| Writer Scott Snyder and artist Sean Murphy revealed this week that Detective Comics #27 will include a glimpse at a Batman first: A black Robin. Batman has had a sidekick named Robin for almost as long as he has been around himself: Batman debuted in Detective Comics #27 in 1939, and Robin came along less than a year later, in Detective Comics #38. For the first 43 years, Robin was Dick Grayson, but since then, Batman’s sidekick has changed frequently: Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, and Batman’s own son, Damian Wayne. Currently, there is a vacancy for the position. But Snyder and Murphy aren’t planning to fill it anytime soon. CBR compiled some of their Tweets, in which they discuss the new character, and it’s clear that this will be just a fleeting glimpse of a possible future Robin. “Now the structure of the story is such that you see a LOT of time pass, and w/o giving too much away, the Robin in question only appears in a brief moment. And whether or not he’ll ever make it into some future continuity, I have no idea,” Snyder Tweeted. DC started renumbering Detective Comics with #1 when they rebooted it two years ago as part of the New 52. With the historic issue #27 coming around again, group editor Mike Marts explained in another CBR article, DC decided to do a special issue, kicking off the “Gothtopia” storyline, written by John Layman and illustrated by Jason Fabok, and backing it up with a number of short stories that comment on Batman’s timeless, mythic nature. Snyder and Murphy’s future-Robin story is one of these side stories. (DC has a number of comics that feature the Caped Crusader; Snyder is the lead writer on Batman and Murphy has done some Batman work as well.) Reaction has been so positive, though, that this Robin might become a reality after all. “to be clear-NO ONE seemed upset about a black Robin, dude,” Snyder Tweeted on Friday after word got out. “Opposite. I don’t want to get people’s hopes up about his role is all” “Agreed–people seem thrilled about this,” Murphy responded. “Hope the book does well so we get a chance to do more with him.” Batman Team Shares a Glimpse of a Black Robin—From the Future is a post from: E-Reader News |
Monday, November 18, 2013
Batman Team Shares a Glimpse of a Black Robin—From the Future
Good e-Reader Radio – GoodReads Update, Kindle Accessories and iPad News
| Welcome to another edition of the Good e-Reader Radio Show with Michael Kozlowski and Jeremy Greenfield. Today we talk about the new firmware update for Amazon Kindle Tablets that adds GoodReads functionality. This allows customers to be able to share, review and talk with other like minded souls about the books they love. We live in a world of personalization where people have the ability to craft their technology to their own needs. Motorola is allowing customers to change the colors on their phone cases, camera lens and accents. Amazon just launched their new customized cases that allow people to upload their own pictures and designs on Kindle accessories. Sourcebooks has just signed an agreement with Hello Kitty to put your child in the books. We talk about all of this and more! Finally, there is a new Barnes and Noble Nook Glowlight e-Reader and Apple iPad Mini with Retina tablet available now. We tell you a bit about about these devices and how they will do in the current market climate this holiday season. A great show as always, so check it out! Good e-Reader Radio – GoodReads Update, Kindle Accessories and iPad News is a post from: E-Reader News |
AASL 2013 conference wrap up
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What do you get when you cross 2,400 school librarians and the world's leading distributor of digital content? Lots of excitement in the OverDrive booth at the AASL Conference in Hartford, Conn.!
It was a busy few days with lots of exciting events and announcements:
OverDrive looks forward to meeting with school librarians in Columbus, Ohio for AASL 2015!
Bailey Hotujac is a School Launch Specialist in Collection Development at OverDrive.
