Thread: NPR Planet Money - The E-Book Wars
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Old 01-10-2023, 05:14 PM   #15
John F
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Quote:
Originally Posted by issybird View Post
The eight-week window is only important at the margin, which is why I don’t understand why either publisher or librarian is willing to die on that hill. With or without the window, most borrowers won’t be able to read a book in the first week or two after it comes out, while it’s “hot”. Library patrons understand this.

Here’s a real-life example: Right now, Stark Library in Ohio has a waiting list of just shy of 1400 for two ebook copies of Prince Harry’s memoir, coming out tomorrow. I’m quite sure they’ll be buying more. However, it’s still going to be a wait of months for almost all of the 1400. A “window” might cause a few of them to buy the book, but most people, if they’re willing to wait, they’re willing to wait a little longer. Free is a very powerful argument.
How about at the BPL:

https://brooklyn.overdrive.com/media/9219213

The wait time is 12 weeks, with 179 copies and 1070 people waiting. So many of those people would get the title within the 8 week window.

The bigger libraries, from what I've seen, try to keep wait times down.
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