Quote:
Originally Posted by HoopyFrood
A valid point if true, however I believe that many of the e-book providers only allow a limited number of "checkout's" of a e-book file before it has to be re-purchased.
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Wasn't it only HarperCollins who did that?
Anyway, in theory, I think publishers charging libraries a bit more for a copy
does make sense. It would probably serve everyone's interests (well, everyone but the publisher anyway) better if it was some kind of fixed price increase, though (e.g. twice the full retail price or something similar).
There definitely is the argument of "an ebook file isn't going to wear out or get lost", so there is never going to be a practical reason for the library to repurchase it. On the other hand, the majority of physical books in libraries probably never get so worn out that they need replacing, either (especially as books can get repaired), so setting the ebook price equivalent to having to buy 1 original copy and 1 replacement would, to me, seem reasonably fair.
A checkout cap would be another method, but the 26 checkout limit by HarperCollins sounds far too low - I can't imagine most books wearing out so much that they need to be replaced in just one year (if it's a popular book that's lent out to a new reader every two weeks). Something like a 100 checkout cap would probably be more reasonable, but I'm not a librarian and don't really know how many loans a typical well-bound book can take before needing to be replaced (or repaired for more money than buying a new copy would cost).