Web 2.0 Awards: Lulu

I explored the site Lulu http://www.lulu.com/ which won first place in the Books Category.
The site contains different areas of interest.
The Publishing area has resources for self-publishing your book…. You just upload your files, choose format and size, and they cover and bind it. You can get one copy for yourself or multiple copies. You even get your own ISBN!! There’s a Content Creation Wizard to start a new project and it can be private or open to public view.

In the Marketplace section of the site, you can buy products “from a million creators”: books, artwork, calendars, CD, videos and more.
Another section has Marketing and Selling Tools; you can get listed in the Lulu Marketplace, create a storefront, get a Distribution Package that includes an ISBN for comprehensive global distribution. They can help with press release writing, web banners, self-promo kits, etc.
I was interested in how much some of these items cost. The Publishing Pack is $500… but it really sounds like it’s a very comprehensive resource for someone just getting started in self-publishing. It includes the following:
Lulu’s cover design service enhances the book’s look with a professionally designed custom cover. The Editor’s Analysis provides an in-depth evaluation of writing style and grammar use. The Formatting service helps in the selection of “an interior page design for a clean, inviting layout.”
There’s even a Lulu Forum and a Lulu Blog!
I was interested to learn of some of the many aspects of self- publishing, an area I knew nothing about.

In terms of library setting applications, I saw a Library Visibility service offered:
http://www.lulu.com/en/services/marketing/library_visibility.php

“make sure you're seen by the people in charge of selecting titles and making purchases. For authors publishing in the United States, this means that libraries will have easy and direct access to bibliographic information about your books without having to wade through other, broader databases.”

This is quite the resource for self-publishing and for buying items, as well as a tool for library collection development.