Book buzz: e-reader vs. print books (infographic)

I wanted to share with you a great infographic created by RetailMeNot.com about e-readers and their economic and environmental impact. With both the new Nook Tablet and the Kindle Fire that were released in the last couple of weeks, RetailMeNot thought it might be interesting to take a look at how e-readers are changing the book industry, for better or worse.

In the graphic, titled “Book Buzz”, you’ll find information about e-reader market share, sales figures, but more interestingly, how e-readers stack up to print books. For instance, and a little surprising, only 15% of e-reader owners actually stop purchasing print books.

Please note that in their comparison between the carbon footprint of e-readers and paper books, it looks like they use for the e-reader's footprint a figure taken from a 2009 research. As we wrote here in the past we believe that the results of this research are not reliable and should be addressed as more of a guestimation, which means they shouldn't be used for comparisons. Until Amazon and B&N will disclose the carbon footprint of their Kindles and Nooks, the only figures that should be used for such comparisons are the ones Apple disclosed fro the iPad and the iPad 2.

Other than that, this is a great presentation and I hope you'll find it interesting as well.

Due to the size of the infographic we couldn't upload it to our blog, but you can find it in full size right here.

More resources on the ebooks vs. paper books environmental debate can be found on our website at http://www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

How do we know that paper books and newspapers are losing market share to tablets?

Yesterday I read on Environmental Leader that "By 2015 paper use in North American magazines, newspapers and books is expected to fall between 12 and 20 percent from 2010 levels, as the use of tablet devices and e-readers rises, according to a report by paper industry information source RISI."



The report, "The Impact of Media Tablets on Publication Paper Markets" sounds very interesting but if you want to read it you'll need to pay $5,900. Now, if you a free of charge evidence, a bit less scientific maybe, but still very convincing that paper is loosing its hegemony to electronic formats, all you need to do is to check a new survey published by Staples.



The survey, as CNN reported, asked 200 tablet-using professionals about their preferences and habits. There were several interesting findings, but one of them sticks out:



"More than one-in-three respondents -35% - fessed up to using their iPad, Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy or other tablets while in the bathroom."



That's it, ladies and gentlemen. Game over. If books, newspaper and magazines lost 35% market share at the bathroom, it's just a matter of time until paper reading will lose the rest of the battle, becoming eventually only a niche market for paper lovers and those who can't still go to the bathroom without a piece of paper or a good book.



Image credit: dalboz17, Flickr Creative Commons

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris



Eco-Libris: Plant trees for your books!

Have paper books become just an intellectual decoration in the age of ebooks?

Nick Bilton has an interesting piece on the New York Times' Bits, where he's presenting his dilemma - he's moving from NY to SF and not sure what to do with all the hundreds of books he have? Should he take them with him or not?

He's explaining:

"Although I love my print books, e-readers, in one form or another, have become my primary reading device over the last few years. I barely touch my print books, although they are still beautiful and important to me. But they sit on my bookshelf as a decorative and intellectual art form...

As I packed for the move, I questioned whether it made financial sense to ship my several hundred books across the country, and more important, if I went through the trouble of doing this, what was the point when they would only sit untouched in a different city, just as they have for so many years in New York?"

This is a dilemma I'm sure many readers who are became mostly e-readers share. I find it a very interesting as this is not just a question of space and technology - I believe it's a much broader question about our culture and identity because for so many of us, the paper books are still a significant part of who we are. So can we move on and leave this part behind us now that we can have these books in an electronic version within seconds? Tough question.

So what Bilton did eventually? He reports: "In the end, I decided to leave 80 percent of the books behind, donating them to bookstores and even throwing some old, tattered volumes in the garbage. I still feel guilty about it, but I also feel vindicated by the practicality of my actions."

I can understand Bilton, although I really wish he would put the old, tattered volumes in the recycling bin instead of throwing them to the garbage.

What do you think? What would you do or have done in similar situation? Please comment and share your thoughts with us!

Photo: Books on the floor, Flickr Creative Commons, Toni Girl

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant one tree for every book your read!

