Dear Penguin Books: Library users are not freeloaders!

[speakingtohe]

@spindlegirl and amaradoll.

I agree with your viewpoints. Ebooks are wonderful and everyone should have an ereader, especially the handicapped.

I have spent countless hours reading to people who could not read in both personal and public voluntary cases.

I just think that Penguin is not the devil and is possibly not having a problem with libraries, but with Overdrive.

I prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt and hope for the best, but that is my choice only.

Sorry to have once again stepped on your toes.

Helen

[tubemonkey]

Penguin isn't the only game in town, so I really don't care what they do. There's more than enough content out there to satisfy my needs without the likes of them.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by speakingtohe

@spindlegirl and amaradoll.

I agree with your viewpoints. Ebooks are wonderful and everyone should have an ereader, especially the handicapped.

I have spent countless hours reading to people who could not read in both personal and public voluntary cases.

I just think that Penguin is not the devil and is possibly not having a problem with libraries, but with Overdrive.

I prefer to give them the benefit of the doubt and hope for the best, but that is my choice only.

Sorry to have once again stepped on your toes.

Helen

No toes hurtin' here. Your viewpoint is valid. I also agree with tubemonkey above, that there are so many books out there too, that if for whatever reason I vote against Penguin with my wallet, then there's other stuff ....

[catsittingstill]

If you don't sleep under a bridge*, you pay property taxes that support the library.

Using the library your taxes pay for is no more "freeloading" than driving on the street, or walking on the sidewalk. And whether you're reading a paper book or an e-book doesn't alter that in the slightest.

The publishers get paid for the books that go into the library, just like the asphalt company gets paid for the asphalt that goes onto the road, and the concrete company gets paid for the concrete that goes into the sidewalk. And any company might want to be careful about referring to the taxpayers whose dollars bought their product as "freeloaders."

Just sayin'
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(*And if you do sleep under a bridge you may use the library with my good will; may it make your life less miserable, or even help you find your way out of poverty.)

[spindlegirl]

[QUOTE=catsittingstill;1967227
Using the library your taxes pay for is no more "freeloading" than driving on the street, or walking on the sidewalk. And whether you're reading a paper book or an e-book doesn't alter that in the slightest.
[/QUOTE]

And most people approve of parents sending their kids to school

[Sydney's Mom]

When I lived in the city, I didn't use the library (this was before ebooks). But since moving to the burbs, I use it all the time. It is less than a block from the train station, and our town is so small, that if I request a book, I usually don't have to wait more than a week or two (if our library buys the book). Now, I still have to go to the library and pick the book up and return it (the "friction" the article mentions), but the friction has been reduced to such an extent with the ability to reserve books and ebooks, that I don't see the reason to buy them. I never reread them, and if I didn't keep a list of what I had read and check it before I check something out, I would keep rereading the same books.

Sorry publishers. I don't pirate songs, because I can easily buy them. You could have gotten on top of the library thing back in 2007, when the Kindle came out. But you have acted like recalcitrant children. You need a time out. And like most children, when you come out of the time out, you will not have gotten what you had the tantrum about.

[MichelleR]

I've only borrowed a few books from the library, but I've purchased half of them.

[pokerface]

Penny wise and pound foolish decision, IMHO!

[djgreedo]

Originally Posted by catsittingstill

The publishers get paid for the books that go into the library,

That seems a bit simplistic to me.

• An ebook can theoretically be loaned an infinite number of times, which potentially can lead to lost sales.
• It is much easier for a reader to get hold of a library ebook than a physical book (e.g. you don't have the leave the house), so the barrier for borrowing is removed, which could again lead to lost sales potential ($2 bus ticket/petrol plus an hour round trip might not seem worth it when you can buy an ebook for $7, but an instant, free library loan from the comfort of your home is a no-brainer).
• Purchased ebooks are by nature ephemeral, so there is much less difference between a library ebook experience and 'owning' a digital copy. With a physical book you own an item you can see on your shelf and re-sell, etc.

I can understand if the publishers are concerned that ebook lending makes it far easier for readers to not pay for books.

It's not as black-and-white as an ebook being completely comparable to a physical library book. The benefits to the publisher/author have to outweigh the costs for library ebook lending to make sense to them.

[ChrisRich]

Originally Posted by spindlegirl

There, had to get that off my chest.....

I wonder how they feel when people rent textbooks for university or college?

[spindlegirl]

I don't understand why publishers are so worried about an e-book "lasting forever", when I walk into the library and see many printed books that have been there for at least 20 years! Has the library done something illegal by loaning out a printed book several hundred times and not renewing it?

The library should be more freaked over what librarians can get away with with printed books!

Then for Penguin to pull out completely of the e-book loaning circuit and HC to have a 26 loan license per copy, is ridiculous. It's insane to take something that clearly lasts longer than a printed book and put an artificual "shelf life" on it.

What if I buy an e-book and personally myself, read it a hundred times over the next 30 years? Do publishers not realize that any book, printed or not, is going to last unless extreme circumstances end a book's usability permanently?

Having Big Brother dictate to me how I use my books, and how librarians use the books THEY buy is utter senselessness. Do they want libraries to afford future new material or not? Not gonna happen if 20 years later people are still requesting to find the same material.

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by pokerface

Penny wise and pound foolish decision, IMHO!

Them doing something that reduces their oligopolistically ambitious market power permanently is a good thing, though.

[bgalbrecht]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Penguin isn't the only game in town, so I really don't care what they do. There's more than enough content out there to satisfy my needs without the likes of them.

Except it's not just Penguin, it's Penguin, Macmillan, Hatchette and Simon & Schuster. Four of the six largest publishers don't let libraries lend ebooks.

[retro]

Originally Posted by bgalbrecht

Except it's not just Penguin, it's Penguin, Macmillan, Hatchette and Simon & Schuster. Four of the six largest publishers don't let libraries lend ebooks.

Now Brilliance Audio has dumped Overdrive,too.

http://www.readingreality.net/2012/0...n-downloading/

A shame since most libraries have stopped buying books on CD since they have Overdrive. Brilliance may realize sales won't improve if the libraries aren't paying for CDs or download rights.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by retro

A shame since most libraries have stopped buying books on CD since they have Overdrive. Brilliance may realize sales won't improve if the libraries aren't paying for CDs or download rights.

Where do Audible books come from? Does Brilliance sell to them? *plans boycott*