Amazon to launch Library Lending

[Darqref]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Okay, going from the Overdrive blog post, they are following the logic that the libraries are buying licenses, not files (Baen takes the same position) so the book can be delivered in any format. Simple, straightforward and religion-free.
Epub, mobi, whatever, is irrelevant; what matters is the book, not the format.

This. What I'm looking for is the sorta reverse - any book that becomes available for Kindle (that needs a K for whatever app) would also automatically become available in the other formats. If that is true, then there is no longer a division between books available for epub and books available for mobi and books available for kindle.

But it's really exciting for my sister-in-law who got a kindle for christmas....

[SyJ]

Originally Posted by CRussel

And as an author, I can tell you that I want everyone to be able to read my books. Full stop.

Maybe as an author you want this....but ask your publisher....I bet they have a different view.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

So this is going to cut down on the number of clicks I need to produce to read library books on my Kindle, this is a good thing.

I wonder why "individuals" aren't given the library rate for books though, if the price is low enough, we probably wouldn't need a centralized tax supported repository. I'm a fan of free before reading of course, but I admit that is still a bit far off.

IOW, you want OverDrive to offer a subscription service for individuals.

[Piper_]

Originally Posted by Fbone

I wonder if this explains the dramatic price increases Overdrive will be charging libraries starting 2012. The annual account administration fees are doubling for some libraries next year and then doubling again for 2013.

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Wow; that's not good. Do you have any idea what those fees are in dollars? and where do you get info like this?

Originally Posted by Fbone

Here's an article from Library Journal where the Kansas State Librarian discusses the issue. She provides specific details.

http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/new...eball.html.csp

The article says Overdrive sent the notice of the doubling fees way back in September, so I doubt it was because of Kindlers coming on board.

It says there was a ten-fold increase in circulation in Kansas' digital collection from 2006 to Sept 2010, with no added charges in all that time, and that Kansas' centralized operation also presented challenges.

So they more than doubled their demand every year, and now their fees will double every year.

It makes sense that increased circulation will result in increased fees, but circulation was rising steeply already and was going to continue. They said that here in 2011, they were already almost at 2010's total levels.

Choices and adjustments need to be made all around, but they were already coming.

Will it be a net burden or benefit?

It depends on what matters most to tax payers (which includes kindlers) and how well the funds are managed. I hope they're managed well, because I think we'll all benefit from increased popularity of ebooks in libraries.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Piper_

It makes sense that increased circulation will result in increased fees, but circulation was rising steeply already and was going to continue. They said that here in 2011, they were already almost at 2010's total levels.

If OverDrive isn't careful, they could find themselves losing customers. With such tight budgets, I can see some library systems throwing in the towel and abandoning ebooks altogether. After all, they still have the old model in place - where you physically visit the library and checkout real books and real magazines and real CDs and real DVDs, etc.

[carld]

Originally Posted by FizzyWater

I don't know how I feel about this.

Plus...what will this mean to the already alarming wait times?!

Probably nothing. Overdrive lends out each format separately. The PDF can still be available while the ePub copy is checked out. Since Kindle users will have their own format to borrow, it shouldn't really have any impact at all.

[carld]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Those will jump significantly if there's a large influx of Kindle owners into the system.

Not unless Overdrive changes how they lend out ebooks. Right now each format is treated as a different physical copy. Borrowing the PDF still leaves the ePub available. If they continue that pattern then a bunch of new Kindle users won't matter at all really. That's conjecture of course until we see how it's implemented.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by carld

Not unless Overdrive changes how they lend out ebooks. Right now each format is treated as a different physical copy. Borrowing the PDF still leaves the ePub available. If they continue that pattern then a bunch of new Kindle users won't matter at all really. That's conjecture of course until we see how it's implemented.

Libraries won't double their inventory for free. What most likely will happen is that instead of buying ePub copies like they do now, they'll just buy a license for a book to be delivered in either ePub or Kindle format.

Let's say a library has 3 copies of the latest bestseller and 3 Kindles users check out those copies, that means there are no copies left for ePub users and they'll have to join the wait list.

This will definitely have an impact on wait times.

[carld]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Libraries won't double their inventory for free. What most likely will happen is that instead of buying ePub copies like they do now, they'll just buy a license for a book to be delivered in either ePub or Kindle format.

Let's say a library has 3 copies of the latest bestseller and 3 Kindles users check out those copies, that means there are no copies left for ePub users and they'll have to join the wait list.

This will definitely have an impact on wait times.

It's already been posted several times that it isn't going to cost libraries anything extra to add Kindle version to their catalog. So, barring other factors, this isn't going to happen.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by carld

It's already been posted several times that it isn't going to cost libraries anything extra to add Kindle version to their catalog. So, barring other factors, this isn't going to happen.

I already know that.

Are you claiming that Kindle is going to match a library's ePub inventory copy for copy, for free?

If not, then the only way this can happen is for the library to have X number of licenses for each book with the format to be chosen by the person checking out the book.

[Asawi]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

If not, then the only way this can happen is for the library to have X number of licenses for each book with the format to be chosen by the person checking out the book.

Sounds very plausible to me. Should not be too hard to implement.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Asawi

Sounds very plausible to me. Should not be too hard to implement.

Sounds like the most logical implementation. I believe it was tomsem who first suggested this. He spells it out quite convincingly and I agree with it. With two active threads on this topic, I don't remember which one it was in.

[Asawi]

As a kind of curiosity I can tell you about the eBook licensing system the libraries over here have, just so you can seen that there are different ways to deal with things.
Libraries buy a number of licenses. They are not tied to any specific books. The whole of the central database (that would be like Overdrive) is available to all library patrons. All titles, all available formats.
Publishers and authors are payed for every library checkout (and so is the central database keeper).
This of course means that the local library can use up its licenses before the quarter is over (happened around CHristmas last year at my local library). It also means that there are no a waiting lists.
I only tell this in this topic so shine a light at the fact that there can be different licensing "strategies", and things don't necessarily have to be "the way they've been" forever.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Asawi

As a kind of curiosity I can tell you about the eBook licensing system the libraries over here have, just so you can seen that there are different ways to deal with things.
Libraries buy a number of licenses. They are not tied to any specific books. The whole of the central database (that would be like Overdrive) is available to all library patrons. All titles, all available formats.
Publishers and authors are payed for every library checkout (and so is the central database keeper).
This of course means that the local library can use up its licenses before the quarter is over (happened around CHristmas last year at my local library). It also means that there are no a waiting lists.
I only tell this in this topic so shine a light at the fact that there can be different licensing "strategies", and things don't necessarily have to be "the way they've been" forever.

Thanks for sharing. I like that system. It gives the consumers much greater flexibility in choosing what they want to read.

Like you said, the possibilities are numerous.

[carld]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I already know that.

Are you claiming that Kindle is going to match a library's ePub inventory copy for copy, for free?

If not, then the only way this can happen is for the library to have X number of licenses for each book with the format to be chosen by the person checking out the book.

That seems to be what they're saying. It's been quoted several times that all Overdrive titles will simply be available for checkout as Kindle ebooks.

I'll admit it's a best case scenario, but I'm only going by what's being said by Overdrive itself. It's possible that Overdrive will do as you say and only allow so many copies regardless of format to be loaned out. But, as I said, that isn't how it's set up currently.