What to do in Houston during the meeting

If you are interested in haunting about Houston, consider these ghost tours:

Discover Houston Tours:  http://www.discoverhoustontours.com/

Cloud 9 Living: Ghost Tour of Houston: http://www.cloud9living.com/experience.php?exp=705&utm_source=gifts.com&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=LIF-HOU-0002&utm_campaign=Ghost_Tour_of_Houston_Houston

If you are interested in haunting about Houston during Halloween weekend, consider these ghost tours:

Discover Houston Tours

Cloud 9 Living: Ghost Tour of Houston

Getting from the airport to the annual meeting

Wondering how you are going to get from the airport to the Doubletree Suites convention hotel in Houston? The hotel planner says that SuperShuttle services both airports (Bush IAH and Hobby) to the hotel.

AESE Meeting Update

Reduced-rate registration for the annual meeting closes tomorrow!  We have some really interesting sessions planned.  Here is a general schedule:

Friday, October 30

8:30-9:15am  Science in nonscientific writing

9:15-10:15am   Geoarchaeology publishing

10:45am-12noon   Online Geoscience Education

2:00-3:00pm   Database Design/Archival Techniques

3:15-3:45pm   Copublishing

3:45-4:45pm  Online Book Manuscript Management

Saturday, October 31

8:15-9:30am   Digital Publishing, Print Publishing, and Publishing Production

9:30-10:30am   Editing Issues

10:45-11:45am   Geology and Geography of Texas

2:00-2:45pm   Copyright Issues

3:00-3:15pm  International Year of Planet Earth Update

3:15-4:00pm  Discussion on the Future of AESE/Preview of the 2010 Meeting in Victoria

In addition to the technical sessions, the meeting includes an icebreaker, editors’ breakfasts, the awards banquet, and the field trip to Galveston.  It’s a great time to reconnect with fellow editors and network with new colleagues!

Update on the Google Books settlement

Facing a chorus of opposition from groups such as the U.S. Justice Department, the parties to the Google Books settlement have asked  the court for more time to rework the proposed agreement. The revised settlement that emerges is likely to differ in some substantial ways from the earlier one, thus the July 27 post on the subject is probably obsolete. Nevertheless, we encourage AESE members to pay close attention to future developments to ensure their rights are protected.

Summer Blueline is out

The Summer issue of the Blueline was released this morning. If you didn’t get the email notice, you can pick it up from the AESE web site in the Members Area.

AESE has Paypal

We are pleased to announce that AESE can now accept credit card payments through Paypal for the annual meeting registration fee. You’ll still need to send in your meeting registration form, but it’s no longer necessary to send a check or wire transfer. This payment method works even if you don’t have a Paypal account–all you need is a credit card. (Note: this will also be available for membership dues when the time comes, though it’s not set up for it yet.)

Last call for Earth Science Week toolkits

I still have seven kits available from the 50 that AGI has offered us. Anyone still interested should let me know.

Earth Science Week Oct. 11-17

The American Geological Institute, of which AESE is a member society, is inviting earth science professionals and educators to participate in Earth Science Week 2009 October 11-17. This year’s theme is “Understanding Climate.” AGI has prepared a toolkit to share with science teachers to help promote awareness of critical earth science issues. AESE can order up to 50 complimentary copies. Anyone wanting a few should email me. I will be ordering them at the end of next week.

Second Call for Abstracts

Call for Abstracts by September 1, 2009

“Earth/Energy/Editing”

Association of Earth Science Editors 43rd Annual Meeting

Doubletree Guest Suites

Houston, Texas, U.S.A.

October 29–November 1, 2009

“Earth/Energy/Editing” is the theme for the 43rd annual meeting of the Association of Earth Science Editors, to be held at the Doubletree Guest Suites in the Uptown District of Houston, Texas, U.S.A., on October 29 through November 1, 2009. AESE members and other interested persons are encouraged to chair a session, give a talk, or participate in a panel discussion. Abstracts must be submitted by September 1, 2009, and can also be submitted for a talk to be presented by a proxy.