Best green books to give your your mom for Mother's Day

Mother's Day is going to be celebrated tomorrow in many countries and if you're one of those who still haven't bought your mom a gift and are asking themselves what I can bring my mom to make her happy, we might have an idea for you!

How about a book? And to be more specific - How about a green book? A book is always a great gift and we want to help you with recommendations on the best green book to give your mom for Mother's Day. So we chose ten books which we believe will be a great fit to ten different types of moms we detailed below. We hope you'll find the right book on this list for your mom!

Also, if your mom read ebooks, go ahead and buy her your book of choice in an electronic format - we added links to the Kindle option whenever it is available.

1. For the fashionable mother -

Green is the New Black: How to Change the World with Style by Tamsin Blanchard

Is your mother into fashion, but needs an introduction to eco-fashion? well, this is a great book to start the eco-fashion journey with.

Tamsin Blanchard, the Style Director of Telegraph Magazine and a longtime fashion journalist, wrote a guide on how to green up your lifestyle, without compromising on style, quality, being fashionable, etc. She is focusing on topics such as eco-fashion, eco-style, eco-friendly shoes and bags and getting the (green) look. In addition the book also presents the alternative way to be green and fashionable - DIY.

2. For the shopping mother -

Big Green Purse - Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World by Diane MacEachern

If your mother is in charge of shopping in the house, this is the perfect book for her. It will show her how she can change the world with a simple but deadly weapon: her purse.

This book is a call-to-action for women to use their power as buyers (women spend 85 percent of every dollar in the marketplace) to make a difference. MacEachern's message is simple but revolutionary: if women harness the "power of their purse" and intentionally shift their spending money to commodities that have the greatest environmental benefit, they can create a cleaner, greener world.

Big Green Purse is also available in an electronic format.


3. For the Jeff Garlin's fan mother -

My Footprint: Carrying the Weight of the World (audiobook) by Jeff Garlin

How do you know if your mother a fan of Jeff Garlin? Very simple. Does she watch ''Curb Your Enthusiasm', where he co-stars with "Seinfeld" creator Larry David? if your reply is Yes, then you can be positive your mother is a Garlin's fan!

Jeff Garlin is a funny guy. Well, he's a comedian. But he's also a serious guy and in August 2008 he decided to set up an impressive goal: Reducing both his physical and carbon footprint. His journey is documented in a new and extremely funny audiobook released by Simon & Simon Audio. Read by the author, with a special guest appearance by Leonard Nimoy, My Footprint features exclusive audio material unavailable in any other format.

4. For the food and cooking loving mother -
The Food Matters Cookbook: 500 Revolutionary Recipes for Better Living by Mark Bittman

Does your mom know Mark Bittman? If the answer is Yes she'll love this book, if by any chance she doesn't know him yet, what are you waiting for??

"Bittman, New York Times columnist and bestselling author (How to Cook Everything) provides a rational approach to eating that not only improves health but also helps the environment." (Publishers Weekly)

From the award-winning champion of conscious eating and author of the bestselling Food Matters comes The Food Matters Cookbook, offering the most comprehensive and straightforward ideas yet for cooking easy, delicious foods that are as good for you as they are for the planet. The Food Matters Cookbook is the essential encyclopedia and guidebook to responsible eating, with more than 500 recipes that capture Bittman’s typically relaxed approach to everything in the kitchen.

The Food Matters Cookbook is also available in an electronic format.

5. For the suburban mother -

Farewell My Subaru: An Epic Adventure in Local Living by Doug Fine

Here's a book about the experiences of a guy who exchanged the suburbs he grew up in into a farm life in New Mexico. Maybe it will convince your mother to follow suit..

Like many Americans, Doug Fine enjoys his creature comforts, but he also knows full well they keep him addicted to oil. So he wonders: Is it possible to keep his Netflix and his car, his Wi-Fi and his subwoofers, and still reduce his carbon footprint? In an attempt to find out, Fine up and moves to a remote ranch in New Mexico, where he brazenly vows to grow his own food, use sunlight to power his world, and drive on restaurant grease. Both a hilarious romp and an inspiring call to action, 'Farewell, My Subaru' makes a profound statement about trading today’s instant gratifications for a deeper, more enduring kind of satisfaction.

