousands of titles available from leading publishers, and control lending procedures such as number of titles each patron can check out and the length of the load period. Patrons have the flexibility to check out titles 24/7 using any personal computer connected to the Internet.

More information about Cleveland Public Library's CLEVNET Digital Library Connection is available at http://dlc.clevnet.org.

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What Are eBooks?, by Deron Douglas, Double Dragon Publishing
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While it may be too early to tell, it can be argued that the ebook -- a book that can be read electronically either on your computer or an electronic reading device -- may have as much influence on the publishing industry as Johannes Gutenberg's printing press. Gutenberg allowed the creation of inexpensive, mass-produced books at a time when a single volume would literally be printed by hand by a single individual. Depending on the complexity, this process could take months if not years to complete.

Like Gutenberg, the ebook has the effect of lowering costs for the consumer as well as production costs. A combination of ebook technology and the Internet is allowing more and more voices to be read. Thousands of quality writers that were not being read are now finding a venue through ebooks.

eBooks also seem to be acquiring a visage of legitimacy among the literary world. For example, on March 14, 2000, Stephen King released RIDING THE BULLET exclusively as an ebook. In the first day alone he sold over 40,000 copies. As another example, the Frankfurt Book Fair established seven book awards for ebooks with a total of $100,000 in prizes.

eBooks are a new frontier that is still in the process of being born. There are presently no standards for the design of an ebook, or implementation of the technology that it is dependent on. Since the form of the ebook changes and will change with the development of the technology that "presents" it, there is in reality a fluidity that must be taken into account and accepted until some type of standards are created.

As you may have guessed, an ebook brings with it a number of advantages over the traditional paper book. In a nutshell, this would be readability, usability and multimedia capability:

  -- Readability: eBook technology now allows a person to change the font size, type or color of print. A person can display the type on a single or double page, and in most cases have the text displayed on an illuminated background. Gone are the days of reading your favorite comic book under the covers with a flashlight!

  -- Usability: The ebook also allows for added functionality such as built-in dictionaries for easy lookup, electronic bookmarks to return to your previous spot, and the ability to keep notes.

  -- Multimedia Capability: Depending on the reader device, you can now have ebooks with sound, music or video. All this is meant to enhance the experience and make reading more enjoyable. One reader device even has the ability to read the ebook to you if you have a sound card installed on your computer. 

Within the library environment there would be additional advantages such as a savings in space, check in and out processing, and cost:

  -- Space: No longer will it be necessary to "shelve" large volumes of titles within costly space. Your entire ebook catalogue holding thousands of titles can now be "shelved" within a single personal computer, which itself requires a very small area to access.

  -- Check In and Out Processing: eBooks can be automatically downloaded by patrons, eliminating the need for someone to physically check out the book. And in many cases titles can be set to "expire" within a certain amount of time so that the need to physically bring in an ebook title and "check it in" is eliminated. eBook titles will automatically check themselves in once the loan period expires, with no human intervention required.

  -- Cost: eBooks traditionally cost much less than regular paper books. Depending on the  publisher, price can be in the neighborhood of $5.00 to $10.00 USD per title.

In the end, ebooks will be a means of providing more titles to library patrons at a significantly reduced cost to the library. The savings gained could then be applied to more fundamental programs or equipment.

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Mind Like Water's eBook Catalog: Over 100 author biographies, and synopses of their ebooks.
http://www.mindlikewater.com/ebook_catalog.html 

Pass it on to your patrons: Post a link to The eBook Catalog on your library's web site.

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eBook Author Profile: Anne Manning
http://www.mindlikewater.com/ebook_catalog.html 
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Anne Manning believes she was a Texan in a previous life. Most of her books are set in her beloved Texas, where she has lived with her family since 1999. Her household also includes three persnickety cats and a ferret named Arturo.

