OverDrive is destroying libraries.

[tubemonkey]

What I love most about the Kindle/OverDrive integration is the ease it provides in getting books to my Kindle. No computer needed.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

What I love most about the Kindle/OverDrive integration is the ease it provides in getting books to my Kindle. No computer needed.

Very easy.

Since Rakuten owns OD I'm very surprised that similar functionality hasn't been added to Kobo readers. They could match/compete with Kindle's ease of use for library books and do so worldwide (or everywhere OD operates anyway) giving the advantage with some users.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Very easy.

Since Rakuten owns OD I'm very surprised that similar functionality hasn't been added to Kobo readers. They could match/compete with Kindle's ease of use for library books and do so worldwide (or everywhere OD operates anyway) giving the advantage with some users.

I agree; they should definitely do it. It's the logical thing to do.

[meeera]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

With the stink that was made by the big pubs, Penguin in particular, I wonder if that's not part of the hold up for Kindle/OverDrive expansion. Remember Penguin stopped doing library books through OD for almost two years after the US Kindle/OD deal.

Penguin still refuses to do library borrowing in Australia, and we've never had a Kindle/OD deal.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by meeera

Penguin still refuses to do library borrowing in Australia, and we've never had a Kindle/OD deal.

Probably a different unrelated issue local to Penguin Australia or something as AFAIK that's handled by the "local" office of each publisher.

The issue I'm referring to was that they did offer library lending through OD in the US, but withdrew from it when OD made their deal with Amazon. It took almost two years before they agreed to be on OD again and with the caveat that any Kindle borrows had to be downloaded and added to a device via USB (not sure if that's still the case for them now).

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Probably a different unrelated issue local to Penguin Australia or something as AFAIK that's handled by the "local" office of each publisher.

The issue I'm referring to was that they did offer library lending through OD in the US, but withdrew from it when OD made their deal with Amazon. It took almost two years before they agreed to be on OD again and with the caveat that any Kindle borrows had to be downloaded and added to a device via USB (not sure if that's still the case for them now).

why would they care whether someone downloaded the book directly onto a Kindle vs PC/USB?

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

What I love most about the Kindle/OverDrive integration is the ease it provides in getting books to my Kindle. No computer needed.

Direct library access was one reason I bought a Sony reader.
Most of the time if I am at home I do my browsing on my PC as it's faster and easier, but there have been times I've been away from home with no PC access and have been glad to be able to access the library directly on the reader.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

why would they care whether someone downloaded the book directly onto a Kindle vs PC/USB?

Big publishers call it "friction". Although Penguin was the only one to do this the big pubs in general (I remember John Sargent from MacMillan talking about friction too) don't want borrowing eBooks to be "to easy".

With paper books you have the "friction" of having to actually go to the library and get the book, with ePub's you have the "friction" of having to download and transfer the eBook via ADE (with the exception of some Sony models), with Kindle loans you don't have that "friction". I don't know if pubs ever bitched about the Sony's direct dl ability, but there were/are a much smaller number of Sony's out there than Kindle's and Sony didn't have the same type of relationship with pubs that Amazon has.

I don't know if pubs still feel this way (now that some are charging 3ish times cover for library eBooks or limiting the number of times a book can be lent), but they did at one time. Note this wasn't Penguin's only complaint about Kindle lending or even primary AFAIK it was just a way for them to do something to the process I guess.

[4691mls]

Thanks - as a non-Kindle person I wasn't familiar with the issue.

[Blossom]

My local library only has titles from the past few years. No backlists unless you find them at their local store then its only books published from 2000 and on.

Overdrive ebooks gives me the opportunity to read backlists because authors are releasing their old titles in digital format that the Library can purchase for its members.

I've been to my local library several times but never find anything fictionwise to check out. I'm not interested in recent titles.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Big publishers call it "friction". Although Penguin was the only one to do this the big pubs in general (I remember John Sargent from MacMillan talking about friction too) don't want borrowing eBooks to be "to easy"...

I don't understand. Why would someone want to provide a service and NOT make it easy to use? Your description sounds as if the publishers want people to go through at least some effort to get at their books. In most business models, you will lose to the competitor that doesn't make you spend that effort.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I don't understand. Why would someone want to provide a service and NOT make it easy to use? Your description sounds as if the publishers want people to go through at least some effort to get at their books. In most business models, you will lose to the competitor that doesn't make you spend that effort.

And they wonder why Amazon is so big now.
The thinking is "our product is so great, people will jump through hoops to get it".

[mitford13]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I don't understand. Why would someone want to provide a service and NOT make it easy to use? Your description sounds as if the publishers want people to go through at least some effort to get at their books. In most business models, you will lose to the competitor that doesn't make you spend that effort.

I remember all that fuss...can't find the exact quote one of the publishers used, but I definitely remember them saying friction should be added. It's unbelievable how anti-library they appear to be. This article has some of the background--since then, Penguin backed down again and I think it's been close to two years now since they dropped the USB transfer requirement. Now they all just charge libraries through the nose, instead!

http://www.pcworld.com/article/24986...difficult.html

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

And they wonder why Amazon is so big now.
The thinking is "our product is so great, people will jump through hoops to get it".

They make PRINT books that they wholesale to book stores/distributors.
Why would they want to bypass their REAL customers
(You are an End Customer)

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Blossom

My local library only has titles from the past few years. No backlists unless you find them at their local store then its only books published from 2000 and on.

In the Netherlands, libraries mostly have books in Dutch. If a title is not translated chances are small that they have it. If it's not recent, chances are slim to none. For older works in the public domain, they just link to Gutenberg. OK, Gutenberg has the text, but they hardly have what I would call proper ebooks (including front matter, etc....)