"Jon Udell is getting record flow on his weblog. The librarians are figuring out what he's doing. Nice." [Scripting News]

Of course, what I want to know is how do we keep evolving this. What can librarians do? Is there a way for us to implement the ISBN-mapping Web service Jon describes? Jon isn't a librarian and look at what he's been able to come up with. What's our next step?

I've been remiss in noting Jon's other recent articles about his work in this area. They're all worth your time:

GeoURL
ISSNs and Z39.50
The Disruptive Web
Genus, Species, and ISBN
Where Angels Fear to Tread

Update: Here's an article about it from SearchEngineWatch.com.

James Patterson's New Release Breaks New Ground

"Time Warner AudioBooks (a division of AOL Time Warner Book Group), AFB Talking Books (a department of the American Foundation for the Blind) and Dolphin Computer Access partner to produce the first commercially available audio e-book.

Best selling author James Patterson will release his new novel, The Jester, as an audio e-book in conjunction with its standard print, audio and e-book releases.

This new technology offers many features that allow people to enjoy books in a unique and exciting way. Readers can display the text of the book on the computer screen, fully synchronized with the audio of a professional narrator, or they can switch back and forth between the text and the audio. The ability to 'toggle' between print and audio versions of the same work increases the functionality and accessibility to consumers.

There is particular broad appeal for travelers and commuters who may wish to read the text and listen to the audio independently or simultaneously depending on their environment. Those who are blind, visually impaired, or dyslexic may access the text via audio or on screen in large print or in braille. Additionally, the user's experience is enhanced with features such as the search function, in which the entire text and audio may be searched for keywords and phrases.

This audio e-book will be available on an additional CD included in the unabridged CD audiobook version of The Jester, available from Time Warner AudioBooks in March of 2003. The book will also be displayed at the Consumer Electronics Show at the Las Vegas Convention Center from January 9 - 12 of 2003 (located at the Convention Center in the South Hall, Upper level, Booth #35225). Dolphin's EaseReader software uses the synchronization technology to play and display the audio e-book through a player with an expanded screen, accessible on desktop and laptop PCs....

'We are proud to have produced the first commercial release of an accessible audio e-book for Time Warner AudioBooks,' said American Foundation for the Blind President and CEO Carl R. Augusto. 'This new technology opens up a world of possibilities for people who are blind or visually impaired, while simultaneously offering new options to sighted readers.' " [via the DTB-Talk mailing list]

The My Time Warner Audio site also lets you listen to streaming samples of some of their audio books. There's some other interesting stuff on their site (like Tyger E-Greeting for PDAs), but it's nearly impossible to access on my monitor with all of the frames getting in the way. This audio ebook version of Patterson's book costs $19.98, and the "Hi-Fi" version is 285MB.

I haven't even read through it thorougly enough to understand what a library or patron would need to circulate it. Still, this is an interesting development, and I'll look into this further if I have time. I'd love to see how it looks, feels, and sounds.

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom Is Out!

"My first novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom is out! Yee-haw!...

As I promised, I've released the complete text of the book (in ASCII text, HTML, and printable PDF) under a Creative Commons license. Download it, share it, email it, post it to your site, drop it in your P2P file-sharing cache!

I've also prepared a list of meatspace and cyberspace booksellers around the world that are carrying the book. Please email me if you can suggest good indie bookstores that are carrying the book -- I'd like to mention as many as possible.

All the info about the book -- reviews, news, signings, etc -- are gathered up on a Movable Type blog that Mena and Ben were kind enough to design and set up for me."  [Boing Boing Blog]

Hey, Cory - how about an audio version, read by the author? The license on this book means libraries can circulate it, so feel free to grab your copy now and add it to your catalog.  I wonder which library will be the first to circulate it. Cory's an established author, and I haven't read a bad review of the book yet.

Update: I've confirmed with Cory that a library could include a bib record for this title in its catalog and link directly to his site so that patrons can download it themsleves. Who's going to put the record in WorldCat? Hey, David....

The site is getting hammered at the moment, so I can no longer get through to it. Keep trying, though.