Is publishing dead? At the moment it's just morphing according to Sarah Nelson

We discuss here many times stories and news about the future of the publishing industry, especially those with a "green" angle. Today we want to recommend a talk of Sarah Nelson, which has no direct "green" connection, but is very interesting and worthwhile listening to.

Sarah Nelson definitely knows a lot about publishing. She is now books director for O, the Oprah magazine and from 2005 to 2009, she was editor-in-chief of Publishers Weekly. Nelson talked at the 2009 PubWest Conference about two weeks ago and the title of the talk was: Is Publishing Dead?

Her answer was 'No'. Changing - Yes, Dying - Nope (at least not for now). She pointed out that "Publishing, the publishing business or the book business as we know it, is also not dead, but it is undergoing tremendous change and will die in the way that we know it. Publishing as we know it will die if changes are not made. I think that there will always be books, there will always be people to read books, the books may be in a different format from the way we read them now, some of them. But I don’t think that the way the systems, the back-office systems, the distribution systems and so on, will be the same. I think those are changing. Dying? I’d rather say that they’re morphing rather than dying."

If you're interested to hear more of Sara Nelson’s thoughts on the publishing industry, its traditional business models and how they should change, writers, self-publishing and more, please check it out on Copyright Clearance Center’s podcast Beyond the Book.

A transcript is also available at http://www.beyondthebookcast.com/wp-images/SaraNelsonPubWest09.pdf

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: check out our special holidays offer!

Special Eco-Libris offer for the holidays!

Looking for a unique and affordable green gift for the holidays? You're in the right place!

Eco-Libris has a special offer for an holiday gift for you: Plant trees to balance out the books your loved ones read. We will send them a beautiful holiday card and Eco-Libris stickers to display on their books’ sleeves. Just change the shipping address on the PayPal payment page to the address of the gift receiver (or send us a separate email to info@ecolibris.net with the details) and we will take care of the rest!

If you're buying books as gifts, you can also add the stickers and the card, making it a great green gift (And if you're looking for an idea for a "green" book that can be a great holiday gift, you can find plenty of ideas on our green books campaign).

The holiday greeting cards we send are made by Doodle Greetings (see picture). Not only these cards come with a beautiful design, but they are also eco-friendly - printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper and are made chlorine-free and acid free. Sounds like a good fit with Eco-Libris stickers, which are also made of recycled paper!

This is also very affordable gift offer, starting from $6.50 for 5 trees/stickers and a holiday card!

Interested? go to our holidays page and check it out - http://www.ecolibris.net/Holidays.asp

Happy and Green Holidays!
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting green printing!

bookBags: the perfect reply to both Buy Nothing Day and Black Friday

If you read already everything you could on Buy Nothing Day and Black Friday and you're looking for something that is combining the two in a way, we got something for you. It's called bookBags.

I found bookBags on the Alternative Consumer and fell in love with it immediately. BookBag is a handcrafted purse custom made from recycled legal book covers. BookBags according to their website is "an ecofriendly, aggressively green manufacturer of fashionable purses, handbags and clutches" and it "was founded by a law librarian, who needed to find a better way to recycle continually updated legal books."

Kathy Kelly, the founder, told Ecoterrarist.org in an interview that "“legal books are constantly updated and replaced and most of them have no distributional value... About 2 years ago, I returned to work, and came back to a pile of mail that included volumes of updates. One update included 9 volumes of gorgeous maroon leather-like material, the United States Code Annoted.

I knew I had to remove the cover to recycle the paper of the book, if I could find a recycler to take them, but it still seemed like such a waste of such a beautiful material (and still created plenty of garbage). For a month or two I was collecting the book covers with no idea what I was going to do with them. I just knew I had to figure something out.”

As you can already see, most of the books Kelly uses are outdated legal books. She gets them from the Erie County Law Library, as well as from three of the biggest law firms in Erie and many smaller firms that also recycle their books through BookBags. She reports on the website that so far this year she has recycled over 7,000 pounds of paper.

Each Bookbag is carefully handcrafted to the highest quality. I find it a great combination of recycling with eco-fashion, or in other words creating a beautiful product responsibly and sustainably. So wouldn't you say it can be the perfect example for responsible consumerism, which can be the best way to balance between zero consumerism and over-consumerism?

You're welcome to check out the bookBags at bookbags.us.com

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Green Printing Tip #24 - Can we be Greener in our use of Inter Office Envelopes, Presentation Folders, and Outgoing Envelopes?

After one week off, we're back with another tip for you on our weekly series of green printing tips, where we bring you information on green printing in collaboration with Greg Barber, an experienced eco-friendly printer.

Today Greg is discussing some of the widely used office materials that are made of paper and how they can get greener.

Can we be Greener in our use of Inter Office Envelopes, Presentation Folders, and Outgoing Envelopes?

Tip #24

I have done my research, and my answer is a definite YES, and we are saving you money doing it!

I recommend using the patented Conformer products. Their Inter Office Envelopes are made from 100% post-consumer (Milk Jugs), which means you are saving plastic from going to the landfills, and using really strong Inter Office Envelopes. They expand to hold twice as much "stuff". And, at the end of the day, these envelopes can be used again, eliminating all the waste from going into the garbage. Many companies already recognized the potential of these Inter Office Envelopes and reuse them multiple times.

Next, we have the Conformer Presentation Folders. They truly expand to 1/2" or 1". The construction of the expansion pockets is in the top and bottom of each pocket, and on the spine. This patented construction eliminates the need for re-inforced edges, and lamination coating (which is not recyclable). The paper is thick and FSC certified.

Finally, you can put these stong and expandable presentation folders into an even stronger translucent recycled plastic envelope that also has the Conformer expansion on all 4 sides. Direct Mail agencies tell us that the response rates go way up when potential clients can see the Pocket Folder or whatever is put into these patented, translucent envelopes.

The Conformer Expansion Envelopes are made from Recycled Milk Jugs, which enhances the strength. No need to buy Tyvek envelopes or even boxes. Your products will ship safely in these mailers.

Your savings begins to mount, as the shipping weights go down, and the visual look of your mailing goes up. Not using boxes, eliminates the plastic tape and over packing on the insides.

So, take a look at www.conformer.com. Call me (973 224 1132) or email me (greg@ecofriendlyprinter.com) with any questions. I will walk you through the process of becoming more sustainable in your office correspondence, all the way through to your outgoing mail..

Also, if you have any questions you would like us to address in future tips please email us to info@ecolibris.net .

Latest tips:

Green Printing Tip #23 - Are there inexpensive Green papers for brochures?

Green Printing Tip #22 - What does I-Tone mean?

Green Printing Tip #21 - What new developments have surfaced in Green papers?

You can find links to all the tips we published so far on our green printing tips page, which is part of our green printing tools & resources.

You can also find further valuable information on Greg Barber Company's website - http://www.gregbarberco.com.

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green printing!

A new book from Flux, "Turning to One Another", is going green with Eco-Libris

Another great book is being released today by the Norwegian publisher Flux - "Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future" by Margaret J. Wheatley. And as usual this is a green celebration - we're proud to announce that this book, as well as all the other books published by Flux is going green with Eco-Libris, and 1,000 trees are being planted to balance out the Norwegian edition of this title.

Turning to One Another: Simple Conversations to Restore Hope to the Future (or as the book is called in Norwegian: Å møte hverandre - Enkle samtaler for en bedre fremtid) shows how the simple but long neglected act of conversation-of thoughtfully talking and listening to one another-has the power to change lives and offers insightful advice on how to conduct conversations that will help us to genuinely connect with each other and restore hope to our individual lives.

Here's more about this book (from the Book's English version website):

"I believe we can change the world if we start talking to one another again." With this simple declaration, Margaret Wheatley proposes that people band together with their colleagues and friends to create the solutions for real social change, both locally and globally, that are so badly needed. Such change will not come from governments or corporations, she argues, but from the ageless process of thinking together in conversation.

Turning to One Another encourages this process. Part I explores the power of conversation and the conditions-simplicity, personal courage, real listening, and diversity-that support it. Part II contains quotes and images to encourage the reader to pause and reflect, and to prepare for the work ahead-convening truly meaningful conversations. Part III provides ten "conversation starters"-questions that in Wheatley's experience have led people to share their deepest beliefs, fears, and hopes.

More books from Flux:
Leadership and Self-Deception

The 100-years' Targets

The 5th Step

The Integral Vision

Dyp glede (Deep Joy): Arne Næss on deep ecology

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting sustainable reading!

RecycleBank's list of five things you should always recycle

This week we had celebrated America Recycles Day (on November 15), and our friends at RecycleBank has put together a list of “Five Things You Should Always Recycle” by Jen Uscher, we would like to share with you. We hope you'll find this important information useful.

