Dear Penguin Books: Library users are not freeloaders!

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by retro

Now Brilliance Audio has dumped Overdrive,too.

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Where do Audible books come from? Does Brilliance sell to them? *plans boycott*

Guess who owns Brilliance Audio?

Amazon

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

Where do Audible books come from? Does Brilliance sell to them? *plans boycott*

Audible books come from all audiobook publishers; off the top of my head, I can't think of any other commercial download service that competes in that area. Brilliance Audio is on Audible. Brilliance Audio is owned by Amazon. Audible is also owned by Amazon.

[KentE]

m also upset about Penguin's decision to not supply ebooks to libraries through Overdrive (and the other publishers that have already made this decision). However, I think there may be much more to this than what is regularly mentioned in these threads.
I'm 'reading between the lines', here. Most of the publisher releases have specifically mentioned Overdrive. I live in a metro area that covers 3 counties & 2 states, with 3 major independent library systems. All 3 libraries have struggled mightily with Overdrive in the last 6 months. Overdrive contracts were going to increase the library's ebook handling costs by up to 700% over the next 3 years. One library system eventually worked out a deal with Overdrive, but came close to having to jump ship. One library has discontinued all ebook availability while they try to come up with an alternative, and the third has switched to the new 3M system (in it's infancy): the switch to 3M also required them to go back to every ebook publisher and ask permission to transfer their ebooks to the new system. I don't know what's caused the astronomical price increases to libraries for Overdrive.
I also think it's very interesting that a number of the publishers who have discontinued their library ebook sales coincide in timing with the introduction of Kindle format books to the Overdrive system. Publishers have long maintained that it was critical for them that the ebooks in library systems be electronically stored in a very secure manner, behind firewalls, and this seems a reasonable concern. (Adobe ADE filled this niche.) Somehow, Amazon managed to work out a deal with Overdrive (or around Overdrive, or in spite of Overdrive), to control the 'warehousing" of Kindle format books. So, if you check out a Kindle book, you're routed to Amazon to check it out. Publishers may be less than convinced that Amazon's system provides the security that they expected and agreed to as part of the process of library lending.
Even if it's secure, EVERYONE (individuals, publishers, libraries, and competing book sellers) should have serious problems with the implementation of Amazon's "library checkout" system. From all reports, it appears that Amazon is harvesting user data from the "library checkout", and using it as marketing fodder. (for example, sending you an email offering to sell you the same book that you checked out, or other books that you might be interested in.) Now, you may not see this as a serious drawback for you, but it's definitely not ethical. How would you feel if every library book you borrowed put you on the email/snail mail/phone call marketing list of the publisher and tie-in products?
And let's take it a step further-- imagine you're Penguin. Your books are checked out of the library in Kindle format, which sends the library customer (and potential bookseller customer) to Amazon's website. Do you think that Barnes and Noble (or any other bookseller) might not call you up and object to that arrangement? After all, Barnes & Noble is one of Penguin's large buyers, but Penguin's library checkouts result in all of the customers being directed to a competitor's website, complete with marketing data.
And even worse for ebook publishers-- Amazon is making a serious foray into the book/ebook publishing business. So Penguin (or other publishers) are also sending their potential direct customers as well as their indirect customers to a competitors website.
Conceptually, the Amazon/Overdrive deal is a disaster, as currently implemented. I suspect we'll all be paying the price for it for quite some time. Like many of you, I love the simplicity of purchasing an ebook from Amazon and loading it on a kindle (as compared to the PC/ADE/USB cable solution). (I haven't had the pleasure of checking out a kindle-format ebook from my library because of the problems mentioned above.) But this deal should not have been cut the way it was. The publishers should have had input about what arrangements they considered acceptable regarding off-site storage; Amazon should have the library data behind a firewall not accessible to the marketing branch of Amazon, etc.
Amazon had long maintained that they had no interest whatsoever in participating in a system that allowed Kindles to access library books-- they didn't see the economic advantage of that, since they were in the business of selling ebooks. (In reality, they're interested in selling books, not in cultivating readers. This is the same short-sighted attitude we're recently seeing mentioned in regards to the publishers who have discontinued library ebook sales.) The deal they worked out with/through/around Overdrive allows them to see a marketing advantage from library checkouts, and I believe that's the only reason they have elected to support library use with the Kindle.
Anyway, back on topic-- I'm sure Penguin (or substitute any other publisher recently mentioned) has problems, has made bad decisions, etc. I suspect a large part of the problem is that they're being forced to select between a range of bad options, from their perspective. The ebook situation in general is broken, and the library ebook system is badly broken.

Kent E