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ePubDirect Partners with Oyster for eBook Distribution
| Publishers using the ePubDirect system can select Oyster as an outlet on their distribution platform, only titles with US rights will be sent to Oyster at the moment as Oyster is a US based subscription service. There are currently more than 200 publishers using the ePubDirect eBook distribution system . In addition to supplying the channel, ePubDirect also provide analytics and sales reports for the channel to publishers who have selected Oyster. These reports show details of sales by title, territory, date and revenue. App based, Oyster allows users to get unlimited access to a library of books for one monthly price. Designed for Apple iOS7, the easy to use app was designed from the ground up to optimize the reading experience on mobile devices. Oyster combines discovery with access and reading, so users will be able to get recommendations and immediately begin reading. "ePubDirect work continuously to add the most relevant retailers to our eBook Distribution service, and we are very excited to be able to add Oyster to our platform", explained Gareth Cuddy, CEO, ePubDirect. "Oysters app based subscription model extends our publishers reach and offers our customers new discoverability and sales opportunities." ePubDirect Partners with Oyster for eBook Distribution is a post from: E-Reader News |
OverDrive Launches Streaming Video Service Pilot Program
| Overdrive revealed exclusively to Good e-Reader at Book Expo America their new streaming video platform that allows libraries to offer video in addition to eBooks and audiobooks. Today the first phase of their pilot project is finally getting off the ground at the Los Angeles Public Library. The video service ties into libraries existing ILS systems and titles are available to purchase instantly. The video titles are housed on the same platform as all of your eBook, audiobook and music titles, creating a simple, one-location user experience for the patrons. This means, that users can watch the videos in the same app as they use to read eBooks. When libraries purchase videos a large number of titles are available under a one copy/one user access plan. They also offer Streaming Video collections under simultaneous access plans. OverDrive will also support new metered access models for streaming video such as Cost per Checkout (CPC) as required by select studios. "OverDrive's Streaming Video service allows us to expand the library's e-media offerings while dramatically improving convenience and our users' experience," says Peggy Murphy, Principal Librarian and Collection Services Manager. "For the user, it couldn't be easier. There are no apps to install, no software to download – like they're used to doing with OverDrive Read, they can just click on a title and instantly enjoy!" OverDrive Launches Streaming Video Service Pilot Program is a post from: E-Reader News |
Amazon adds Goodreads Functionality to Kindle Fire HDX
| Amazon acquired the eBook social community website GoodReads back in March for $100 million dollars. The intent behind the purchase was to integrate social reviews and book discovery experience into the Kindle Fire and Paperwhite e-Readers. Today, almost a full month after the new Kindle tablets have been out, Amazon has announced a new firmware update that gives users new GoodReads interface. The free OTA update will give Kindle Fire HDX users a number of new abilities, such as; Effortlessly capture and share favorite quotes with Goodreads friends from inside the book, See what friends are reading with the Goodreads updates feed and add books to your want-to-read shelf, making choosing a new book easier than ever, Rate and review a book you’ve've just finished and immediately share it with Goodreads friends and Import all of the books you'you’ve purchased from Amazon—print and Kindle books—into your Goodreads account. Goodreads was founded in 2007 and currently has over 16 million members and over 30,000 bookclubs. Users have added 530 million books to their shelves and written more than 23 million reviews. Authors are attracted to the GoodReads ecosystem, mainly because this is where the users are and the entire interface is fairly intuitive. Over 74,000 authors are registered in the system, actively engaging in Q/A and addressing questions from their fan base. James Patterson, Margaret Atwood, John Grisham, Nicolas Sparks, E.L. James, and Neil Gaiman are a few examples of the more active names. Amazon adds Goodreads Functionality to Kindle Fire HDX is a post from: E-Reader News |
Google Court Decision Has Implications for Readers with Print Disabilities
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According to a blog post by Bill Steele for Cornell University, access to books is not universal. “Perhaps we should just say ‘equal’ access. Most people can walk into a library, pick up a book and read it, but a person with a visual impairment or a reading disability such as dyslexia must rely on computer assistance, using software that reads digital text out loud, enlarges the type on a screen or converts the text to braille. This requires access to the full text of the work in digital form.” Like many libraries, Cornell had initially begun scanning its collection for its own uses, including use by students and faculty members with limitations on print consumption, as well as supporting the national HathiTrust with its scanned content. When Google launched its worldwide project, Cornell began turning over content to the project, to the tune of about 1,000 items per week. But when the Authors Guild put a temporary stop to the undertaking, a great number of students and researchers stood to lose out, not just from not having geographical access to the various international collections, but by not having the basic ability to consume a book that many readers take for granted. As Steele points out in his post, this access to digitized editions for those with specific needs is not the free-for-all that critics might argue. There are verifiable steps that patrons must take in order to have access to scanned works, steps that–again–the average reader not only does not have to endure, but also does not even have to think about. The recent decision to dismiss the Authors Guild’s case against Google will hopefully speed up the once forward-moving project to enable book access for everyone.