Anne was a finalist in 1998 in Romance Writers of America's Golden Heart contest and saw that novel, PRESIDENTIAL LIASON, published the next year to critical acclaim. Other works by Anne Manning are RUSTLER'S BRIDE, RIPPLES (finalist in 2001 for the EPPIE for Best Paranormal Romance), BLOODLINES, and The RAVEN'S LADY, which won the 2000 EPPIE for Best Paranormal Romance.

Anne is a member of Romance Writers of America, San Antonio Romance Writers, and EPIC, the Electronically Published Internet Connection, which she has served in many capacities, including as President.

"Romance has to be the best possible world for an optimist. There's always trouble, but there's always a happy ending. And hope for happiness is the greatest gift a writer can bring a reader," Anne says.

Title: BLOODLINES
Genre: Romance (Historical Fiction)
Two ambitious young men, rivals for the love of a beautiful, spirited girl... all bound by their love for a child who carries one man's name, the other man's blood.

Colter Ahern leaves more than his sweetheart behind when he leaves his Maryland home in 1843 bound for Ireland. Not knowing the reason for her hurried marriage to his rival, Colter curses Kitty for her betrayal, even while she haunts him.

Determined to be a good wife to the man who saved her from scandal, Kitty devotes herself to her husband and their children. Yet as their son grows more and more into the image of her first love, Kitty is reminded more and more of that one beautiful night spent in Colter's arms.

Colter's return rekindles buried passions... and renews old hatreds. A deranged plan to keep them parted even after they are again free to love one another leads to murder and puts the child they all love in danger. Can Colter and Kitty save their son and at last have the life they threw away with a single night's indiscretion? Or will a dead man succeed in keeping them apart?
http://www.eclectics.com/annemanning/index.html 
http://www.hardshell.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=0-7599-0292-5 
ISBN: 0-7599-0292-5 (electronic)
ISBN: 0-7599-0295-X (paperback)

Title: THE RAVEN'S LADY
Genre: Paranormal Romance (Historical Fiction)
A lonely, betrayed woman... A man seeking his mate... brought together by Ireland's magic across a thousand years and a thousand miles.

Rational scientist Eibhlin Fitzgerald tries to relegate the seven-foot tall warrior to her imagination, but with his flowing black hair, his black eyes alternately burning with desire and flashing with humor, he becomes more real to her than her cheating ex-husband. Warrior horseman Brandubh mac Dougal vows no other woman will fill the emptiness of his life but the tall, lushly beautiful woman who vanished from his sight as he reached for her. Crossing a millennium, Eibhlin falls into Brandubh's arms. Then she must decide whether to return to her own time or to remain with him, to be his lady.
http://www.annemanning.com 
ISBN: 1-891020-56-0 (electronic)

Title: RIPPLES
Genre: Paranormal Romance (Historical Fiction)
Norah Barclay finally found love in old age, only to lose it to the inevitability of death. Even as she railed at God, she knew her own choices had led her down the path which led to her sitting by the deathbed of Egan Corey as he drew his last breath. But she is not alone, even in the stillness of the night. Her grief is shared by One who can see the whole of the fabric of our lives, who decides, ". . .this time, for these two . . ." Norah has a chance to set all to rights. Can she avoid the tangled web that trapped her in a spinsters loneliness and Egan in a forced marriage?
http://www.eclectics.com/annemanning/ripples.html 
http://www.hardshell.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=1-58200-552-4 
ISBN: 1-58200-552-4 (electronic)
ISBN: 0-7599-0269-0 (paperback)

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eBook Author Profile: Joan Bramsch
http://www.mindlikewater.com/ebook_catalog.html 
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Joan Bramsch is a family person, educator, premium toy designer, writer and a publisher in traditional print and now in electronic books -- e-books. Her feature stories, interviews and articles appear in major international magazines and newspapers, both print and on the Internet. Six of her best-selling adult novels -- numbering near one million copies -- have been published in ten languages for worldwide distribution. She also writes the free Empowered Parenting Ezine for parents in 88 countries. Learn more at: http://www.EmpoweredParent.com.

