Publishing News
General News
June 15-30, 2005 Edition GENERAL NEWS Alabama Libraries
Launch New Digital
Library Service
ORANGE BEACH, AL/06/06/05Alabama libraries are giving residents unprecedented access to popular audio books directly from their homes and offices via a new online service called Camellia Net ( http://camellia.lib.overdrive.com). OverDrive, Inc., a leading vendor of downloadable audio books for libraries, supplied the technology for the new service. Camellia Net is a collaborative effort between the Cullman County Public Library System, the Thomas B. Norton Public Library in Gulf Shores, and the Orange Beach Public Library.
Camellia Net’s downloadable Audiobook collection includes bestsellers and classics, fiction and non-fiction, from popular authors and leading publishers such as HarperCollins, McGraw-Hill, Zondervan, and John Wiley and Sons. Patrons download free reader software and then use their Cullman County, Thomas B. Norton, or Orange Beach Public Library cards to check out and download audio books.
“This is another exciting opportunity for our libraries to provide cutting-edge library services to our patrons,” said Bonnie Lee, Director of the Orange Beach Public Library.
Wendy Congiardo, Director of the Thomas B. Norton Public Library in Gulf Shores, says of the new system, “Patrons will appreciate the ease of use and flexibility of this service. They can choose from romance, mysteries, study guides, computer manuals, travel guides, biographies, and more. Camellia Net will allow customers to listen to popular audio books on a tremendous range of devices including PCs, PDAs, portable audio players — they can even burn titles directly to CD and listen to them in their car. I think they will also love the automatic return feature, which eliminates late fees.” Patrons can also choose automatic email notification when a waitlisted title becomes available for checkout.
“The Cullman County Public Library System, Orange Beach Public Library and the Thomas B. Norton Public Library are committed to providing our customers with the richest array of digital resources,” said Ms. Lee. “This is definitely the future of libraries, and we’re proud to be among the leaders of this trend.”
Questions should be directed to either the Cullman County Public Library System at 256-734-1068, the Thomas B. Norton Public Library at 251-968-1176, or the Orange Beach Public Library at 251-981-2923.
To browse downloadable audio books, go to http://camellia.lib.overdrive.com. A valid card from participating libraries is required to checkout and download audio books from the website.
Gannett Announces
Smelsers Retirement,
Names New Publisher
MCLEAN, VA/6/06/05Emmett Smelser will retire this summer after a four-decade career as a journalist, editor and publisher in Indiana.
Smelser most recently served as president and publisher of The Star Press in Muncie and the Chronicle-Tribune in Marion.
Juli Metzger will succeed Smelser at both newspapers. She is a Muncie native where she began her newspaper career at The Star Press. She also previously served as executive editor of the Chronicle-Tribune. Her appointment is effective June 27.
“Emmett has been a newspaper leader in Indiana whose presence will be missed by his staffs, his readers and their communities,” said Gary L. Watson, president of the Newspaper Division. “We wish him and his family only the best.”
Smelser joined Gannett (NYSE:GCI) in 1968 as a reporter at the Palladium-Item in Richmond, IN, where he later served in a variety of editing roles, including executive editor. In 1987, he was named editor and publisher of the Marietta (Ohio) Times. Six years later, he returned to Richmond as president and publisher.
He moved to The Star Press in 2001. He assumed the additional duties in Marion last year. Smelser is a graduate of Valparaiso University and Ball State University. He is a member of the Ball State Journalism Hall of Fame.
“Who better to succeed Emmett than Juli Metzger?” Watson said. “As a Muncie native and former Marion editor, Juli is keenly aware of both the opportunities and challenges in these two communities. She will do an outstanding job.”
Metzger began her newspaper career at The Star Press in 1979. She also has served in editing roles at the Chillicothe (Ohio) Gazette, The Burlington (VT) Free Press and the Marietta Times. In 1998, she was named executive editor in Marion. Two years ago, she became executive editor of The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette, LA.
She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Ball State University.
Metzger was named Gannett’s Editor of the Year in 2000. Under her leadership, the Chronicle-Tribune produced a year-long series of articles entitled “Moment of Truth,” which examined the challenges facing the Marion community as well as exploring possible solutions. As a result of the series, a city-wide effort was mounted to deal with these issues.
Gannett Co., Inc. is a leading international news and information company that publishes 101 daily newspapers in the USA, including USA TODAY, the nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper. The company also owns more than 800 non-daily publications in the USA and USA WEEKEND, a weekly newspaper magazine. Gannett subsidiary Newsquest is the United Kingdom’s second largest regional newspaper company. Newsquest publishes more than 300 titles, including 17 daily newspapers, and a network of prize-winning Web sites. Gannett also operates 21 television stations in the United States and is an Internet leader with sites sponsored by its TV stations and newspapers including USATODAY.com, one of the most popular news sites on the Web.
