Libraries finally balk at e-book-- oh wait, it's the publisher. Never mind.

DiscussieBooks in 2025: The Future of the Book World

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Libraries finally balk at e-book-- oh wait, it's the publisher. Never mind.

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22wonderY
nov 22, 2011, 3:07 pm

Somebody's lightbulb finally lit.

3timspalding
Bewerkt: nov 22, 2011, 3:51 pm

I hate being right, but I predicted this sort of thing. Publishers don't think the library model is a good one, so bit by bit they're going to replace it with a new model, or kill it off.

As it stands now, two of the big six don't lend ebooks to libraries under any conditions, one lends with a (current) 26-book cap, one is Penguin and two do it in a straighforward/print-ish way, except that Overdrive has stepped back from the concept of "sales" toward licenses, and the effective per-read price for ebooks through Overdrive is already well above printed books and rising.

From my personal perspective, having suffered at the hands of the ebook enthusiasts—who are the big names in library technology—when I started writing on this, It's very gratifying to see people finally come around. It's clear to everyone now that library lending isn't going to be the same or, as one blogger put it, quoting Lando, "this deal is getting worse all the time." The reflexive "it's the same, what's the problem?" and "why are you against the future?" is now only repeated by ignorant librarians—a big slice of the group, but fewer and fewer. I do wish people had realized this back when I first started yelling it--back when ebook purchases were still a smaller share of the market than library purchases.

I predicted today that:

1. In 5 years, all big publishers will be selling frontlist titles to libraries on a per-read basis.
2. The per-read price will be 40-70% of the retail price.

And was, for once, backed up by a number of industry heavyweights.

The big question is, how high will the price be. Ebooks are exerting a powerful downward price. Even so, libraries currently pay $0.50 per read, effectively, for printed books (that is, take total collections budget and divide by total checkouts). If libraries are paying $5.00 or more, they're going to be in serious trouble making ends meet.

4_Zoe_
nov 22, 2011, 3:54 pm

Ebooks just don't make sense for libraries. I'm just glad that the publishers are making that clear before ebooks have become too entrenched. Libraries can still get rid of Overdrive and continue to provide cost-effective paper books to readers for years to come.

Libraries will not pay $5 per read. Taxpayers wouldn't accept it; they'd close down the libraries first.

52wonderY
nov 22, 2011, 3:58 pm

And 26 reads per hard copy is a ridiculous under-estimate.

6timspalding
nov 22, 2011, 4:01 pm

No, I don't think so. Books fall apart, get lost, get destroyed, and not every book flies off the shelves. Libraries deaccession books.

7fdholt
nov 22, 2011, 4:46 pm

#6 Actually it's the 20% rule - 20% of the books get 80% of the circulation.