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Self-destructing eBooks rile librarians
Cash-strapped school and public libraries must repurchase certain eBooks after they 'expire'—a publishing model that has sparked protest
A publisher's new policy forces libraries to repurchase eBooks after 26 check-outs.
A move by publisher HarperCollins, which would cap eBook loans from public libraries at 26 check-outs before requiring the library to repurchase the eBook, has school and public librarians worried about how such a policy will affect strained library budgets.
The new policy comes after HarperCollins, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp., said it has “serious concerns that our previous eBook policy, selling eBooks to libraries in perpetuity, if left unchanged, would undermine the emerging eBook ecosystem, hurt the growing eBook channel, place additional pressure on physical bookstores, and in the end lead to a decrease in book sales and royalties paid to authors.”
Libraries can lend out an eBook from the publisher 26 times—“a year of availability for titles with the highest demand, and much longer for other titles and core backlist,” according to a statement from HarperCollins—before the eBook will expire and vanish. Libraries then would have to repurchase the book, although HarperCollins said the price would be “significantly” lower.
But many librarians are upset and say the change will put a huge strain on already cash-strapped school and public libraries.
New Jersey librarian Andy Woodworth started a petition on Change.org challenging HarperCollins to drop its controversial new policy. As of press time, 67,978 people had signed the petition.
In an eMail interview with eSchool News, Woodworth said he understands HarperCollins’ position in its official statement, because the company is “working to ensure its own future to publish books (both eBooks and paper), to develop and market literary talent, and to protect authors from piracy and copyright infringement.”
The issue lies with the method the publisher is using to protect its interests, he said.
7 Responses to Self-destructing eBooks rile librarians
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flanneryp
May 27, 2011 at 11:16 am
Rupert Murdoch won’t be happy until book sharing among friends and book lending by libraries are destroyed. Consumer culture must replace literate culture. To think otherwise is socialist.
flanneryp
May 27, 2011 at 11:16 am
Rupert Murdoch won’t be happy until book sharing among friends and book lending by libraries are destroyed. Consumer culture must replace literate culture. To think otherwise is socialist.
sheehaja
May 27, 2011 at 12:14 pm
Why should purchasing a eBook for a library be any different than purchasing a hrad-cover version of the same book? You are still paying the market price for that book. If the hard cover edition can stay on the library shelf for 10+ years, the eBook version should be available for that same length of time. Seems the only thing here that needs an expiration date is this policy.
sheehaja
May 27, 2011 at 12:14 pm
Why should purchasing a eBook for a library be any different than purchasing a hrad-cover version of the same book? You are still paying the market price for that book. If the hard cover edition can stay on the library shelf for 10+ years, the eBook version should be available for that same length of time. Seems the only thing here that needs an expiration date is this policy.
wmartin46
May 27, 2011 at 2:57 pm
This is a non-problem, since most books do not circulate very many times a year, or during their natural lives. Before bellowing at the moon, librarians should get a inventory of their p-book holdings, ranked by circulation counts. Look at the number of books with a circulation count over 26 (at the moment). This very short list will represent the number of books that would be subject to re-licensing.
Schools, and public libraries, have a slightly different use profile for certain kinds of books. Public libraries typically supply books to people who don’t want to buy them–often NYT Best Sellers. Whereas, school libraries don’t usually traffic heavily in NYT top-100 list. In the case of the classics, these are all available from Google/Books, Internet Archive, etc., or are becoming very inexpensive–$.99. So, in time, it’s very likely that a lot of the books that students might have gone to a school library will be available from other sources, or free.
It would not be a surprise to see publishers begin to site-license their books to libraries, rather than sell them individual copies.
wmartin46
May 27, 2011 at 2:57 pm
This is a non-problem, since most books do not circulate very many times a year, or during their natural lives. Before bellowing at the moon, librarians should get a inventory of their p-book holdings, ranked by circulation counts. Look at the number of books with a circulation count over 26 (at the moment). This very short list will represent the number of books that would be subject to re-licensing.
