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Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks
And that didn't work out so well for SCRIBD. So they delisted the romance books that were most read because they couldn't afford to pay out that much per read (or so we assume that is why they did it).
Libraries right now pay once for a paperback or hardback and then they are done. They might have to replace the book at some point, but often, if it was damaged, the patron responsible is charged directly. If libraries had to pay 10 cents per checkout they would have to redo their budgets accordingly--and figure it out based on the number of checkouts overall. The reality is that the book budget itself isn't their biggest expense--the building, salary, fees for overdrive and the checkout system for print books is a HUGE part of the budget. That software isn't cheap. I was astounded at the fees they pay to license software for checking out print books. And overdrive is no better. Not only do they pay for each ebook, they license the overdrive software each year.
Many of the suggestions in this thread are good ideas, but it would have to happen to a brand new library that didn't come with legacy politics attached!
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One thing libraries can try is, deploy multiple software fronts (And some from open source like Marlin DRM) and give the members options to choose and charge accordingly. Right now the software stack provider (back-end + DRM + reading apps) are working like "Winner takes all". Although Overdrive titles may have highest device compatibility but that doesn't mean everybody really need them and ready to pay for it.