gentleman in the back. >> i just wanted to say one of the best things about living in montgomery county is the great library system and the great staff members they have there. how -- with libraries offering an ever-expanding variety of services, how do you define concisely a library's mission without making it too vague and too much of a catch all? >> well, we're actually just working on a new strategic plan for montgomery county, but i think, i think as my fellow panelists have said, you know, the true mission of the library has not changed. our mission is to provide lifelong learning for people and to provide a place for people to gain access to information. so i think what that means is it's regardless of what kind of format it's available in, if it's a print book or it's an e-book or whether that learning

takes place online or in person. i think our mission has stayed very much the same even though the way we might deliver those services has changed. but we do have a new strategic plan that will we'll be coming t with shortly, so you'll see how some things have changed and how we're trying to better reach the community's needs. >> i just wanted to take just a quick second to thank everyone. like i said, we could go on forever. i wish we had some more time to talk about some more things, but i want to thank becky clark from the library of congress. visit the library of congress. i want to thank mary ellen from the montgomery county public library system. emily from the american library association, you're not going to find a better organization fighting a better battle. go to their web site, help out any way you can. and i also wanted to thank kira and, again, get a plug in for library jury room, a publication that i nerd out and my journal

reviews everything, not just books, graphic novels, film, audio books, i mean, it's really a great resource. i want to thank everyone for being here. as i said, i wish we had more time to talk about more things, but i think the good news is seeing everyone here and knowing everyone out there's listening on c-span and hearing what's going on. i think, you know, the library's alive and well. it does great things now, it's always done great things, and it will do great things in the future. thank you all. [applause] [inaudible conversations]

the authors guild is the organization started in 1912 to represent on thursday in their interest and authors' rights and free speech at a

adweek represent the interest and publishers where we are looking at the standard trade publishing agreements about whether the terms are fair we have about 9,000 drivers sanders provide services of legal contract and legal services for authors and agents. we provide web site services with some very low cost and greece spend a lot of time on advocacy we're the only

group that represents all of others we try to ensure that they can make a living today and that gets harder and harder. with the anecdotal evidence in this survey showed us with that median income so those are pretty low wages but it is unsustainable to ensure that they can make a living wage.

we have quite to the number of well-known authors that are members of the authors guild. we have all kinds. to be a member you have to be up published book and to accommodate self published authors because now there is an opportunity for publishers some call themselves independently published estimate how did

you get into this work? i was a copyright lawyer 25 years i worked at the library of congress, a lawyer by a trading and as though lawyer with private practice with a number of authors and publishers to be very mature part of that world professionally i another my cousin, my stepdad, many dear friends are all others. >> over the years to contract for authors have those changed?

>> because that contract initiative is they have not changed the enough. we would expect to see lower types of models of publishing agreements end with the digital media it is up for grabs. there is more diversity and what makes sense today to ensure that they are publishers so they largely favor to the detriment of

authors and to be paid out into new trudges. it before it is published now day have to wait until the book is finished it after it is published in than advances rate of live off of that and research and travel now that is less true now they have to take on the other work to write a book that makes it that much harder to write the book that you want to write a bad is one of the things going back to the audience's being the advance. also the option clause or the non compete so it is

much more stringent. the publisher likes complete discretion. and then if they deliver the books that was promised so these are issues around the edges that we are talking about. >> a couple of recent court cases, it is a distribution case of amazon and google and apple so where are you with electronic distribution and? >> that is a broad question. started with distribution we are neutral how to publish or what forbade or what media. we want books to be written

and read so really it doesn't matter. however "the reader" wants but digital be the al has caused disruption halt the authors and books are paid. this is a key huge issue right now for us because we looked into the reasons and one of them is b.c. in amazon pushed down the prices at 999. that is the effect to devalue the of books. so now that is the threshold and the battle line budget line that is somewhat

negotiable is no longer. so there is sole information once to be free movement so one issue is piracy in recent years there is an increasing amount of books available where people try to make money so that has caused disruption in that sense of devaluation so there is a real difference between but some would

dispense a lot of their time variety think of what i would write traverses a professional officer and to hold their kraft to be extremely good with words we what them to make a living grey tea books. >> a and the recent court cases? >> i thank you are referring to google books. googled ball goes back over tenures they went to library of congress to ski and every single book. they never bought one copy

and then said we will give you a free digital copy after. then they use these for research purposes to help improve their algorithms to teach the computer and natural language they use is the content to improve their business to make more money. they make copies for themselves down the library's and made many copies. then they created the google book that any book is searchable that they did then you could find snippets in and play into the stock -- the search term.

but then it will bring up all of places in the book. so actually so those authors said on the rights. but the fact is that just had tendered the a third night my daughter said i hate to tell a is this bed if i don't get around and then i can get what i need a and add the citation.

