MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - HarperCollins Puts 26 Loan Cap on Ebook Circulations

snipenekkid · 02-26-2011, 10:57 PM

wouldn't it make more sense for publishers and libraries to just lock themselves in a room and beat each other over the head until they come up with a universal subscription model for their catalogs in which there is a constant cost for the libraries but the content is on a rotation. So rather than purchase licences for each title individually the libraries can have a group pool sharing the titles between each on a rotating basis. The rotation could be based on demand but with a hard cap on the total number of individual titles a library can have out on loan at any given time.

Basically to a person looking to check out a book we would see the whole catalog with some sort of status but it's not based on the number of copies for that title (well maybe a hard cap on new titles so as not to kill those sales) but based on the total number of titles a library can have checked out.

I likely did not describe what I see in my head. I just think a more fluid model could work for ebooks. It would also give individual libraries a set known cost for each year yet expand their catalog for people in that town. To me it makes more sense than forcing libraries to chose the books for me, let us readers decide what titles we want, put it on reserve then once a license is free just let me know and *poof* I have that book.

To me that idea makes a lot more sense. Heck I don't even mind the idea of a membership to a library group for a donation of some sort, you know like a zoo membership. Of course I have long wanted a subscription model at bookstores anyway. I already pay Audible a couple hundred a year for audiobooks so what would a 2-book/month discounted membership at an online bookstore be? Say $12-$15/month? I know, I know the whole agency model pretty much buggers that idea so I gave up in it. And for all I know the subscription model for library groups is not popular with publishers already as I really don't follow library matters anymore. But something has to be better than the current options. Or is this how Overdrive actually works already?

02-26-2011, 10:57 PM	#73
snipenekkid Banned Posts: 760 Karma: 51034 Join Date: Feb 2009	wouldn't it make more sense for publishers and libraries to just lock themselves in a room and beat each other over the head until they come up with a universal subscription model for their catalogs in which there is a constant cost for the libraries but the content is on a rotation. So rather than purchase licences for each title individually the libraries can have a group pool sharing the titles between each on a rotating basis. The rotation could be based on demand but with a hard cap on the total number of individual titles a library can have out on loan at any given time. Basically to a person looking to check out a book we would see the whole catalog with some sort of status but it's not based on the number of copies for that title (well maybe a hard cap on new titles so as not to kill those sales) but based on the total number of titles a library can have checked out. I likely did not describe what I see in my head. I just think a more fluid model could work for ebooks. It would also give individual libraries a set known cost for each year yet expand their catalog for people in that town. To me it makes more sense than forcing libraries to chose the books for me, let us readers decide what titles we want, put it on reserve then once a license is free just let me know and poof I have that book. To me that idea makes a lot more sense. Heck I don't even mind the idea of a membership to a library group for a donation of some sort, you know like a zoo membership. Of course I have long wanted a subscription model at bookstores anyway. I already pay Audible a couple hundred a year for audiobooks so what would a 2-book/month discounted membership at an online bookstore be? Say $12-$15/month? I know, I know the whole agency model pretty much buggers that idea so I gave up in it. And for all I know the subscription model for library groups is not popular with publishers already as I really don't follow library matters anymore. But something has to be better than the current options. Or is this how Overdrive actually works already?