Farewell, My Subaru is also available in an electronic format.

6. For the small business owner mother -

Greening Your Small Business: How to Improve Your Bottom Line, Grow Your Brand, Satisfy Your Customers - and Save the Planet by Jennifer Kaplan

Does your mother own (or work in) a small business? this book is the ultimate resource for small business owners who want to go green without going broke. With this great book in hand, not only your mom will thank you, but all of her small business!

Greening Your Small Business is the definitive resourcerce for those who want their small businesses to be cutting- edge, competitive, profitable, and eco-conscious. Filled with stories from small business owners of all stripes, Greening Your Small Business addresses every aspect of going green, from basics such as recycling, reducing waste, energy efficiency, and reducing the IT footprint, to more in-depth concerns such as green marketing and communications, green business travel, and green employee benefits.

Greening Your Small Business is also available in an electronic format.

7. For the mom to be or the mother with little children -

Spit That Out!: The Overly Informed Parent's Guide to Raising Children in the Age of Environmental Guilt by Paige Wolf

Do you have a little brother or sister? Are you going to have another sibling? If you do, here's a great book for your mom!

"Thanks to Paige Wolf, all busy moms and moms-to-be on the verge of a "green mom nervous breakdown" have the answers they need!" -- SheKnows.com SheKnows.com SheKnows.com.

Have you ever stayed up all night scraping lead paint off the walls (and then realized you've actually made the problem worse)? Googled every toy in the house to make sure they didn't contain high levels of cadmium or lead? Searched every product in the cabinet for the mere mention of a paraben? As a new mother, Paige Wolf has been committed to living an eco-friendly and healthy lifestyle. But with the flood of constantly changing information, it's become an increasingly difficult task. In addition to the age-old daunting task of raising happy, healthy babies, mothers are constantly bombarded with new and contradictory research concerning environmental toxins, long-term product effects, and the far-reaching impact of every product we purchase and decision we make.

Spit That Out! answers the questions posed by mothers on the verge of a "green mom nervous breakdown" and turns to experts to present facts, debunk myths, and help parents stay on a reasonable and responsible course without losing their minds. Whether they are cloth-diapering, holistic mamas or moms who still can't give up their designer duds, all modern mothers can relate to the desperation of wanting to do the best for their children - and feeling hopelessly overwhelmed in the process. Spit That Out! feeds an audience of mothers hungry for commiseration, direction, and relief.

Spit That Out! is also available in an electronic format.

8. For the mother with a big carbon footprint -

101 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: Simple Things We All Can Do to Lessen Our Impact on the Environment by Andrea Bohmholdt

Is your mom interested in reducing her carbon footprint? Want to help her? Here's the guide she'll need.

Packed with 101 creative tips for conserving the environment, this guide helps burgeoning environmentalists gradually change their lifestyle to consume less energy. Easy to follow and understand, the succinct guide explains the environmental crisis and how individual ways of living contribute directly to the problem. It then focuses on offering simple solutions to help the environment, such as reducing heat by one or two degrees, unplugging mobile phones when they are finished charging, and completing weekly shopping goals in a single excursion. Additional resources are provided to help readers begin to make the changes that will ultimately make a global difference.

9. For the mother who wants to be an urban farmer -

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter

Does your mom secretly dream on growing vegetables and maybe some animal farms, or in other words, on becoming an urban farmer? If she does, this book, who was described by Michael Pollan as 'edgy, moving and hilarious' is the one for her.

An unforgettably charming memoir, Farm City is full of hilarious moments, fascinating farmer's tips, and a great deal of heart. When Novella Carpenter-captivated by the idea of backyard self-sufficiency- moved to inner city Oakland and discovered a weed-choked, garbage- strewn abandoned lot next door to her house, she closed her eyes and pictured heirloom tomatoes and a chicken coop. The story of how her urban farm grew from a few chickens to one populated with turkeys, geese, rabbits, ducks, and two three-hundred-pound pigs will capture the imagination of anyone who has ever considered leaving the city behind for a more natural lifestyle.

Farm City is also available in an electronic format.