Abstracts must be one-paragraph double-spaced Word (doc.) or text (txt.) files with special characters noted.  Be sure to include your contact information.  Further instructions can be found below. Send abstracts to Nicole Barlow, AESE vice president, at nicole@purplerockediting.com, by September 1.

Tentative topics are listed below.  Suggestions for other topics are welcome.

• Online geoscience education
• Interdepartmental publishing/copublishing
• Copyright issues
• Geoarchaeology publishing
• Editing nuts and bolts
• Online manuscript management for books
• Database design/archival techniques
• Freelance editing
• Digital versus print publishing
• Environmental friendly publishing
• International Year of Planet Earth update
• Geology and geography of Texas and area
• The future of the AESE/preview of 2010 meeting in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
• Hands-on workshop of InDesign/Microsoft Word/Photoshop

Abstract Guidelines

Abstracts should be no more than one paragraph (200 to 300 words). The abstract should be self-contained.  New or unfamiliar terminology should be defined. We discourage the use of commercial names or parenthetical statements.

The abstract should not simply list the topics covered in the talk but should (1) state the scope and principal objectives, (2) describe the methods used, (3) summarize the results, and (4) state the principal conclusions. Do not refer to the paper itself in the abstract such as by saying, “In this presentation, I will discuss….”

The abstract should stand alone as a very short version of the talk rather than as a description of the contents.

Registration

AESE members may register through September 30 for $295 ($345 after that date). The registration fee includes the field trip and all scheduled meals: Thursday night icebreaker (appetizers and cash bar); continental breakfast, midmorning beverages, and midafternoon break during the technical sessions on Friday and Saturday; Friday business meeting luncheon; Saturday awards dinner and Halloween festivities; and box lunch for the Sunday field trip.

The registration form can be downloaded at: http://www.aese.org/AESE2009RegistrationForm.pdf

Field Trip

An all-day field trip to the Galveston will take place on November 1. Participation is included with the conference registration price.

Reservations

The meeting will take place at the Doubletree Guest Suites Houston by the Galleria.  The hotel has reserved a block of rooms for AESE at a conference rate of $129 per night. Contact the Doubletree before September 30 and mention that you will be attending the AESE meeting:

Toll free: 800-222-TREE (-8733)

Direct: 713-961-9000

Contact Information

For more information about the meeting registration, events, or field trip, contact Elsa Kapitan-White, host chair, at kwhite1@sugar-land.oilfield.slb.com. For more information about the technical program or to suggest a topic, chair a session, give a talk, or participate in a panel discussion, contact Nicole Barlow, AESE vice president, at nicole@purplerockediting.com.

Google copyright lawsuit deadline is September 4

If you are an AESE member who owns the U.S. copyright in a book or book insert published before January 5, 2009, this message is for you. You have until September 4, 2009, to opt in to or opt out of the settlement agreement for the class-action copyright infringement suit brought against Google by the Authors’ Guild and the American Association of Publishers. Failure to act by that date will have the same effect as opting in. This message contains a few points that affected members may want to consider and includes pointers to relevant information about the settlement.

AESE does not offer legal advice, nor does AESE have a recommended course of action. The association is simply urging affected members to look into their rights with respect to the settlement. Because the settlement-agreement deadline is so close to the distribution date for the next Blueline, the AESE board decided to send this information via e-mail to all members before then. A general discussion of the Google case will appear in the next issue of Blueline.

What is the settlement agreement, and why should copyright owners care? The parties to the class-action copyright-infringement suit brought against Google for scanning and displaying tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of copyrighted books have agreed to settle out of court. Because this is a class action, all those defined as being part of the class are included in this decision unless they declare that they will opt out. Google will continue to scan and display books unless the copyright owner takes some action.

Who is covered by the settlement agreement? Those who are covered are individuals or entities who own the U.S. copyright in a book or book insert published prior to January 5, 2009, and still protected by copyright. You may own the copyright by virtue of having been the creator of the work or having had all or part of the copyright transferred to you. Even if you share the copyright in a work, you should look into this agreement. If you are unsure as to whether a work is still under copyright, you will need to check the date of creation. If the work was created after 1978, it is still under copyright; if it was created prior to 1978, check the “frequently asked questions (FAQs)” section on the Copyright Office Web site for information on how to determine the length of the copyright term: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/.

For purposes of the settlement, what is a book or book insert? What those of us who edit and publish consider to be a book is not necessarily what this agreement defines as a book or what Google has scanned as part of this “books” project. Scanned items include field guides, meeting proceedings, reprints of special issues of journals, and possibly library-bound collections of journal issues. Even though this project was not intended to include journals, it appears that Google might have scanned some mistakenly.

By opting in, what does the copyright owner get?

* A share of the cash payment related to the settlement. This is expected to be not less than $60 per book nor more than $300.

* A share of the moneys Google may receive from ad sales, subscriptions, or other sales related to this scanning project. Two-thirds of the moneys received will go to the copyright owners who opt in. Distributions of those moneys will be determined by the Book Rights Registry, which will be made up of three individuals from the author community and three from the publishers’ side.

* The opportunity to file an objection or request to appear before the judge at the fairness hearing if the objection or notice is postmarked on or before September 4, 2009. A copyright owner who opts out is not a party to the settlement and therefore cannot register an objection about the agreement for consideration by the judge.

* Ability to instruct Google about what can or cannot be done with respect to any given book, including withholding the item from any display.

* The right to set the sales price for individual books that Google may sell. Google will have the right to sell individual books that are still under copyright but are no longer commercially available.

By opting in, what does the copyright owner give up?

* With respect to the books and book inserts published prior to January 5, 2009, the right to sue Google or any of the libraries that have cooperated with Google in this project. Future disputes with respect to the agreement will be settled by binding arbitration at the behest of the Book Rights Registry.

By opting out, what does the copyright owner get?

* The right to sue Google and the libraries that cooperated in the project.

* An opportunity to request that Google not scan its books. There is no binding obligation for Google to respect this request, although the company has indicated that its current policy is not to scan such books in the future and not to display them if the books have already been scanned.

By opting out, what does the copyright owner give up?

* A share of the cash settlement and a share of any future moneys that Google may earn from the books it has scanned. To receive a share of this cash settlement, the opting-in copyright owner must complete the claim form no later than January 5, 2010.

* A more certain guarantee that its wishes with respect to the scanned books will be honored. The Book Rights Registry is not obligated to oversee the works of those who have opted out of the agreement.

* The possibility of being included in the special search products that Google will create from the full-text scanning it is doing.

What may you as a copyright owner want to consider in deciding whether to opt in or opt out or in deciding what permissions to grant with respect to any given book if you opt in?

* How important is it to be part of the Google book search that will be supported by the database Google is creating with this project?

* What are you currently doing with out-of-print books that are still under copyright? Do you have plans for these works that may be positively or negatively impacted by what is known about Google’s plans to make books available?

* To what extent may snippets of the book substitute for purchase? To what extent would snippets help to entice individuals to make a purchase from you or a source that gives you moneys directly from sales?

* What impact may opting in have on other arrangements that you have for displaying or selling your books? The Google settlement agreement is nonexclusive; however, if you have exclusive arrangements with others, you likely are precluded by those arrangements from giving permissions to Google.

* What kind of resources in time may it require of you? The extent to which you wish to make individual decisions about specific books will determine the time resources needed if you opt in. In addition, you will want to keep yourself aware of Google’s future plans. These plans must be cleared with the Book Rights Registry, but the copyright owners may be required to make specific opt-in/opt-out decisions for some of the future services.

For further information, AESE members should consult the official Web site that is being maintained by the administrator for the settlement agreement: http://books.google.com/booksrightsholders/.

In addition, the Association of American Publishers has good information on its Web site at http://www.publishers.org/main/Copyright/Google/Faq.htm.

This bulletin benefited from discussions at a recent meeting organized by the American Geological Institute (AGI) for its member societies and was prepared for AESE by Judy C. Holoviak.