E Books - Blog Posts
This explains the situation of e-books in libraries much better than I did. It’s incredibly frustrating for librarians, most of whom just want to connect people with books!
It’s been an increasing source of frustration for many library users: waiting weeks, sometimes months to get to the top of the waiting list for a popular eBook or e-Audiobook.
Why does it take so long? After all, it’s not a physical object, it’s a digital file that lives in the “cloud”, why can’t multiple people access it simultaneously instead of only one at a time? Barring that, why doesn’t the library just buy more copies so that the waiting list is shorter? Getting people access to books and information is what libraries are all about, but the struggle for acquiring lendable e-content is very real, and it’s getting harder all the time. Why? What’s the big hairy deal? For that answer, you have to look to the “Big 5” Publishers, who are responsible for close to 80% of trade book sales.
Publishers have been extremely wary about allowing library users virtual access to their books. After all, digital copies of books never wear out or have to be replaced, and are more vulnerable to unauthorized copying (“pirating”). Publshers were afraid if they allowed libraries access to their books digitally, they would be losing money. Individual publishers came up with their own sets of rules for libraries to access their e-content, and they have been tweaked many times since 2006.
In addition, the prices libraries must pay for ebooks and e-audiobooks is very high. Libraries must pay up to 4X the retail price for digital versions of books (which only one user can have access to at a time). Meeting the library patron’s needs for downloadable content is a very expensive enterprise, indeed! Take a look at this comparison of the prices for various versions of the same book:
It becomes easy to see that acquiring ebooks for public use is a very expensive endeavor…
Read more on The Cheshire Library Blog.
This is one of my pet peeves, and I’m going to loosen its leash a little. The way the Big Five publishers handle e-books “sales” to libraries is depressing. (I put “sales” in quotes because it is frequently more like leasing than buying.) Libraries pay more, have limitations on the number of check-outs (which can only be used sequentially, no matter how many people are waiting to read the book), and/or have limitations on how long they can “own” an e-book. Libraries also have to make their patrons jump through numerous hoops in order to access their e-books.
Want some examples? These are books currently on the New York Times best seller list.
Where the Crawdads Sing -- list price: $26 (hardcover), e-book price on Amazon: $15, e-book price for a library: $55 (for a 24-month lease)
The Art of Racing in the Rain -- list price: $17 (paperback), e-book price on Amazon: $9, e-book price for a library: $17 (for 26 check-outs)
Becoming by Michelle Obama -- list price: $32.50 (hardcover), e-book price on Amazon: $15, e-book price for a library: $55 (for a 24-month lease)
Bitterroots -- list price: $28 (hardcover), e-book price on Amazon: $15, e-book price for a library: $60 (for the earlier of 52 check-outs or 24 months)
Bear in mind, if a library needs more copies of a physical book to fill holds, their vendors have it at a discounted price. If not, the library can go to any bookstore or even to Amazon to get the book. For an e-book, libraries can only buy from a small collection of companies because library e-books need extra restrictions to allow patrons to check them out at all. A library can’t just go to Amazon to get e-books at consumer prices because they wouldn’t be able to loan that copy to people.
As publishers struggle with the continuing shake-up of their business models, and work to find practical approaches to managing digital content in a marketplace overwhelmingly dominated by Amazon, libraries are being portrayed as a problem, not a solution. Libraries agree there’s a problem – but we know it’s not us.
This is so frustrating. Have any of you wondered why your local library doesn’t have eBook versions of your favorite book? It’s crap like this. All of the major publishers (and their subsidiaries -- so this covers a lot more books that you might think) put some sort of major block between libraries and their eBooks. This can include jacked up prices, limits on the number of checkouts, limits on how long a book can circulate before the library has to buy it again, embargoes, or some combination of those. Oh, and in most cases, the library can only check an eBook out to one person at a time. If several people want to read it, they have to wait, or the library has to “buy” multiple copies. (Yes, even if the limit is on the number of times a book can circulate. Doesn’t that make sense?)
What do I mean by jacked up prices and limits on use? Let’s take a look at some books that are popular now, just as examples!
The President is Missing by James Patterson and Bill Clinton -- $90 for libraries to buy the eBook. You can get it on Kindle for $14.99. You or the library can buy the hardcover print version for $15 or less. For that matter, you could buy the print version, read it, and give it to the library. That’s right out for eBooks.
The Outsider by Stephen King -- just $20.99 for libraries. That’s not too much more than the $14.99 Amazon is charging people. However, the copy that you buy (probably) won’t disappear after 12 months.
The Other Woman by Daniel Silva -- $28.99 for libraries. Again, $14.99 for ordinary mortals on Amazon. Do you think you and your friends could read it more than 26 times? Not if you’re checking it out from the library! After 26 checkouts, it goes away. But it’s still limited to one reader at a time -- even if ten people want to read it today (and use up almost half of those checkouts), they have to wait in line to get it.
Feared by Lisa Scottoline -- Are you ready for this? $60 for libraries AND it goes away after the earlier of 52 checkouts or 24 months. (Still just $14.99 on Amazon for individuals though!)
I could go on and on. (Just ask my family and friends who have gotten to hear this rant in person!) I just checked the top 5 New York Times bestsellers in fiction and nonfiction. All of the eBook editions suffer from these higher prices and/or restrictions on use for libraries.
Why? Because we cut into sales? Libraries buy a lot more print books than eBooks, even now, but we get discounts on the print editions. Publishers know that library sales mean more people reading their books and reviewing those books, talking them up to friends, buying them for family members, even buying their own copies later.
Because people might crack the DRM on the library’s eBook? It’s possible. However, it’s probably easier with a regular commercial copy because library eBooks are actually locked down more than individual eBooks. You can’t access an eBook that you’ve checked out once the loan period is over -- it’s automatically “returned” to the library.
Could libraries spend their money on smaller publishers that are less restrictive? Absolutely! However, those eBooks aren’t on the bestseller lists. They usually aren’t the ones that our patrons are asking us to buy.
I’m afraid I don’t have a great way for individuals to make a difference. (Mostly, I just wanted to rant because this is a topic I find extremely frustrating.) Joining Readers First and letting publishers know that you support libraries will help. Being patient when your local library can’t get the books you want as an eBook is great, too. If you have a way to talk directly with someone high enough in one of the big publishing houses, let them know that these restrictions hurt libraries, hurt readers, and ultimately hurt sales of eBooks.
Several library organizations and advocacy groups, including the American Library Association and ReadersFirst, have come out against Tor’s embargo. In a phone interview with io9, ALA president Loida Garcia Febo expressed her concerns that it could mean more trouble for libraries and their relationships with publishers, taking into account how hard they had to fight to get e-book access in the first place. She also said how unfortunate it is that the embargo is targeting sci-fi and fantasy readers, given how dedicated and passionate they are about the written word.