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Caldecott, Newbery, Other ALA Youth Media Awards to Be Webcast on January 27

The American Library Association’s 2014 Youth Media Awards presentation will begin at 8:00 a.m. EST on January 27, 2014. The announcements will air live via the ALA Youth Media Awards webcast at http://tinyurl.com/alayma14 and can be followed on Twitter at @alayma or #alayma.

Eighteen Youth Media Awards will be announced, including the winners of the Caldecott and Newbery medals, the Coretta Scott King book awards, and the Printz award, as well as other distinguished children’s and young adult writers and illustrators and children’s audio and video producers.

Zola Books Acquires Bookish

E-book social network and retailer Zola Books has acquired the book recommendation site Bookish. In an announcement on Monday, Zola Books said that it will continue to grow Bookish, which uses proprietary algorithms to match content with readers and draws hundreds of thousands of visitors per month. The acquisition of Bookish expands Zola’s existing technology platform, which offers visitors an e-reader app with social media abilities and an e-commerce e-book site.

Bookish was founded by Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group, and Simon & Schuster and went live in February 2013. Zola Books is an independent startup that works to create an online community for readers.

Oregon Book Awards Finalists Announced

The finalists for the 2014 Oregon Book Awards have been announced, along with 10 fellowship recipients — eight writers and two publishers — who will receive grants of $2,500. The full list of finalists is on the Literary Arts website.

Winners of the awards will be announced on March 17, 2014, at the 27th Oregon Book Awards Ceremony in Portland. The ceremony will honor Oregon writers in the genres of poetry, fiction, graphic literature, literary nonfiction, and literature for young readers, and will be hosted by author Luis Alberto Urrea. 

Study Looks at Showrooming Practices

A recent study from Marketing Land indicates that 31 percent of consumers continue to use their smartphones and tablets to compare products and prices online while in bricks-and-mortar stores, reported MediaPost. Conversely, 34 percent do not use their phones in stores at all.

The survey found that 31 percent of consumers compare product prices through online retailers while in stores; 30 percent look for coupons or offers online; 28 percent contact friends or family for advice; 27 percent look at product reviews; 18 percent look for other stores that have the product in stock; 15 percent scan barcodes or QR codes; and 13 percent look for gift ideas.

However, 35 percent of respondents said they don’t use their phones for purchases. Twenty-two percent indicated that they research on their phone but purchase on a computer; 14 percent research and buy items on their phones; 13 percent are concerned about the security of credit card transactions when buying by phone; 11 percent buy items by phone if there are no other options; and 4 percent research by phone but purchase on tablets.