Sessions at SXSW Interactive 2012 about Libraries and eBooks and sxswLAM

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Sunday 11th March 2012

• Libros digitales para todos/eBooks for Everybody

  by Martin Kalfatovic and Alvin Hutchinson

  12% of U.S. adults currently own an e-reader; Hispanics are the largest demographic in that group with 15% owning an e-reader. Though there are many Spanish-language options available for this reading community, mainstream offerings still cater to a largely English language community. Smithsonian Institution Libraries (SIL), as part of its efforts to move beyond page image presentation of library content, is making a focused effort to bring quality, scholarly and other materials in Spanish to the e-reading community. With a grass-roots effort to identify appropriate materials, SIL hopes to build a space where there are "Libros digitales para todos".

  • eBooks
  • Language
  • Libraries
  • Smithsonian
  • Spanish
  • sxswLAM

  At 3:30pm to 4:30pm, Sunday 11th March

  In Room 5ABC, Austin Convention Center

  Coverage audio clip

Monday 12th March 2012

• Knitting a Long Tail in Niche Publishing

  by Shannon Okey

  Larger publishers and distributors are often unwilling to take a chance on what they consider "niche." Yet consumers want specialization and more advanced content rather than lowest common denominator material. What's a creative professional to do? Using the example of knit publishing and its evolving presence in the e-book market, as well as best practices for designers and creatives relating to publishing, we'll explore ways to increase creators' revenue and buck the established publishing system.

  • Content
  • eBooks
  • Knitting
  • Libraries
  • Publishing
  • sxswLAM

  At 3:30pm to 4:30pm, Monday 12th March

  In Capitol E-H, Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol

  Coverage audio clip

Tuesday 13th March 2012

• Making eBooks Smarter: Responsive Page Design

  by Peter Meyers

  Some ebooks are print edition replicas, some are overstuffed mediafests. Neither fulfill one of screen publishing’s biggest promises: adapting content to meet readers’ needs. The digital page can do much more than its “dumb” static counterpart. Possibilities range from memory-coaxing character summaries embedded “beneath” the digital canvas to continuously streamed in updates. Join author Pete Meyers (“Breaking the Page”, O’Reilly) for a lively group chat. He’ll kick off with a fast-paced tour of digital document design principles and best practices. From there he’ll help attendees compare modern readers’ most pressing needs to the kinds of just-in-time services digital books can deliver. Together we’ll swipe away the notion that digital book design is just about picking fonts or adding video. It’s about shaping content on an infinite canvas so that ebook readers become ebook lovers.

  • Content
  • eBooks
  • Libraries
  • Publishing
  • Responsive Design
  • sxswLAM

  At 3:30pm to 4:30pm, Tuesday 13th March

  In Capitol View North, Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol