Audiobook publishers give up on piracy protection

Piracy protection otherwise known as DRM–this paves the way for iPod compatibility in the very near future.

Check out what the New York Times has to say.

 Publishers phase out audiobook piracy protection

SAN FRANCISCO — Some of the largest book publishers in the world are stripping away the anticopying software on digital downloads of audio books.

The trend will allow consumers who download audio books to freely transfer these digital files between devices like their computers, iPods and cellphones — and conceivably share them with others. Dropping copying restrictions could also allow a variety of online retailers to start to sell audio book downloads.

The publishers hope this openness could spark renewed growth in the audio book business, which generated $923 million in sales last year, according to the Audio Publishers Association.

Random House was the first to announce it was backing away from D.R.M., or digital rights management software, the protective wrapping placed around digital files to make them difficult to copy. In a letter sent to its industry partners last month, Random House, the world’s largest publisher, announced it would offer all of its audio books as unprotected MP3 files beginning this month, unless retail partners or authors specified otherwise.

Penguin Group, the second-largest publisher in the United States behind Random House, now appears set to follow suit. Dick Heffernan, publisher of Penguin Audio, said the company would make all of its audio book titles available for download in the MP3 format on eMusic, the Web’s second-largest digital music service after iTunes.  Read the full story

Way to go Snohomish Library!

You made Nancy Pearl’s top 10 list of libraries to curl up with a book.

“What will immediately strike you when you walk into the Snohomish Library is the abundance of natural light,” Pearl says. “Even during those gray and rainy winter days, it feels as though the windows are catching sunlight and magnifying it.” Built in 2003, the spacious library of contemporary design “has lots of nooks and comfortable seating where you can settle down with a good book.” 877-766-4753;