10. For the mother who would like a good green guide -

Ecoholic: Your Guide to the Most Environmentally Friendly Information, Products, and Services by Adria Vasil

This book is for every mom who wants to go green and start living in an eco-friendly way and needs a good guide for this long journey. This excellent guide is the best green compass you can give her - it's thorough, useful and funny!

Ecoholic is an eye-opening guide to decoding the green from the greenwashed in the maze of products lining our shelves. Unlike other eco guidebooks, Ecoholic names names and gives you the dirt on what not to buy and why, as well as the dish on the most sustainable food, the greenest clothes, beauty products, home supplies, banking choices, sports gear, kids stuff and much much more. And yes, it will even take the toxins out of your love life. Ecoholic is a witty and indispensable guide to the small eco choices that make the biggest difference. No wonder reviewers have called this "sassy eco-bible" your " sacred text when it comes to making any life decisions."

Ecoholic is also available in an electronic format.

If you choose to give your mother a book as a gift, you are more than welcome to balance it out with Eco-Libris, add our sticker to the book and make it the perfect green gift for Mother's Day.

Happy Mother's Day!
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: plant a tree for every book your read!

Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason #3

We continue with our Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers to celebrate the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day.

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we will publish the 41 best answers we receive on the blog, one reply a day. All replies will be gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 3:

Planting a tree for my book is a good idea because this way my book can "give back" to Mother Nature by starting life again! - Shannon

Thank you Shannon for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Shannon, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including a $25 gift card for Strand Bookstore, audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, American Assassin by Vince Flynn and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, books from the Little Green Books series, Menu Dating by Tristan Coopersmith and The Healthy Home by Dave Wentz and Dr. Myron Wentz. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply, either by adding a comment here or sending it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book: Reason #2

Yesterday we started our Earth Day Campaign - 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, where we share with you 41 reasons provided by readers to celebrate the upcoming 41st anniversary of Earth Day.

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days until Earth Day, we will publish the 41 best answers we receive on the blog, one reply a day. All replies will be gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 2:

Planting a tree for you book represents the circle that life is supposed to be. We give and take and that balance is what keeps everything working the way it is supposed to. It is when one end of the teeter-totter weighs heavier than the other that system doesn't work. Or when one side rows and the other doesn't, we go in circles instead of moving ahead. - Jen Forbus

Thank you Jen for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Jen, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including a $25 gift card for Strand Bookstore, audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, American Assassin by Vince Flynn and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, books from the Little Green Books series, Menu Dating by Tristan Coopersmith and The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply, either by adding a comment here or sending it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Our Earth Day campaign, 41 Reasons to Plant a Tree for Your Book, is beginning today!

Eco-Libris celebrates the 41st Annual Earth Day with a new campaign, where we ask readers to tell us why planting a tree for their book is a good idea.

With more than 180,000 trees planted so far on behalf of readers, authors and publishers working with Eco-Libris, it's no surprise that we think planting trees to green up books is a great idea.. But we also want to hear what readers think about it and why they believe planting trees for their books is a good idea.

So for 41 days, starting today culminating with Earth Day on April 22, we will publish the 41 best answers we receive on the blog, one reply a day. All replies will be gathered and presented on the campaign's page.

Reason no. 1:

I would plant a tree for my book so that people have a nice shady spot where they can read my book and watch the wildlife that helped inspire my book! - Juliet

Thank you Juliet for sharing with us your thoughts on planting trees for your book!

Juliet, just like all the other readers whose replies we'll publish, is winning one of the great 41 prizes we give away on this campaign, courtesy of our partners. Winners can choose their prize from a great list of gifts including a $25 gift card for Strand Bookstore, audiobooks from Simon & Schuster Audio (such as The Half Life by Jennifer Weiner, American Assassin by Vince Flynn and Essence of Happiness by the Dalai Lama) and great books, like Planet Home by Jeffrey Hollender, books from the Little Green Books series, Spit That Out! by Paige Wolf and The Story of Stuff by Annie Leonard. You can see the full list of the prizes on the campaign's page.

