Quote:
Originally Posted by leebase
We have a reasonable model. A library buys a certain amount of books. People wait for the most popular titles. Meanwhile there are lots of others one can read.
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There are no restrictions on the number of times a purchased pbook can be borrowed, read, or retained in the library.
Depending upon the terms and conditions of the specific leased pbook, there are restrictions on how long it can be retained by the library. Some leases also require that the specific pbook be non-circulating only.
Pbooks with licenses, but not leases, typically have restrictions on the duration of the license, and a requirement that the item be non-circulating. (There are pbooks with licenses, rather than leases. They tend to have a very specific niche audience, and a price tag that is well into the five digit range. About the only good thing, is that virtually the only time the publisher enforces the license, is when people are distributing copies of the book. However, when they enforce the terms of the license, they file both criminal and civil charges against everybody.)
By contrast, ebook licenses have terms and conditions that restrict the number of times the item can be leased, the number of patrons that can lease the item, and how long the patron can hold the item. Furthermore, there are also restrictions on how long the library can license the book for. The most egregious ebook license I've come across, counted each time a patron opened the ebook, and once the ebook had been opened x times, the lease was terminated.