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Originally Posted by MrsJoseph
I have no clue if there is a law against it nationally - but in this case I think that price gouging is an apt term to describe what is happening to libraries.
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There is no such law, and it's not apt.
"Price gouging" in the law refers to a sudden rise in prices due to an external shock. For example, if there is a hurricane that knocks down a bunch of power lines, and the local hardware store charges $750 for a $250 generator, that might qualify as price gouging.
It is not universally held that raising prices like this is awful. Some people innately react to this as taking advantage of a situation; others innately react to it as a method of ensuring that a vital resource is not depleted rapidly in an emergency.
A publisher who asks a library to pay more than you believe they should pay -- for a good that is completely optional and upon which life and livelihood does not depend -- does not qualify as "gouging" in the legal sense.
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Originally Posted by MrsJoseph
While I don't expect that libraries will ever get books for the same price as you and I (and AFAIK they never have)... a 300% price increase for the same product is pretty immoral and I think it should be illegal.
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How is this "immoral?" Do citizens have a moral right to free short-term access to Stieg Larsen's works? Is the price of a good is set in stone from the first instant it's offered? Would a 50% increase be acceptable? 100%? 200%? On what basis do we determine the magic number by which a price increase is allowed?
What if I believe that an iPhone is three times more expensive than it "ought" to be? Do I have a moral right to demand that Apple cut its prices by 1/3? That the government ought to step in and adjust prices?
No one is forcing the libraries to purchase Random House's titles. There is no inherent price to any good -- only what the market will pay. If Random House sets its prices higher than the libraries are willing to pay, then either RH will lower its prices or lose the business. Libraries make up about 5% of the annual market, and can coordinate via professional organizations such as ALA.
Government threats won't help the situation -- since the most likely response is for Random House to just stop selling ebooks to libraries. No sales, no accusations of "price gouging." Not much of a solution.
I.e. library protests with public support makes sense. Expecting government to step in and interfere with the process does not.
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Originally Posted by MrsJoseph
The fact does remain that libraries are where the majority of the reading public get access to literacy. There is no way to have a democratic nation without literacy. So, in effect, there is no America as we know it without libraries.
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Libraries are a public good, and have many benefits for society.
However, your statement is definitely an exaggeration.
• Schools are the primary drivers of literacy
• Free / public libraries are actually a relatively recent part of American life; e.g. the Boston Public was only founded in 1848.
• the role of libraries is rapidly changing anyway, with less influence placed anyway on the literacy role
And of course, almost every nation in modern society reinvents itself constantly. The "America as we know it" will be gone in 20 years anyway.