If you want to participate in the campaign, we still have some spots available so please send us your reply, either by adding a comment here or sending it to info@ecolibris.net. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Top Ten Books to Read in Your Garden

Believe it or not but it's almost spring and this is definitely the time to start thinking about what you want to plant this year in your garden, buy seeds and get ready to do some gardening work. To celebrate the return of the garden to our life (although it's always in our heart, even when it's covered in snow for weeks..), we have a guest post with recommendations on 10 great books to read in your garden.

Top Ten Books to Read in Your Garden

This guest post was contributed by Garden

Gardening is invigorating, dirty, tender, satisfying work and nothing quite compares to sinking your teeth into a sun-warmed, just-picked tomato, its juice dripping down your chin. One that you planted months prior, first indoors then transplanted out in your composted soil - preparing a plot being an art in itself. Then staking it and pinching its first flowers so seedings establish before fruit production, and finally weeding and mulching and watering and doing it all over again, and again.

Reading a book is a similar, delicious commitment, and one perhaps best enjoyed in your garden.

The following ten books all celebrate the outdoors, some in a grand way, others more quietly. May their contents inspire you to breathe your air more deeply, embrace your environs more fully.

THE BIG PICTURE

Planet Earth - Alastair Fothergill

Maybe you saw the Discovery Channel's program and are already familiar with the wondrous footage, shot over five years, of the world's wildlife and their habitats. Page turn at your leisure through these awe-inspiring images and accompanying text. A particularly enthralling section is a feature on the otherworldly Lechuguilla Cave, it's top-secret entrance and then strenuous subterranean descent.

HOW PLANT PASSION CAN TURN CRIMINAL

The Orchid Thief - Susan Orlean

New Yorker writer Orlean decides to explore the world of John Laroche, awaiting trial for stealing endangered orchids from Florida's Fakahatchee Swamp, after reading about him in a local newspaper. What follows is an eccentric, funny, and revealing story about an orchid-infatuated subculture.


LIVING OFF YOUR LAND

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle - Barbara Kingsolver, with Steven L. Hopp and Camille Kingsolver

A family's good-humoured and enlightening story about eating food only grown by them or from their local area for a whole year. It also includes recipes and sidebars on industrial agriculture.


AN OVERSEAS GARDEN

French Dirt - Richard Goodman

An enchanting account of Goodman's move from New York City to a French village, and what he discovers from gardening there - about the village's inhabitants and himself.

DREAM BIGGER

The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food, and Love - Kristin Kimball

City girl moves upstate to start a cooperative farm with the man who will become her husband. The memoir, while initially idealistic, is refreshingly honest about the hard work necessary to build and maintain a farm.


NO DIRT, JUST BUGS

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects & Spiders - Lorus and Margery Milne

A wonderfully authoritative visual guide - includes 702 photographs - with detailed descriptions of habitats, ranges, food and life cycles of North American insects and spiders.

YUM

Eat Your Yard - Nan K. Chase

Chase details the 35 different trees, shrubs, vines, herbs and flowers that you can grow on your property then enjoy at your next meal!





PERHAPS INSPIRING YOU TO FARM

The Seasons on Henry’s Farm - Terra Brockman

Brockman expertly - and with tremendous heart - writes about the cycle of a year on her Illinois sustainable farm.





MARTHA THEY AREN'T

The Bucolic Plague - Josh Kilmer-Purcell

A hilarious read - and true story - about a gay couple who make a go of the rural life before they became Planet Green's Fabulous Beekman Boys.




THOUGHTFULLY EARTH-MOVING

In the Company of Stone - Dan Snow

Waller Dan Snow builds, yes, walls, but also dams, grottos, pathways, spheres, staircases, terraces, even softball field bleachers, all with found stone and without mortar or nails. Called dry-stone construction and completely hand built, Snow's art is celebrated in Peter Mauss's gorgeous photographs while Snow's prose - equally practical and poetic - are as engaging as his works.

The Scandinavian publisher Whyte Tracks is partnering with Eco-Libris

We are happy to announce a new partnership with Whyte Tracks, an Independent English publisher in Scandinavia and currently produces fiction and non-fiction titles including sagas, creative spirituality, occult and esoteric publications. From now on, for every book Whyte Track is selling, a tree will be planted through Eco Libris!