Google Court Decision Has Implications for Readers with Print Disabilities is a post from: E-Reader News |
Fire OS 3.1 Software Update for Kindle Fire HDX Adds Lots of New Features
| Today Amazon released the promised mid-November software update for their new line of Kindle Fire HDX tablets as well as this year’s $139 Kindle Fire HD that adds a number of new features, including Goodreads integration, Cloud Collections, and more. Most of these new features have been advertised all along, so it’s good to see […] |
Grab the popcorn: OverDrive is going Hollywood with Streaming Video!
| OverDrive's much-anticipated Streaming Video lending service has launched in its first pilot at Los Angeles Public Library (http://lapl.lib.overdrive.com) with great success. The Streaming Video service is a convenient and exciting way to instantly watch videos anytime, anywhere, on any computer, tablet or mobile device with an internet connection.
Adding streaming video titles is completely seamless for our library partners; there is no software installation or learning curve involved. The video titles are housed on the same platform as all of your eBook, audiobook and music titles, creating a simple, one-location user experience for your patrons. The OverDrive APIs and our free MARC records integrate your streaming videos into your OPAC or ILS, so your patrons don't have to go anywhere else to get the materials they want.
Once you adopt our Streaming Video service, titles are available for you to curate and purchase from within the OverDrive Marketplace just as you would find an eBook or audiobook today. Streaming Video titles are offered with familiar access models (one title/one user and simultaneous access) to keep purchasing as easy as possible. OverDrive Streaming Videos can be sampled on the OverDrive Media Station and showcased right within your library so you can introduce the new service to your patrons easily. "OverDrive's Streaming Video service allows us to expand the library's e-media offerings while dramatically improving convenience and our users' experience," says Peggy Murphy, Principal Librarian and Collection Services Manager. "For the user, it couldn't be easier. There are no apps to install, no software to download – like they're used to doing with OverDrive Read, they can just click on a title and instantly enjoy!"
One title/one user and simultaneous access models go live in pilot
Patrons can have fun just viewing samples or checking out streaming video titles of all kinds including award-winning Independent films, children's videos, foreign films, documentaries, comedies, dramas, educational videos and more. Movies starring Academy Award-winning actors such as Forest Whitaker, William Hurt, Cate Blanchett, Susan Sarandon, Philip Seymour Hoffman and others are accessible with one click through the OverDrive-powered digital library website. Whether you're interested in learning guitar, catching up on classical adaptations of Huckleberry Finn or The Gift of the Magi, or entertaining your family with titles like Inspector Gadget or The Adventures of Paddington Bear, we've got you covered. Lee Milstein, Erica Lazzaro and team have been busy in California talking with major motion picture studios, and big announcements are coming soon! Thousands of additional titles in all genres from major studios, including Hollywood blockbusters, will be added on a continual basis.
The new Streaming Video service is replacing OverDrive's download video (WMV) service that has been on the market for many years. Library WMV titles will be removed from the website and replaced automatically with streaming video titles wherever possible.
OverDrive is going live with several libraries as part of a limited pilot program starting this month. Additional information about OverDrive Streaming Video service is coming soon – keep reading our blog for the latest updates, and contact your Collection Development Specialist to learn more. In the meantime, check out search.overdrive.com to see our available Streaming Video titles.
Heather Tunstall is the Public Relations Specialist at OverDrive.
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