BTW News Briefs

Lawsuit Charges Research Libraries With Copyright Infringement

The Authors Guild, the Australian Society of Authors, and the Québec Union of Writers have joined with eight authors in a copyright infringement suit against HathiTrust, a partnership of research libraries and universities. The suit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, contends that “by digitizing, archiving, copying and now publishing the copyrighted works without the authorization of those works’ rights holders, the universities are engaging in one of the largest copyright infringements in history,” as reported by the New York Times.

The plaintiffs also expressed concerns about the security of the files in the HathiTrust repository, which is maintained by the University of Michigan. The suit does not seek damages, but asks that the books be taken off the HathiTrust servers and held by a trustee. About 27 percent of the HathiTrust’s more than 9.5 million digitized volumes are believed to be in the public domain.

The Authors Guild is also involved in a copyright infringement lawsuit against Google.  In March, a federal judge rejected a settlement that Google had worked out with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers. At a status conference today, the judge put forth a pre-trial schedule that would bring the case to trial by July 2012.

McGraw-Hill to Split Into Two Companies

On September 12, the McGraw-Hill Companies announced that it was dividing into two separate public companies: McGraw-Hill Markets, primarily focused on capital and commodities markets, and McGraw-Hill Education, focused on education services and digital learning.

McGraw-Hill Markets, which will be led by Terry McGraw as chairman, president, and CEO, will focus on the interconnected global capital and commodities markets.  McGraw-Hill Markets brands include Standard & Poor’s, S&P Indices, S&P Capital IQ, Platts, and J.D. Power and Associates.

McGraw-Hill Education will become an independent business operating in the K-12, higher education, and professional education markets.   A search is underway to recruit a CEO for McGraw-Hill Education. 

New England Book Winners Named

The winners of the New England Independent Booksellers Association’s 2011 New England Book Awards are:

• Fiction: Caleb’s Crossing by Geraldine Brooks
• Nonfiction: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
• Children’s: Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall

The winners will be honored at an Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, October 12, at the NEIBA fall show in Providence, Rhode Island. Other honorees will include Howard Frank Mosher, winner of the President’s Award, and Ann Wachur of Penguin, winner of the Saul Gilman Award for outstanding service as a sales representative to New England independent bookstores.

Rona Jaffe Foundation Announces 2011 Award Winners

The winners of the 2011 Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ Awards, presented annually to six women writers who demonstrate excellence and promise in the early stages of their careers, were announced this week. The awards of $25,000 each will be presented to the six recipients on September 22 at a private reception in New York City.

The 2011 winners are Melanie Drane (poetry), Apricot Irving (nonfiction), Fowzia Karimi (fiction), Namwali Serpell (fiction), Merritt Tierce (fiction), and JoAnn Wypijewski (nonfiction).

ABA Staff Says Good-Bye to Len Vlahos

At a luncheon at a local indie restaurant last week, ABA’s senior staff said a fond farewell to Len Vlahos, whose final day as association COO was September 2.  In August, ABA announced that Vlahos was leaving to become executive director of the Book Industry Study Group, Inc. (BISG), effective September 12.

Pictured with the Hudson River in the background are: Membership and Marketing Officer Meg Smith, CEO Oren Teicher, Meetings and Planning Officer Jill Perlstein, Vlahos and Kristen Gilligan-Vlahos, Content Development Director Rosemary Hawkins, Content Officer Dan Cullen, Development Officer Mark Nichols, Technology Director Matt Supko, and CFO Eleanor Chang.