From today's Toronto Star
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015...librarian.html
Quote:
High ebook prices ‘unsustainable,’ says city’s top librarian
Publishers charge libraries up to $135 for an ebook, five times as much as the public would pay.
Toronto Public Library is crying foul over “unreasonably high” ebook prices that it says limit its titles as demand soars for virtual reading.
The organization’s top executive, Vickery Bowles, said publishers charge vastly different prices to libraries than average consumers, and the ebooks come also with many usage restrictions.
In an interview with the Star on Tuesday, the city librarian called the prices and conditions “unsustainable,” saying some publishers charge libraries $85 for an ebook while the average consumer gets the same title for only $15.99.
“That puts a lot of pressure on our budget,” she said. “We need something that is more reasonable.”
According to information provided by the library, the Big Five, large publishers that provide about half the library’s books, charge libraries roughly 1.5 to five times the price average consumers pay for ebooks, and some stipulate they can be used only a certain number of times or over a certain period.
The highest prices come from Random House Canada and Hachette Book Group, which charge up to $85 and $135 per book, respectively.
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