[Web4lib] Kindle Lending

[Tim Spalding]

I recently left-off the ebook discussion because I think I disagreed
with others about how dominant ebooks would become. A world where
ebooks stay a secondary format will be very different for libraries
than one where ebooks are the dominant one. I think we'll end up with
the latter.

I said I'd blog my argument, so I have.

Feedback loops in eBook success
http://bit.ly/aTJCMg

Best,
Tim


On Thu, Oct 28, 2010 at 11:20 AM, Tim Spalding <tim at librarything.com> wrote:
> I at least mentioned the longevity argument only as a publisher or
> bookseller understands it--for the medium-term. People who sell books
> to libraries know that books don't last forever. They get damaged over
> time and have to be thrown out. Ebooks don't have that disadvantage.
>
> I think the nut of my disagreement with Mr. Balliot is actually not
> about principles, but about degree. More, as is sometimes said, is
> different. When it comes to network goods with network effects, "more"
> can become dominant or an effectively monopoly. And monopoly, while on
> one level just "more," is in reality a very different beast. When that
> intrudes upon key aspects of libraries' mission, there is cause for
> worry.
>
> That is, if:
>
> * ebook stop at 25% or whatever
> * everything is available in both formats
> * libraries continue to collect everything in both formats, rather
> than paper becoming a secondary format, like "large print"
> * bookstores stay healthy
> * publishes continue to exist, with Amazon and so forth just middlemen
> * there continue (?) to be many viable platforms
> * libraries can participate in the ebook revolution
>
> then everything will be fine. But I see ebooks rising far above 25%,
> and reversing every other bullet above. In world where ebooks are
> dominant, publishers and booksellers, disappear and ebooks are
> virtually a one-company monopoly, things change.
>
> But perhaps I need to convince people that this future is plausible or
> likely--I'll get to work on a blog post!
>
> Tim