Schools, and public libraries, have a slightly different use profile for certain kinds of books. Public libraries typically supply books to people who don’t want to buy them–often NYT Best Sellers. Whereas, school libraries don’t usually traffic heavily in NYT top-100 list. In the case of the classics, these are all available from Google/Books, Internet Archive, etc., or are becoming very inexpensive–$.99. So, in time, it’s very likely that a lot of the books that students might have gone to a school library will be available from other sources, or free.
It would not be a surprise to see publishers begin to site-license their books to libraries, rather than sell them individual copies.
ctdahle
May 27, 2011 at 4:14 pm
School publishers are simply applying the lesson they have learned from professional athletes, radio and television personalities, actors, politicians, health care managers, and Wall Street executives. The less you actually DO, the more you should be PAID.
“Normal” people, also known as “suckers”, such as teachers, soldiers, police officers, farmers, fire-fighters, and their ilk, hold onto the quaint notion that they should provide hard work, and receive, in exchange, a modest compensation. But those who are truly innovative have learned that true financial security is obtained by providing very little, or indeed, nothing at all.
The book publishers are starting to figure it out, and while they have not yet managed to convince schools and libraries to simply pay them for doing nothing, generating new invoices and demanding repeat payment for previously delivered content beats the heck out of actually creating and delivering something new.
ctdahle
May 27, 2011 at 4:14 pm
School publishers are simply applying the lesson they have learned from professional athletes, radio and television personalities, actors, politicians, health care managers, and Wall Street executives. The less you actually DO, the more you should be PAID.
“Normal” people, also known as “suckers”, such as teachers, soldiers, police officers, farmers, fire-fighters, and their ilk, hold onto the quaint notion that they should provide hard work, and receive, in exchange, a modest compensation. But those who are truly innovative have learned that true financial security is obtained by providing very little, or indeed, nothing at all.
The book publishers are starting to figure it out, and while they have not yet managed to convince schools and libraries to simply pay them for doing nothing, generating new invoices and demanding repeat payment for previously delivered content beats the heck out of actually creating and delivering something new.
kfitzgerald
May 28, 2011 at 12:52 pm
I’m sorry, but the assumption that public schools only provide the classics is misguided. Yes, those particular books are used in classrooms as teaching tools. However, most school libraries also provide books that encourage students to read, and for the most part, those books aren’t Dickens, Austen or any of the Bronte sisters. They are the Harry Potter series, the Twilight series, as well as many best sellers and other contemporary books that are appropriate for school age readers. And I know at our school library, the Harry Potter books have been read and re-read until some have had to be replaced.
kfitzgerald
May 28, 2011 at 12:52 pm
I’m sorry, but the assumption that public schools only provide the classics is misguided. Yes, those particular books are used in classrooms as teaching tools. However, most school libraries also provide books that encourage students to read, and for the most part, those books aren’t Dickens, Austen or any of the Bronte sisters. They are the Harry Potter series, the Twilight series, as well as many best sellers and other contemporary books that are appropriate for school age readers. And I know at our school library, the Harry Potter books have been read and re-read until some have had to be replaced.
pswenson
May 30, 2011 at 11:36 pm
If the purchase price were low enough, this would be a non-issue. The threshold is a problem.
pswenson
May 30, 2011 at 11:36 pm
If the purchase price were low enough, this would be a non-issue. The threshold is a problem.
danfranklinusa
May 31, 2011 at 3:48 pm
Now we know why Rupert Murdoch is so interested in school reform through greater use of digital equipment (e.g. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/may/24/murdoch-eg8-invest-education-technology ) – greater profits for him! If he can get the concept of limited lifetime to be accepted, the next step will be to gradually lower the number of times a book can be “loaned” so that even more taxpayers’ money can be transferred to News Corp.
danfranklinusa
May 31, 2011 at 3:48 pm
Now we know why Rupert Murdoch is so interested in school reform through greater use of digital equipment (e.g. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/may/24/murdoch-eg8-invest-education-technology ) – greater profits for him! If he can get the concept of limited lifetime to be accepted, the next step will be to gradually lower the number of times a book can be “loaned” so that even more taxpayers’ money can be transferred to News Corp.