Monthly Archive for September, 2010

Q&A with Herbert Burkert

Published on September 29, 2010 in News. 0 Comments
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Herbert Burkert will be giving a plenary session, 7 November, at the 2010 Book Conference in St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Herbert Burkert is President of the Research Centre for Information Law at the University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, where he also teaches Public Law, Information and Communication Law. He holds a position as Senior Research Fellow at the Fraunhofer Institute for Intelligent Analysis and Information Systems, St. Augustin, Germany (currently on leave of absence). He is serving as an International Fellow at the Information Society Project, Yale Law School, New Haven, USA, as “Collaborateur Scientifique” of the Centre de Recherches Informatique et Droit, Facultés Universitäires Notre-Dame de la Paix, Namur, Belgium. He is the Executive Board Member of a foundation for contemporary art in Germany.

What’s the main idea that has motivated your work?

Clarity.

Where or when do you find yourself most productive?

On boats, and trains, and planes.

Who have been your biggest heroes/heroines? And why?

Everyday people – because of their courage.

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Q&A with Wulf D. von Lucius

Published on September 29, 2010 in Headline and Newsletter. 0 Comments
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Wulf D. von Lucius will be giving a plenary session, 7 November, at the 2010 Book Conference in St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Wulf D. von Lucius is the Director of Lucius & Lucius Verlag in Stuttgart, Germany and has been with them since 1996. Since 1970, he has been engaged in honorary positions in the book trade, both nationally and internationally, with a focus on copyright. He was chair of the STM Copyright Committee from 1990-93, Chair of IPCC 91/92 and 97/98, Chair of the German copyright committee 1994-2008 and was on the IPA’s Copyright Committee from 1997-2000. Additionally, he has been a member of the Board of the German National Library since 1980. His published works include Bücherlust – Vom Sammeln (2000. DuMont) and Verlagswirtschaft (Second ed. 2007. UVK).

Beyond his work, he has a passion for collecting books of special artistic value (typography, illustration, binding) with an emphasis on contemporary artist books.

What’s the main idea that has motivated your work?

To perform good Services for our authors and the scientific community.

Where or when do you find yourself most productive?

At my desk on quiet late afternoons (no telephone calls, no mails).

Who have been your biggest heroes/heroines? And why?

Colleagues who combined competence with regard to the contents of their books with intense marketing abilities.

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Call For Papers–One week to go

Published on September 28, 2010 in Conference. 0 Comments

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The final deadline in the Call for Papers for the 2010 Book Conference, held at the University of St. Gallen in St. Gallen, Switzerland is 5 October 2010. Participants are invited to submit proposals as either 30-minute, 60-minute or 90-minute sessions. A virtual proposal is also available if you are unable to attend the conference in-person.

View a full list of the 2010 Book Conference Themes. Also, further information on the conference may be found at the Book Conference main page.

We hope to see you in St. Gallen this November!

Book Your Conference Tour–Abbey Library of St. Gallen

Published on September 25, 2010 in Headline and Newsletter. 0 Comments

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During the 2010 Book Conference, tour the renowned Abbey Library of St. Gallen. The Library houses the oldest collection of books and manuscripts in Switzerland, with pieces dating back to the 8th century. All library books are available for public use, and most recently, a virtual library was created to provide access to the medieval codices of the Abbey Library of St. Gallen. The hall itself, designed in classic Rococo style, is considered to be one of the most beautiful, non-sacred, examples of this style in Switzerland and abroad.

For more information or to book your ticket for this tour on Friday, 5 November, see the conference Activities and Extras.

Chocolaterie and St. Gallen Old Town Tour–Now available

Published on September 24, 2010 in Headline and Newsletter. 0 Comments

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Join us and your Book Conference friends and colleagues for a tour and tasting at the Chocolaterie am Klosterplatz followed by a walking tour and stories of the Abbey District and Old Town of St. Gallen on Saturday, 6 November.

St. Gallen’s colorful past and present will unfold as you stroll through the magical old town — the world-famous oriels, the cozy lanes, the lively squares with their friendly street cafés.

To reserve your place on the tour or for more information, please see the conference Activities and Extras.

The Death of the Book has Been Greatly Exaggerated

Published on September 23, 2010 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

ipad-book-burningFrom Christopher Mims’s blog Mims’s Bits:

Tech pundits recently moved up the date for the death of the book, to sometime around 2015, inspired largely by the rapid adoption of the iPad and the success of Amazon’s Kindle e-reader. But in their rush to christen a new era of media consumption, have the pundits overreached?

I’m calling the peak of inflated expectations now. Get ready for the next phase of the hype cycle – the trough of disillusionment.

The signs of a hype bubble are all around us. Mostly in the form of irrational exuberance.

For more…

Tao Lin: Lit “it boy” for the Internet age

Published on September 8, 2010 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

md_horizFrom Daniel B. Roberts in Salon.com:

Tao Lin is the next big thing in urban hipster lit. At least, so say the people that read his books on the subway. “That guy is the next big thing,” announced one last fall to a stranger eyeing his book. “People just don’t know it yet.”

The book he showed off was “Shoplifting From American Apparel,” the novella by 26-year-old Brooklyn, N.Y., author Tao Lin. Of course this exchange happened on the L train, which moves through the heart of hipster Brooklyn, and of course the guy was wearing Converse Chucks, skinny jeans and a tight flannel shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He looked about 27.

…

What fame Lin has already achieved is a testament to his ability to master viral and unconventional publicity techniques. In July 2008, Lin sold six shares of “Richard Yates” online. The winning bidders gave him $2,000 each in exchange for 10 percent of the domestic profits that come from “Yates.” As he says with a laugh, “If it doesn’t make very much, that’s their loss.” Inevitably, Stephen Elliott’s Lin-adoring online outlet the Rumpus named “Richard Yates” the August selection for its newly launched book club, four months before the book’s publication. James Frey has endorsed “Yates,” and the New York Observer recently published a profile of Lin written in his own distinctive style.

For more…

To every page, turn, turn, turn

Published on September 7, 2010 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

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From Times Higher Education…

“Do you read a book a week?” a student asked me one day in class, a note of sarcasm colouring his frustration with the course’s reading load.

“No,” I said, after a suitable pause. “I don’t read a book a week. I read four or five books a week.”

Usually I would not have responded at all, but I felt that the other students deserved to hear my answer because implicit in his question was a dismissal of the importance of books – not just in my life, but also in the lives of many of his peers.

My teaching career was far advanced before it occurred to me that reading – deep reading – might need any defence. I have always looked upon interacting with the written word as a natural and indispensable part of life that, like breathing, requires no justification. Yet all too often I encounter students who cannot name the last book they read for pleasure; neither, for that matter, can many adults, and I am frequently struck by how many otherwise handsomely appointed homes have no books in sight.

This decline in the frequency and breadth of reading among the general population stems, at least in part, from the dramatic shift in priorities and lifestyles that has occurred since the close of the 19th century, a shift driven by the engines of commerce and technology. The causes are complex, but a few factors seem painfully clear to me. More…

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