UK to Review eBook Lending

[tubemonkey]

Last week Labour's shadow culture minister Dan Jarvis called for "an effective and credible taskforce" to be created to explore e-book lending in libraries, to "consist of librarians, authors and publishers and be chaired by an independent expert". His calls followed a meeting on library e-lending which took place on 3rd July between Little, Brown c.e.o. Ursula Mackenzie, Penguin c.e.o. Tom Weldon, Random House UK's deputy chairman Ian Hudson and Publishers Association c.e.o. Richard Mollet, along with culture minister Ed Vaizey, Justin Tomlinson, the chairman of the All-party Parliamentary Committee on Libraries, and Jarvis himself.

This week a DCMS spokesman said Vaizey expected to make "a detailed announcement shortly" on the question of an independent review. The Bookseller understands Vaizey will announce such a review, to commence shortly.

>> snip <<

Tomlinson has already outlined his own ideas for how a library e-model would take shape, suggesting in principle that e-books should be borrowed through a physical visit to a library, "thus protecting footfall" and that "a small charge" should be levied "with the money shared between the publishers and the physical community library".

Doesn't sound promising if the library dude is in favor of charging a fee and physical visits to a library in order to check out ebooks.

[DrNefario]

No readers in the taskforce, either.

[danskmacabre]

Why should we pay to borrow an ebook over a physical book?
Hasn't the library already paid for the erbook?
Sounds like even less people will be using libraries if this is implemeted.

Perhaps that's what the government, publishers, Authors want..
I wouldn't at all be surprised.

[Giggleton]

I wouldn't mind paying a small fee to check out an ebook, as long as I didn't have to wait because 100 other people are in "line" lol!!

[Catlady]

The small fee idea seems less troublesome than the physical visit requirement. What possible reason is there to require someone to traipse to the library, during certain hours, when the technology exists to make that unnecessary? It's stupid.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Catlady

The small fee idea seems less troublesome than the physical visit requirement. What possible reason is there to require someone to traipse to the library, during certain hours, when the technology exists to make that unnecessary? It's stupid.

Friction! Sounds like the UK government is in bed with the publishers.

And the extra fee, IMO, is just as onerous as the requirement for physical checkouts.

[danskmacabre]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

I wouldn't mind paying a small fee to check out an ebook, as long as I didn't have to wait because 100 other people are in "line" lol!!

well that's fine, why not have a 2 tier system where those that are willing to pay can loan a book straight away and those who want to loan a book for free can wait in the queue...
There's no reason why both systems couldn't coexist
As long as the instant checkout isn't a jump the queue system, it should be a separate billed system.

seeing as i'm already paying taxes for libraries, i don't feel like paying for books twice.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by danskmacabre

seeing as i'm already paying taxes for libraries, i don't feel like paying for books twice.

I agree.

[JSWolf]

There is no way to be able to use a library computer to borrow an ePub eBook with DRM. No way to tie it to the users Adobe account. So this is going to fail before it gets started.

[DrNefario]

There is really no qualitative difference between a bought ebook and a borrowed ebook. If it's just as easy for me to borrow a book, and just as good, why would I ever buy any?

It seems obvious that publishers and writers would be concerned about that.

Physical library books reach out to the demographic that can't easily buy books; the people with more time and less money: the young, the old, and the unemployed. Ebooks don't really discriminate in that way. If anything, the public purse and the publishers and authors are subsidising people like me, who have jobs and disposable income (or, okay, in my case, mainly access to credit.)

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

There is really no qualitative difference between a bought ebook and a borrowed ebook. If it's just as easy for me to borrow a book, and just as good, why would I ever buy any?

The same can be said for paper books; yet libraries have co-existed with B&M book stores.

[Xanthe]

So let me test my understanding:

The people for whom the ability to access library ebooks online would benefit most - namely the ill and the disabled - are going to be forced to either physically visit a library for a digital download, or else use possibly limited funds in order to borrow a library book in the format that is the most usable for them.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Xanthe

So let me test my understanding:

The people for whom the ability to access library ebooks online would benefit most - namely the ill and the disabled - are going to be forced to either physically visit a library for a digital download, or else use possibly limited funds in order to borrow a library book in the format that is the most usable for them.

Excellent points

[Stormchild]

Hmmm. A non starter when our Library service is being stripped to the bone. When my local Library closes it will be 36 mile round trip to the nearest remaining one. Totally impracticable. Someone has not thought this through.

[nogle]

Originally Posted by Giggleton

I wouldn't mind paying a small fee to check out an ebook, as long as I didn't have to wait because 100 other people are in "line" lol!!

No, you will invent a reason that the fee is immoral and then continue to pirate books.