Whyte Tracks is a publisher with a true commitment to sustainable reading and we are happy to partner with them and plant trees for the wonderful books they publish, such as The Dog's Tale, Scent of Summer Magnolia, The Vineyard of the Nietzschean Priest and many others.

Here's more on Whyte Tracks:

Whyte Track's philosophy is to produce vibrant and beautiful books as a heritage for future generations, presenting spiritual, pagan and cultural history tales from around the globe.

We opened our doors for business in 2009 and now we are ready to expand our operations to include Print on Demand and ebook services for the hobby-writer wanting a few copies to give to friends, for the serious author intending to wow the market, and we can offer a professional and efficient service to Corporations and Educational Institutions with specific publication

requirements. We can also provide print solutions and world wide distribution from our premises in Denmark.

You can visit their website at http://www.whytetracks.eu.com/ and also follow them on twitter and Facebook.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Working to green the book industry!

Raz Godelnik is interviewed on Living on Earth on how green are ebooks

Last Friday I was interviewed on the radio show Living on Earth about the subject of how green are e-books.

You can find both the transcript and the audio file of the interview, which can be downloaded in mp3 format, on Living on Earth's website.

Here's their introduction for the interview: Last year, sales of electronic readers skyrocketed in the U.S. As Raz Godelnik, CEO of Eco-Libris, tells host Bruce Gellerman, e-readers don’t use any paper, but they still have a significant carbon footprint. For some readers, traditional books are the greener option.

Living on Earth is a great show and you're invited to listen to it - it is the weekly environmental news and information program distributed by Public Radio International. Every week approximately 300 Public Radio stations broadcast Living on Earth's news, features, interviews and commentary on a broad range of ecological issues.

More resources on the ebooks vs. paper books environmental debate can be found on our website at http://www.ecolibris.net/ebooks.asp.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Are you a bookworm? Got a big library? Try our monthly subscription option!

We would like to remind you with an option that is available on Eco-Libris' website - monthly subscription.

If you have a big library at home and you want to green it up one bookshelf at a time, balancing out 5 or 10 books every month on a regular basis, our subscription option can be a good fit for you.

The process is very easy and similar to one-time purchase: On the subscription page you choose how many books you want to balance out each month. Then just click on the 'Buy' bottom and complete the payment process on the PayPal page. That's it.

Then, every month we'll work with our planting partners to plant trees in developing countries on your behalf the number of books you chose (10 trees for 10 books each month for example). You will receive a confirmation email from PayPal following each monthly payment, and of course we'll send you our "One tree planted for this book" stickers on monthly basis.

And that's not all - If you're also a member at bookmoocher, you will receive 1 bookmooch point for every 10 books you balance out!

If and when you'll decide you want to suspend your subscription, you will be able to do it easily and quickly on PayPal website.

If you have any questions about the subscription option, please feel free to email us at info [at] ecolibris [dot] net.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Plant a tree for every book you read!

Save Our Libraries Day in the UK against coalition plans to close 450 libraries

Last Saturday was Save Our Libraries Day in the UK with more than 100 protest events where librarians, writers, and readers stormed local branches to protest the government’s possible plans to close 400 libraries.

The events, as The Bookseller reported, included read-ins, storytelling events, workshops and gigs.

The 400 libraries might be closed due to budget cuts, and these are bad news not only to book lovers, but for everyone who appreciate valuable public services and spaces such as libraries. As a son of a librarian I'm really sorry to hear these news and I hope this protests will be heard on Downing Street and help saving these libraries from closing down.

A crowd of around 100 gathered at Holyrood, Edinburgh to read sections of their favorite books. See the Guardian's video below:



Here's also a cartoon protest against spending cuts (Photograph: Ros Asquith):



We keep our fingers crossed, hoping this fight will succeed and will let you know once we'll have more updates about it.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

How can Barnes & Noble avoid bankruptcy? 5 Lessons from the unfortunate case of Borders

It looks like Borders' bankruptcy is becoming inevitable. As the AP reported last Thursday, "Borders Group Inc. has delayed payments to some of its vendors as the nation's second-largest bookseller seeks to preserve cash while it struggles to refinance its debt."

