Penguin ends library/Overdrive relationship starting tomorrow

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by Fbone

All my library's Hachette ebooks are gone. They aren't even listed under publishers.

I am finding lots of Kindle Overdrive eBooks for the main imprints Hachette uses in the US (Grand Central Publishing, Little Brown, Orbit).

What imprint are you checking? I don't think they publish, in English, in the US, under the Hachette name.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by Fbone

I confirmed this by searching Overdrive. All my library's Hachette ebooks are gone. They aren't even listed under publishers.

They aren't listed at mine either, but Grand Central, Little Brown and Orbit are. (those are all Hachette labels) I don't know however when my library got those books and if they can still get books from them or just have the books they obtained previously.

[AnemicOak]

Ok, after some more checking I think I've got the policies of the Big 6 correct...

• Both MacMillan and Simon & Schuster have refused to make their ebooks available to public libraries since day one.

• Hachette Book Group stopped offering its frontlist ebook titles to libraries in July 2011.
(still not sure when they go from frontlist to backlist, a year???)

• HarperCollins – last year HC announced their 26 check out policy.

• Penguin – stops both eBooks and Audiobook download sales for libraries 2/10/12

• Random House – happily works with libraries, but will increase library prices across the board in Feb/March 2012.

[JeremyR]

This is actually one case where I'm sort of on the side of the publishers. A book should not be able to be lent out forever for just one fee. That really screws the author. Physical books wear out, at least if they are popular. E-books don't.

A better model would be to have publishers simply rent e-books directly, let Libraries focus on physical books, not e-books (or movies or video games for that matter). Say $1.99 for 2 weeks. Of course, this will never happen

I highly doubt that lending a book forever for one fee makes much of a difference to the company's bottom line. If a book is that popular, the library will buy multiple copies anyway simply to satisfy the demand created by their patrons. If a book isn't that popular, it would never wear out anyway.

I would also suggest that $2 for 2 weeks would put libraries out of business. Indeed, it is placing an undue burden upon them because the resale value of books is often under $2. (But hey, publishers can do that since ebooks effectively abolish the doctrine of first sale.)

[soondai]

you are also not going to be able to download Penguin ebooks directly to a kindle or kindle mobile (ipad/android) app:

"In addition, Penguin has also prohibited over-the-air downloads of Penguin e-books to Kindle devices or apps. Patrons of libraries that do have Penguin e-books will have to download them to a personal computer and use a USB cable to load them into their Kindle devices."

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...overdrive.html

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

I highly doubt that lending a book forever for one fee makes much of a difference to the company's bottom line. If a book is that popular, the library will buy multiple copies anyway simply to satisfy the demand created by their patrons. If a book isn't that popular, it would never wear out anyway.

The percentage of books that wear out before publishers take them out of dead tree print would be rather small you would think.

Separate thought: I wonder what the consequences of these decisions will be.

Will independent authors and publishers thrive? A lot of people borrow books from libraries or friends because they cannot afford new books (or do not want to pay the price). If authors and independent publishers are the only ones willing to lend books, this will give them more exposure. That exposure may lead to more library purchases and consumer purchases.

Or maybe the ereader market will collapse? A lot of people buy readers to borrow ebooks from their libraries. Indeed, libraries are huge promoters of ereaders. If people stop buying ereaders because they can't borrow the books that they want, or they stop buying ereaders because they aren't being exposed to them at libraries, the ereader (and by extension, ebook) market could very well vanish.

Then again, maybe publishers are right and people will buy more ebooks if fewer free ebooks are available. I somehow doubt this because new books offer very little entertainment for their price, which is important since most of the sales figures we've seen suggest that fiction is where the ebook market is at the moment. But hey, I could be wrong. After all, I have never been among the privileged elite so I rarely had the privilege of buying new books.

[Blue Tyson]

If publishers deliberately stop any library sales, then that leaves an opportunity. They are clearly determined to make their wares a more elitist and expensive pursuit.

This leaves a market segment for others to go after. Amazon already has with the kindle select. Even for those in other countries where Prime is basically worthless there is an added side benefit of a growing pool of cheap books. With many being rotated through free.

More attention will focus on this internationally available work and it will be filtered and talked about so more easily discoverable.

Of course, publishers hastening the possible end of libraries would again lower the amount of dead tree books being sold and reduce print runs and close bookshops faster.

[calibrated]

Originally Posted by soondai

you are also not going to be able to download Penguin ebooks directly to a kindle or kindle mobile (ipad/android) app:

"In addition, Penguin has also prohibited over-the-air downloads of Penguin e-books to Kindle devices or apps. Patrons of libraries that do have Penguin e-books will have to download them to a personal computer and use a USB cable to load them into their Kindle devices."

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...overdrive.html

A USB cable? Really? How...quaint.

One is almost tempted to saddle up the horse, hitch up the buggy, ride into town and send them a sharply worded telegram.

[calibrated]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

Separate thought: I wonder what the consequences of these decisions will be.

Will independent authors and publishers thrive? A lot of people borrow books from libraries or friends because they cannot afford new books (or do not want to pay the price). If authors and independent publishers are the only ones willing to lend books, this will give them more exposure. That exposure may lead to more library purchases and consumer purchases.

Or maybe the ereader market will collapse? A lot of people buy readers to borrow ebooks from their libraries. Indeed, libraries are huge promoters of ereaders. If people stop buying ereaders because they can't borrow the books that they want, or they stop buying ereaders because they aren't being exposed to them at libraries, the ereader (and by extension, ebook) market could very well vanish.

Then again, maybe publishers are right and people will buy more ebooks if fewer free ebooks are available. I somehow doubt this because new books offer very little entertainment for their price, which is important since most of the sales figures we've seen suggest that fiction is where the ebook market is at the moment. But hey, I could be wrong. After all, I have never been among the privileged elite so I rarely had the privilege of buying new books.

You left out the obvious answer: that piracy rates will skyrocket. When you make it difficult for people to obtain your product legally, they will find ways to do it illegally.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by soondai

"In addition, Penguin has also prohibited over-the-air downloads of Penguin e-books to Kindle devices or apps. Patrons of libraries that do have Penguin e-books will have to download them to a personal computer and use a USB cable to load them into their Kindle devices."

Which does little/nothing to add their wanted "friction" and just comes off as petty.

Folks with Sony's can I assume still download OTA? A device that can run the Kindle app (iThing/Android) can also run the Overdrive app and download books directly to their device.

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by calibrated

A USB cable? Really? How...quaint.

One is almost tempted to saddle up the horse, hitch up the buggy, ride into town and send them a sharply worded telegram.

Or just a pigeon.

[Fbone]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

I am finding lots of Kindle Overdrive eBooks for the main imprints Hachette uses in the US (Grand Central Publishing, Little Brown, Orbit).

What imprint are you checking? I don't think they publish, in English, in the US, under the Hachette name.

Yes, thanks. I found some under those imprints but nothing after 2010 according to their "release date." Orbit has only 2 listed.

I found about 200 under Hachette Audiobooks. Those will probably be all they'll receive.

My library has added only a few titles all of last year. They don't purchase them but "lease" them as per the library director.

[spindlegirl]

Originally Posted by BWinmill

A lot of people buy readers to borrow ebooks from their libraries. Indeed, libraries are huge promoters of ereaders.

Count me in as someone who bought the T1 largely due to the ease of library lending. I consider borrowing e-books to be a preview of sorts, and still actually have more of an attachment to printed books as "books"... so I often will use both as a preview for books I want to own physically.

We have a household of 6, and there are often many books that we all have as "family favorites", and I will buy them as household staples.