For those who don’t already know, Biblio Charitable Works is a 501c(3) non-profit which has done some terrific work over the past 5 years, most notably in Bolivia, where it has built and maintains 7 community libraries in underprivileged rural areas.

Original begun in 2004 as a charitable outreach project of Biblio.com, it “got its wings” in 2005 when it became a public non-profit.   It will be building another library in Bolivia this summer (location TBD - narrowed down to three at this point), and will need to raise just $10k to do so.  Please consider helping through your generous donation to educating underprivileged children in South America’s poorest nation.

Its really fascinating to me that this matter should even be subject to a 6-year long debate.  Google wants to presumptively violate authors’ copyright unless you ask them not to.  Bad.  Google wants an exclusive deal that gives them rights to scan and sell said millions of e-books without having to worry about competition.  Bad.  But in an amazing PR gambit of white-washing, Google seems to have convinced people (and possibly the courts themselves!) that its all ok, because, well, “we’re Google”?

Let’s simply change the subjects names in this case and look at it again.

I walk into your house and steal your stuff.  If you catch me doing it and ask me to stop, I will.  Otherwise, I’m going to sell your stuff.  And, if you give me a call afterwards, I’ll give you a 35% cut.  But if I don’t hear from you, I’ll just keep  your cut for you in case you ever notice your stuff is gone.  And, you can’t prosecute me for it, because I have some kind of exclusive sheriff’s badge.  And since nobody else has that, so I’ve completely cornered the market.

(is it just me or does this sound like a 1970’s western complete with crooked sheriff?  where’s John Wayne to clean up the town?  will he be played by Judge Chin?)

Can you get a badge so you can do the same thing?  Sure, of course you can.  It only costs a few tens of millions of dollars to wear out the opposition in the public court system.  Then, who knows, maybe you can get the special badge.  What, you say?  That’s not fair, you say, because who else has this kind of cash?  Oh, come on, of course it’s fair - because “we’re Google.”

(i am the law in this here town….)

Seriously, what is there to deliberate on?

A hearing with Judge Chin is coming up on Feb 18th, so with fingers crossed….

I couldn’t agree more: I want less gadgets in my life, not more.  Why don’t people wear watches any more?  Carry PDAs?

Browsers and buyers will have the chance to see several incredibly rare books, such as a signed, first edition of Amelia Earhart’s 20 Hrs. 40 Min., the book that chronicled her experiences as the first female passenger on a transatlantic flight. A letter and yearbook photo by J. D. Salinger and signed first editions of such classics as Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises and The Single Hound: Poems of a Lifetime by Emily Dickinson will be available.

In addition to featuring a variety of fine collectibles from over 120 book dealers, the Fair will also hold educational discussions, round tables, a book signing with journalist Allison Hoover Bartlett (”The Man Who Loved Books Too Much”) and free expert appraisals.

ADDED BONUS: The ABAA (Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America) is currently featuring a tool on their site so you can search participating exhibitors’ inventories. Entire inventories will be available in this search until November 13; After that, searches in this feature will be limited to inventory available at the fair.

Check it out now!

What: the 33rd annual Boston International Antiquarian Book Fair

Where: Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA

When: Friday, November 13-Sunday, November 15

Hours: Friday 5:00-9:00pm / Saturday 12:00-7:00pm / Sunday 12:00-5:00pm

Tickets: Ticket prices are $15.00 for Friday night preview (valid all weekend), and $8.00 each for Saturday and Sunday.

For more information & for tickets, visit the website at www.bostonbookfair.com.

IOBAbooks.com

The Independent Online Booksellers Association (IOBA), a trade association dedicated to maintaining high ethical and professional standards in order to foster greater trust between book buyers and sellers, has a new look on its e-commerce site: IOBAbooks.com.

The site, powered by Biblio, features new, used, rare and out-of-print books from IOBA bookseller members.

It stops now.

While I recognize that e-readers are a fascinating technological advancement and, according to one friend, “pretty neat-o,” I still happily live in my 700 square-foot house with my print book “roommates” stacked from floor to ceiling. Nothing can replace the smell of a library book sale find, the feeling of a fine leather first edition, the look of a Rackham color print illustration, or the laughter of my son as he discovers the thrill of a tab in a pop-up book.

And while I’m a pretty subdued person, I get my own thrills from watching these guys do what I’ve wanted to do ever since I first held a Kindle in my hand:

Since it appears that the traveling days are over for now, I’m happy to say that I’ve found a way to visit many of the bookstores in the regions I once passed through. One can search books within a bookseller’s inventory, as a kind of virtual store, and booksellers can be searched according to state.

http://www.biblio.com/pages/usa_map.html

I can’t remember the stores by name it turns out, although I’m sure I still have some bookmarks somewhere. Nonetheless, I enjoy seeing what booksellers have in stock a few thousand miles west, and the myriad places between here and there that I never got around to visiting.

So welcome to the Biblio Book Hunt, a treasure hunt exclusively for our Twitter fans! Here’s how to play:

1. Join Twitter if you haven’t done so already.
2. Follow Catherine, our marketing coordinator for Biblio under “@bookish_type” or simply click here and hit “Follow.”
3. The Book Hunt will be announced several days in advance on Twitter, so check our recent posts.
4. When the Book Hunt starts, one (1) clue will be given each day for 20 business days. Clues will relate to a particular book listed for sale on our website. Clues can include information about the author, the book’s publishing history, the copy’s appearance, etc.
5. Clues will also be tagged with the search tag “#bookhunt” on Twitter so you can check back if you missed a clue.
6. If you think you know what the book is, you must reply with the author, title and URL using the “@” reply on Twitter to bookish_type.
7. First person to reply with the correct book wins a $200 BiblioBucks Gift Certificate. It never expires, and can be used for any purchase on our site! Winner will be announced immediately on Twitter.

Questions? Comments? Mass confusion about game rules? Let us know on Twitter with a reply, please.

Have fun and good luck!

Disclaimer: Twitter followers who have won a previous book hunt or another promotional contest from Biblio on Twitter are ineligible to win again for 6 months. Employees of Biblio.com and their immediate family members are ineligible to participate in promotional contests and offers from Biblio.com.