09-03-2013, 10:48 PM | #16 | |
Wizard
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The problem is that the current copyright laws have broken the free market system, it doesn't work when one side can make all the rules. The publishers have demonstrated that they won't negotiate a fair deal with the libraries. The governments need to step in and mandate what the publishers will be paid via the library system. |
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09-04-2013, 12:06 AM | #17 |
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Why would the library go along with such a deal? It's none of a seller's business what the buyer is going to do with a book. If public libraries are actually paying more for their paper books than we individuals do, they're wasting public funds.
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09-04-2013, 12:25 AM | #18 | ||
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More importantly, these books are different from pbooks because the library gets to basically outsource the whole storage/delivery/retrieval part of the lending transaction. The books aren't stored at the library and the library doesn't transmit them to the users and check to make sure that they're checked in - Overdrive (or whoever) takes care of all of that. On the other hand, the libraries do lose out on additional revenue from late fees. But, really, it's a business decision. If the library decides it's not worthwhile to buy e-books, they are free to do that. And if they decide that e-books are worthwhile even though more expensive, they are free to buy them. It's wrong to cast this in moral terms; it's just business. |
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09-04-2013, 12:37 AM | #19 | ||
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09-04-2013, 03:13 AM | #20 | |
Wizard
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I just think I've read somewhere that books were more expensive for libraries and I assumed (without any hint whatsoever) that might be a way to compensate the author and the publisher. |
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09-04-2013, 03:53 AM | #21 |
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How is a library any different from, let's say, a car rental company? Why should libraries pay a multiple for the same e-book compared to what normal people pay, while car rentals get premium discounts when purchasing cars for their fleet? How are the two any different from each other? Why should e-books with little resale value have an artificial expiration date attached to them? Should rental cars automatically expire once they reach 10,000 miles?
(Before anyone asks, I am not not related to Cory Doctorow.) |
09-04-2013, 04:06 AM | #22 | |
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To use your analogy, the car rental company is paying a premium for cars which are eternally brand new. |
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09-04-2013, 04:29 AM | #23 |
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On the other hand, although cars may eventually stop running, by then they've been resold long ago. Major rentals, like Sixt for example, keep their fleet young, since they know that the resale value of cars decreases exponentially after reaching a certain age. Do libraries have that liberty of refinancing new eBooks?
People in favor of overcharging libraries love to compare eBooks to paper books rather than looking at eBooks for what they are: a new technology. They try to preserve an old business model by introducing artificial limits. Their business model mind you. Who cares if libraries, the gateway to knowledge, draw the short straw. I repeat: Why should libraries pay a multiple for the same eBook compared to what normal people pay, while car rentals get premium discounts when purchasing cars for their fleet? |
09-04-2013, 04:36 AM | #24 | |
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It's no different to buying a single-user licence or a multi-user licence for a piece of software. Do you think that that's wrong, too? |
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09-04-2013, 04:40 AM | #25 |
monkey on the fringe
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26 loans is a ridiculously low shelf life.
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09-04-2013, 04:43 AM | #26 | |
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Why do car rentals not have to pay that multiple? By your line of reasoning, they are not buying a car for their personal use only, but to give it out to multiple users. How is that any different? Oh yes, I forgot. eBooks are merely licenses. How convenient. |
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09-04-2013, 04:46 AM | #27 |
monkey on the fringe
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I wonder what publishers will do when ereaders drop below $50? Imagine buying a few spares for group use and loaning them out to get around the current personal ebook lending limits.
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09-04-2013, 04:51 AM | #28 |
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It's completely irrelevant what you and I might think of licences. It is a FACT that digital goods are licensed. Software, music downloads, ebooks - it's all licences, whether you like it or not.
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09-04-2013, 05:01 AM | #29 | ||
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09-04-2013, 05:23 AM | #30 | |
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