>> they said it is such a wonderful service. but to but there is the settlement agreement earlier

but we're really just the beginning of the changes we will see. but we want to protect those sources of revenue because otherwise and then if they sell the books spicule referenced there is a hood and but will this end up on

at the book club? rick i gave the industry is 25% of when it to was but there is such a threshold while we see those services and then taking to get back on its feet smaller they and that past. we purdue are a teacher with

teen number saying this for free, but the fact that people are reading them one of our authors told me recently, she is the scholar but is also into romance novels. >> greasy dash start to happen and what we want to do you do is start a campaign directed towards

the public they need to be paid for their work readers read you love the officers because then you make it roars can be distributed in the future civic i am thinking very long term in another line if we the publishing industry initially it was the big his script. there is the paradigm of the physical book to get more read the data online but the distribution of the way they

find the book federal now. i just know that given how sayings have changed. >> does the authors guild have something they are pursuing a? >> no. no important court cases right now, dean have that the take a deep rafael and that to help to get your life back and others can

learn how to publish as they are concerned about older writers. just remember they get no pension so they often live here and to mouth they never made a lot of money. and they're not doing well now. so we feel we have to help them and how to become a professional writer and have all sorts of issues to have

those changes if you were in the business 20 or 30 years all the sudden you have to learn new ways of self marketing? that is of special platform and there is of lots of advocacy and copyright ted washington with the judiciary committee of the house has been looking at the there is a day number of issues that very actively are in washington right now. >>.

>> is the industry affected? >> story back to the authors guild the big publishers have put more pressure on them so in turn that has squeezed the other authors they're looking for the books that will make big money and with the living wage so they see that in those terms. >> if they by the author's book and it cost $20 how does that break down?

walk us through a general breakdown. >> i probably key and without the figures in front of me talking about the hard copy we estimate 15 percent goes to manufacturing and marketing cost. dell wholesaler take a big cat -- cut. the author for the hard copy get somewhere between tanner 15% burglary of the retail list price and it isn't necessarily sold that way and then the publisher gets the profit on top of that it is different with the electronic books the author gets 25 percent generally sometimes that is negotiable

but they're getting 25 percent of the profit after cost. >> of that $9.99? >> they are getting half profits to the publisher after amazon or whoever has taken their 35%. >> town in the different models are out there? what is the of did list author? >> and not there that sells some and continues to publish but is not a best seller. >> so how many different models are out there right now with that breakdown? >> traditional publishing

today most go through traditional publishing but there are ways with the new services coming up that will provide electronic books and make copies and as author if you want to self published take amazon. view basically use their format you put your text in to end you put the book up you cannot negotiate at all. just click rand except type of arrangement you have to except whatever terms amazon give issue if you give them

exclusive rights they give you 70 percent but they are doing nothing other than putting up the book and if you have to agree to that price between $2 and incense and $7.99. if you want to sell on another platform, most do then day want to have more leeway in to and to know that you're getting paid to

gregory her carry your also up part of their library, a subscription service where "the reader" can pay $10 a month to allow whole library of books. that we have heard of others that go into the pool with exclusive arrangements have made much less money to do so so if they can make it self publishing they will use the 30% option. >> you mentioned the senate judiciary committee looking at copyright law. what changes are they considering you and what do you support? >> yes.

the house judiciary committee the senate is starting to get involved. the issues that we are focused on right now is there is a number of minor issues but quickly is the creation of a small claims tribunal that would be in the copyright office because copyright is a right to but without the remedy you have no right to freeing litigation up cost usually 150,000 very few they cannot afford that. authors or photographers have no way to enforce their rights under the current system if you file in small claims you don't have to hire a lawyer a lawyer will

tell you to save your money. [laughter] go complex discovery in for claims under a certain amount so like 30,000 door last nobody will litigate over that so that we are supporting we are supporting legislation that the part of the of copyright law and the copyright act that allows any internet service provider to escape liability for copyright infringement if they comply with certain rules. we have to have a good hour just on this subject but

basically the way the courts have interpreted which we think is incorrect, but the authors have only remedy of to send notices to the service provider and take it down which they generally do that then it goes right back up and you actually have to give the you are all so tell the service provider we're in is like for some of them there is no way even for a copy so it is called the game of wac the mold