RecycleBank is a recycling rewards program currently servicing 24 states and the United Kingdom.

Five Things You Should Always Recycle

Chances are you're already recycling the cans, bottles, and paper that get picked up at the curb, but what about all that other stuff that's lurking in your drawers or closets - like outdated gadgets and dead batteries - that you're not sure how to recycle? The following household items are especially important to donate or recycle because they contain materials that can contaminate the environment if they wind up in landfills or that can easily be reclaimed for use in new products. Here are some convenient ways to keep them out of the trash:

1. Electronics – All Office Depot, Staples, and Best Buy stores accept larger electronics like desktop computers for recycling for a small fee (usually $10) and smaller ones like cell phones and PDAs for free. Goodwill stores accept used computer equipment (some locations also accept televisions) for free.

And you can earn RecycleBank Points by recycling MP3 players/iPods, laptops, and cell phones through our partners at Collective Good, FlipSwap, and Gazelle.

Why: You'll keep toxic materials like lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and brominated flame retardants out of landfills. And useful materials will be recovered, saving energy and resources.

2. Rechargeable batteries – From cordless phones and power tools, digital cameras, and other gizmos - these can be recycled for free at 30,000 drop-off points nationwide, including retailers such as Home Depot, Lowe's, RadioShack, Sears, and Target. Enter your zip code at Call2Recycle to find one near you.

Unfortunately, it's more difficult to find places to recycle alkaline (or single-use) batteries. Try Earth911 to find drop off locations or order a box (for $34.50, including prepaid shipping) from Battery Solutions and send them up to 12 pounds of alkaline and/or rechargeable batteries for recycling.

Why: Like many electronics, batteries contain heavy metals and other chemicals best kept out of the waste stream. Plus, recyclers reclaim metals from them that are used to make, for example, new batteries and steel.

3. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs use 75 percent less energy than incandescent bulbs, but they contain a small amount of mercury and shouldn't be thrown in the trash. Take them to any Ikea or Home Depot store for recycling or go to Lamp Recycle to find other drop off locations near you.

Why: CFLs in landfills can break and release mercury, a neurotoxin, into the environment.

4. Plastic Bags – Even if you've switched to reusable bags for your shopping, you probably have a bunch of these stored in your home. Luckily, lots of retailers like Wal-Mart, Safeway, Albertsons, Wegmans, Krogers, and Giant now have bins where you can recycle plastic grocery bags (and newspaper, drycleaning, bread, and sealable food storage bags). To find a drop off location near you, go to Plastic Bag Recycling or Earth911.

Why: They're made from petroleum, a non-renewable resource, and when thrown away they take a very long time to decompose. Recyclers will turn them into new products like plastic lumber.

5. Anything you don't need that could be of great value to others – For instance, you can donate your used prescription glasses to the nonprofit OneSight at any LensCrafters, Pearle Vision, Sunglass Hut, Target Optical, or Sears Optical location (or go to One Sight for more locations near you). You can also donate unused, unexpired medications including antibiotics, pain relievers, and others by mailing them to the Health Equity Project. The glasses and medications will be distributed to people in need in developing countries.

Keep in mind that you should always recycle hazardous substances like paint, pesticides, propane gas tanks, and motor oil at your town's household hazardous waste collection events or permanent collection center. Go to Earth911or call 1-800-CLEANUP to find collection sites and events.

Thank you to our friends at RecycleBank for these great tips!

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris
www.ecolibris.net

We have a winner on our "No Impact Man" giveaway!

We had a giveaway of a copy of "No Impact Man" following the book's review last week as part of our green books campaign. We asked you to share with us us what's the most extreme sacrifice you did to green up your lifestyle, and we got some pretty interesting replies, including some new uses of urine outside the restroom.. And we have a winner!

Our winner is the reader Charlotte, who wrote the following:

gosh. It's hard to know what other people would think is most "extreme." But here goes: I keep a bucket in the shower, to catch the water before it gets hot, so as to use it for toilet flushing, which is fairly reasonable, but I take this to extremes, and am very careful to squeeze the water out of my hair after I'm done into the bucket, so as not to waste it

Congrats, Charlotte. You won our review copy of the book (provided by the publisher) and we'll also plant a tree for the book and add to it our "One tree planted for this book" sticker made of recycled paper. Thanks also for all the other participants!

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting sustainable reading!