With decreasing sales (17.6% down in the last quarter compared with the third quarter of 2009), growing operating loss ( $74.4 million for the quarter ended Oct. 30.), shrinking cash reserves and assets, growing difficulties to refinance its debt, a stock that is diving below $1, and maybe above all, lack of strategy on how to get back on the track, it's really hard to imagine how Borders can avoid bankruptcy.

I wonder what the executives at Barnes & Noble think about it. I am quite sure they don't celebrate even though Borders is a significant competitor, but I wonder if they see it as a warning sign. Because I believe that even if B&N looks a little bit better shape than Borders, they're also in a very bad position and are next in line for bankruptcy. I still think that unlike Borders they have a chance to avoid it, but that will only happen if they'll learn the right lessons from the case of Borders:

1. You need a strategy - Borders thought it can make it using some patches like using Google’s Local Availability tool and Meetup Everywhere to "create a more interactive shopping experience" and closing some stores. These are nice steps but they're definitely no substitute to a clear and comprehensive strategy that will enable Borders to win the wars of the changing book market. B&N, to remind you, doesn't have such a strategy as well.

2. You need to worry for both your brick and mortar and your online operations - Borders, as Matthew Lynley of VentureBeat mentioned last week focused mainly on its brick and mortar stores: "despite losing out on sales of books and other products, Borders is essentially looking to pull a GameStop and stay focused on their brick and mortar stores. Borders acknowledged eBooks and eReaders as a definitive threat to their business, but expects its in-store sales to remain intact, according to its most recent 10-Q filing."

Both the brick and mortar stores and the online store are battleground and not making an effort to make both channels successful is a mistake. B&N suffers from a similar problem, only it looks like it is the opposite one - they put a lot of effort on improving their online activity and very little effort on their brick and mortar stores. This is OK if they want to ditch the stores and leave just BN.com as their main activity. But if they want to maintain both channels (which makes more sense), then they need to put more effort in both of them, not to mention improving the synergy between the two.

3. It's time to think out of the box - Borders didn't think out of the box and failed to find ways to bring book buyers to its stores and gain profitability. Frankly, I don't think there are any solutions there. If B&N want to avoid Borders' fate they should start thinking outside the box (and not, selling toys at their stores is not an example for such thinking), or even better, think like there is no box at all (here's our 2 cents on what can work for them).

4. The NOOK alone can't save you - Even though Borders might be sorry now that they don't sell their own e-reader like B&N, I think the lesson from the Borders' case is actually that the problems of the big chains are so profound that no single product, no matter how successful it is (The Nook linkeup has just become Barnes & Noble's best-selling product of all-time), can solve it.

Let's be clear: No matter how successful the Nook is (and relatively it has only about 4% market share), it still doesn't generate any incentive whatsoever for customers to go to B&N stores and buy there books, and the stores represent more than 90% of its sales. Eventually, even with the Nook, there is no substitute for strategy.

5. There is no time - Maybe B&N think they still have time, especially now after they had successful holidays sales, or at least that they don't have to do much until they will sell the company, and then it's going to be the buyers' problem. Well, they are wrong. As we can learn from the Borders' case, the tipping point of financial distress can be closer than it looks and when one block falls, the others tend to fall very quickly afterwards. Every day that goes by without taking serious steps is increasing the chance for bankruptcy, with our without a new buyer.

The case of Borders is definitely unfortunate, but B&N can still avoid taking the same path. I'm not sure if these lessons alone will save B&N, but I'm certain that if B&N will avoid them, they are significantly increasing the chances that they will follow Borders.

What do you think? We'll be happy to hear your thoughts!

More related articles:

Borders is closing stores, adding Google tools and teaming with MeetUp - Is this a winning strategy? Probably not..

Barnes & Noble is expecting to generate $3-$5 billion from e-books sales in 2013 - is it realistic?

Is there a future for Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores? Is it a green one?

Can monetary incentives + local benefits generate a brighter future for independent bookstores?,

You can find more resources on the future of bookstores on our website at www.ecolibris.net/bookstores_future.asp

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!