Fair Pricing for Libraries

[AnnaMarie]

Fair EBook Prices

A coalition of public libraries are raising awareness of ebook pricing issues.

If this is a concern to you, please check the link and add your e-mail to get updates.

DID YOU KNOW?

• In some cases, major multinational publishers charge libraries 3–5 times more for ebooks than they charge consumers.
  
  
• There are caps and time limits on ebook use.
  
  
• This means there are fewer titles and fewer copies for readers to discover.

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[AnnaMarie]

Btw, I had been excited when I discovered I could reserve the ebook of Finder's Keepers. But although there was only one person ahead of me on the list....I gave up waiting and went for the hard copy. I started with over 100 people ahead of me...and was just notified the hard copy is ready for pick up.

 

[bobledrew]

Some useful US information here at the American Library Association site. It's a problematic outgrowth of technology, not much different from the music industry. 30 years ago, consumers bought a physical object because they wanted the information it carried. Now, the physical object is no longer necessary, and the value and ownership of the information becomes a matter of debate. There's even arguments now that you don't own the software that is being used to run your car.

 

[fljoe0]

I've borrowed a couple of e-books from the Library. It seems that the way it works is that the library treats an e-book like a physical copy and only one person can check it out at a time. There is not a very big selection of e-books from my library.

 

[AnnaMarie]

That is correct fljoe0 . If they purchase one digital copy, only one person at a time can borrow it. And I don't think anyone really objects to that. But paying up to five times the price AND setting a limit to how many times an ebook can be borrowed seems unfair. I'm not sure what the number is. I know I previously read an article, and there seems to be disagreement as to how many times a hard copy gets borrowed before it is damaged enough to be replaced. I used to do volunteer work in a school library repairing books. I learned so many tricks....you would be amazed how much life can be added to a hard copy with a bit of time, glues, tape, and love.

bobledrew thank you for adding the US information.

 

[AnnaMarie]

Here's the article I read previously.

E-book prices marked up too high, libraries protest - Technology & Science - CBC News

With print books, libraries have traditionally paid less than retail price for copies. With e-books, it's the opposite.

Some publishers charge libraries up to eight times retail price for "perpetual access," where the book remains in their collection forever. Others charge a more "reasonable" price, such as $30 per copy, but allow access for a limited period of time, such as a year, or a limited number of borrowers. Once the limit is reached, the book disappears and the library has to repurchase it.

"Those are not sustainable models," Bowles said.

~~~

Our previous mayor was trying to code some libraries. We have a fabulous library system. I can go online and reserve a book, it gets shipped to the library of my choice for me to pick up, then I can return it to any library in the city. I have one of the smaller libraries within walking distance.

Part of his logic was people don't use libraries as much...they download.

 

[fljoe0]

That is correct fljoe0 . If they purchase one digital copy, only one person at a time can borrow it. And I don't think anyone really objects to that. But paying up to five times the price AND setting a limit to how many times an ebook can be borrowed seems unfair. I'm not sure what the number is. I know I previously read an article, and there seems to be disagreement as to how many times a hard copy gets borrowed before it is damaged enough to be replaced. I used to do volunteer work in a school library repairing books. I learned so many tricks....you would be amazed how much life can be added to a hard copy with a bit of time, glues, tape, and love.

bobledrew thank you for adding the US information.

Do libraries pay higher prices than consumers for hard covers too?

 

[AnnaMarie]

Do libraries pay higher prices than consumers for hard covers too?

The CBC link I added (post #6) says they traditionally paid less.

 

[Alexandra M]

Too old fashioned I guess; I want the actual book in hardcover in my hands. To me, half the pleasure is owning that book.