Title: TEACH ME, I'M YOURS: IF YOU WANT YOUR CHILD TO BE SMART, YOU BE THE FIRST TEACHER!
Genre: Family -- parenting
How smart do you want your child to be? TEACH ME, I'M YOURS for ages 2.5 to 6 years will give you what you need to help your child -- gifted, average or special -- learn the skills for success in school and in life. 200 lessons, games, exercises and songs, all targeted and plainly labeled for specific learning needs.

"TEACH ME, I'M YOURS is an ideal way for parents to help their child grow in many areas... physical fitness, body awareness, physical perception and mental alertness. It is a well-designed, effective program for all young children. By using it, the children will gain self-control and self-confidence which will aid their self-actualization and lay the foundation for success in school and everyday life. This program is a must for all parents of preschool and primary school-age children." -- EDWARD J. MEELL, Formerly: Editorial Director, McGraw-Hill Films

TEACH ME, I'M YOURS is written with one goal in mind: To teach parents to teach their child. Not reading or writing or arithmetic -- though those are very important, but to teach the child skills that s/he will need to succeed in formal education.
http://joanbramsch.com/book-teachme.html 
ISBN: 0-934334-00-5 (electronic)

Title: KID SAFE: HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FAMILY FROM MOLESTERS AND KIDNAPPERS
by Joan Bramsch and Pam Coronado
Genre: Family -- parenting
Co-written by Joan Bramsch and Pam Coronado, an experienced private investigator who specializes in finding lost and kidnapped children, the authors believe children have a right to feel safe and loved and protected.

With KID SAFE parents can teach their child...safety rules, survival tactics, escape techniques, intuition, and role-playing games. With this information provided by top experts in the field of child abductions, parents learn how to protect their family from molesters and kidnappers. Your child and teen's life may depend on it!

Our goal was to help parents keep their family safe. To protect them from harm. To walk that fine line between keeping their innocence of childhood and youth and making sure they are streetwise and know the rules. We were successful! 

The results, produced by hard work, long hours and contributions from expert associates in the field of child abduction as well as public agencies, is a book we're proud to share with you because we know every chapter carries instructions for you to help keep your family safe.
http://joanbramsch.com/book-kidsafe.html 
ISBN: 0-934334-11-0 (electronic)

Title: CATER YOUR WAY TO RICHE$
Genre: Business and Finance -- small business opportunities
How many times have you been told, "You're a terrific cook! You should be in the catering business." And how many times have you thought to yourself, "It could be a great experience, being a caterer." But you were afraid! And you didn't know where to begin.

CATER YOUR WAY TO RICHE$ aims to quickly and easily fill in all those gaps with information. Information that will let you CATER YOUR WAY TO RICHE$ and to personal satisfaction. Even on a part-time basis, for once in your life, you can be the boss. Yes, for you, there is money to be made in catering.

This book will deal with the less demanding, less competitive, small type business that a new caterer/entrepreneur can handle from her or his own kitchen or that of the client.

Learn the legal requirements, what you'll need to start, how to make deals with suppliers, where to find and communicate with clients, how to design unique party ideas, how to plan ahead, even portion information for different types of gatherings -- receptions, birthday celebrations, afternoon teas, cocktail parties, business lunches.

Remember, each client has dozens and dozens of friends, relatives and business contacts, and each one is a potential customer. Your success depends solely on your fine service and quality food and drink.

Good cooks who fantasize about operating a small catering home-business will learn all they need to know to start a company from their own kitchen. Fast, factual information for creative caterer wannabees with more ideas than $$$s.

CATER YOUR WAY TO RICHE$ will provide all you need to know to successfully start your small catering business. Good Luck!
http://joanbramsch.com/books/cater.htm 
ISBN: 0-934334-03-x (electronic)

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Mind Like Water does not make any money off of the sales of ebooks by authors profiled in this newsletter. We are simply interested in bringing their works to the attention of libraries.