CM January 12, 1996. Vol II, Number 13

Table of Contents

 From the Editor

New Year's Evolution

button We've accomplished a lot since we started the electronic version of CM last June, and we're proud of the magazine. (You may have noticed that our Welcome page now sports this button indicating we're a "Top Canadian Web-Site" according to the 1996 Canadian Internet Directory.) But sometimes as you're swinging along from tree to tree, you begin to think brachiation might not be the most efficient way to go. Or, in our case, we've recently realized that restricting access to paid subscibers might not be the best way to market CM over the Internet.

That subscription-based plan was based on a print model, and of course the Internet is really an electronic mass-medium -- like TV. And like TV, it turns out that people expect everything on the 'net to be free.

Finding subscribers has been harder than we thought, particularly since we've been telling people that it will cost money just to take a look at the current issues. Although our overall readership isn't bad -- we're approaching the numbers of the old, paper CM -- our subscription revenue isn't what we'd hoped. So we've evolved a plan to substantially raise our readership in order to better chase advertising dollars. The goal is simply to stay financially healthy enough to be around for the long-term.

For starters, from now on access to CM will be free. We will continue to ask regular readers for a $42 annual contribution to cover our costs, but we're not going to try to keep out anyone who hasn't come up with the money. Sort of like PBS. (Well, we won't be doing pledge drives, but our publisher, the Manitoba Library Association, is a registered charitable organisation; anyone who makes a contribution, or who already has, can request a receipt for tax-purposes.)

Because we won't be restricting access based on subscriptions, we'll also be taking the opportunity to market ourselves more aggressively both in print and throughout the Internet. So tell your friends, colleagues, and relatives: CM can be had for free at portal.mbnet.mb.ca/cm -- or by sending an e-mail request for subscription to cm@umanitoba.ca. And expect to see us everywhere you turn . . .

Along with our new, wider-distribution policy, we've changed a couple of other things about the magazine. First, we're expanding our mandate to include reviews of non Canadian materials -- from a Canadian point of view. What's important to remember is that we will not be reducing the number of Canadian titles we cover, just starting to add international content as well. We'll continue to attempt to review Canadian materials comprehensively, and they will always form the majority of our content.

And one more thing. When we were a print publication, CM stood for Canadian Materials. People called us by both the short and long versions. When we changed to electronic production last spring, we kept the CM, but added the very catchy subtitle: "an electronic reviewing journal of Canadian materials for young people." Now that we won't be reviewing only Canadian content, our name is going to change a little again, to CM: Canadian Review of Materials. Shorter, even catchier, and more appropriate.

If you have any questions or comments about our new policy, please get in touch at the address beneath my name.

-- Duncan Thornton
cmeditor@mts.net

 Book Reviews

 Student-Led Conferences.
Janet Millar Grant, Barbara Heffler, Kadri Mereweather.
Review by Katherine Matthews.
Professional.

 Sink or Swim.
William Pasnak.
Review by Katherine Matthews.
Grades 3 - 6 / Ages 8 - 11.

 How the Pinto Got Her Colour.
Kate Buchholz. Illustrated by Anne Hanley.
Review by Kenneth Field.
Grades 4 - 6 / Ages 9 - 11.

 Really Weird Animals.
Tammy Everts and Bobbie Kalman.
Review by Harriet Zaidman.
Grades 1 - 5 / Ages 6 - 10.

 Video Review

 Toronto: Stories from the Life of a City.
Lynx Images Productions.
Review by Katherine Matthews.
Grades 8 and up / Ages 13 and up.

Features

 The Great Canadian Trivia Contest

 The Little Math Puzzle

 News

 International: "Taming the Tube" Project

CM
Editor
Duncan Thornton
e-mail: cmeditor@mts.net

CM
Executive Assistant
Peter Tittenberger
e-mail: cm@umanitoba.ca


If you would like to print out an entire copy of this issue of CM we have compiled all of our articles and reviews in one print file.

About CM

We publish every week!
As of January 12, 1996,CM has implented an unrestricted access policy: there will be no charge for either reading our web-site or receiving our e-mail version. We do ask regular readers, however, for an annual contribution of $42 to help defray costs (for the remainder of Volume 2, through June 7, 1996, Manitoba readers have had their donations paid courtesy of a Manitoba charitable foundation). Money sent to CM qualifies as a charitable donation.


How do you subscribe to the e-mail version?

Send e-mail to: cm@umanitoba.ca

Postal address:
CM
100 Arthur Street, Suite 208
Winnipeg, MB R3B 1H3

Copyright © 1995 the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

Welcome
Book Reviews by Author
Book Reviews by Title
Audio/Video/CD-ROM Reviews by Title
Volume 2 Index