Libraries and eBook adoption

[harriska2]

Originally Posted by crane3

Sounds like some people want the publishers to go the route of ASCP.

Did you mean ASCAP? That system is a flat(ish) pay system by which if you play any song you pay a huge amount per year, even if it is only one single song. ASCAP is horrible. It seems the only people making money is ASCAP itself.

[webroot]

Originally Posted by harriska2

And I'm scratching my dead over artifact. Why do libraries have to limit themselves to xx number of checkouts for a book when it is DIGITAL! Why do digital books have the same limitations as a printed book? Why can't a publisher/author get paid PER CHECKOUT at a REASONABLE cost (micropayments). Wouldn't you want that? Good authors *gasp* earn more money! Why do I wait 6 months to 1 year to checkout a book that is DIGITAL?

I think the whole system will need to be overhauled and it needs to be streamlined. I mean, what is a public library for - shouldn't it try to get the books people want? Why do libraries have to pre-purchase a book? Why can't they just buy into some system by which ANY BOOK can be checked out at ANY TIME and a small payment is made?

I think procuring eBooks (for whatever agreement) is a daunting task for small and medium libraries, it is not as obvious as getting print books from distributor and that is where middle-man like Overdrive comes in.

[webroot]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

And that didn't work out so well for SCRIBD. So they delisted the romance books that were most read because they couldn't afford to pay out that much per read (or so we assume that is why they did it).

Libraries right now pay once for a paperback or hardback and then they are done. They might have to replace the book at some point, but often, if it was damaged, the patron responsible is charged directly. If libraries had to pay 10 cents per checkout they would have to redo their budgets accordingly--and figure it out based on the number of checkouts overall. The reality is that the book budget itself isn't their biggest expense--the building, salary, fees for overdrive and the checkout system for print books is a HUGE part of the budget. That software isn't cheap. I was astounded at the fees they pay to license software for checking out print books. And overdrive is no better. Not only do they pay for each ebook, they license the overdrive software each year.

Many of the suggestions in this thread are good ideas, but it would have to happen to a brand new library that didn't come with legacy politics attached!

One thing libraries can try is, deploy multiple software fronts (And some from open source like Marlin DRM) and give the members options to choose and charge accordingly. Right now the software stack provider (back-end + DRM + reading apps) are working like "Winner takes all". Although Overdrive titles may have highest device compatibility but that doesn't mean everybody really need them and ready to pay for it.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by harriska2

I think the whole system will need to be overhauled and it needs to be streamlined. I mean, what is a public library for - shouldn't it try to get the books people want? Why do libraries have to pre-purchase a book? Why can't they just buy into some system by which ANY BOOK can be checked out at ANY TIME and a small payment is made?

Freading and Hoopla both provide ebook lending services for libraries using this model. Both allow users to checkout any book available on the service with no waiting. They limit the number of weekly/monthly checkouts per user to control the cost to the library. The problem is that the major publishers won't agree to have their books available on these services. The OverDrive model is more profitable for them.

[AnemicOak]

An article that may be of interest...

ALA 2015: On E-books, Libraries Pushing For Options
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...r-options.html

Lorch has become a familiar figure at ALA and publishing conferences in recent years, pushing Total Boox's pay-by-the-page or "metered" reading. Under Total Boox's model, readers would have access to every book made available by publishers, and library's would be charged by the pages read by a patron. Once read and paid for users, would be able to re-read the pages. Lorch again pushed his vision as an antidote to the analog-era "once-copy, one-user" now being used for e-books.

Of course, there isn't much competition at this point, as publisher offerings remain limited to a few upstart services, while OverDrive, 3M, and Baker & Taylor dominate the space, and the one copy, one user models is still preferred by publishers. But the takeaway from this year's ALA DCWG update, once again, is that librarians are not satisfied with the status quo, and are pushing for more experimentation.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

An article that may be of interest...

ALA 2015: On E-books, Libraries Pushing For Options
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/b...r-options.html

There are libraries trying different programs, but it's hard to get off the ground. I've sold or donated my books to a few libraries that are "sold once, owned forever" by the libraries. Smashwords has such a sales program that works with some libraries. The issue is getting traction so that patrons look at that set of books--because you won't find them on overdrive. They're checked out using a different system because overdrive itself is so expensive. I've had at least one other service contact me that was looking for books for libraries, but again, it's hard for them to get off the ground. And the easy pick is to try to find a publisher that will put an entire catalog in the program. They all want the big 6-indies are just a bonus, but they want big names or lots of books to get going.