[Web4lib] eBooks

Tue Mar 1 18:40:17 EST 2011

This ebook thing is interesting, creepy and eerie. Amazon can suck a book off your Kindle (and refund you, too, I'm sure).

This came to mind when I read at boingboing: HarperCollins to libraries: we will nuke your ebooks after 26 checkouts.

It's almost like they never really become the purchaser's property.

RE:

From: "Anders Ericson" <anders.ericson at norskbibliotekforening.no>
To: "Jim Knutson" <tintin at exchangenet.net>
Cc: "Jill O'Neill" <jilloneill at nfais.org>; <web4lib at webjunction.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2011 2:35 PM
Subject: Re: [Web4lib] eBooks

Cory Doctorow, himself, urges us to take action:

http://boingboing.net/2011/02/25/harpercollins-to-lib.html

Anders Ericson
Norway

2011/2/25 Jim Knutson <tintin at exchangenet.net>:
> Interesting.
>
> This came in on another listserv:
>
> Attention Oregon Libraries:
> One major publisher, looking for more profits, has decided eBooks licensed
> to libraries will only be valid for 26 circulations. After that you will
> have to buy it all over again!
>
> This is a very disconcerting development on the part of a greedy publisher.
> Libraries must unite in opposition to this "checkout limit" concept, even if
> it means boycotting publishers who institute it. It's the thin edge of the
> wedge.
>
> More than a hundred years ago publishers had similar profit-driven concerns
> about the availability of books for free at libraries cutting into retail
> sales. We need to go back and rediscover how libraries overcame that issue.
>
> According to Library Journal:
>
> "Josh Marwell, President, Sales for HarperCollins, told LJ that the 26
> circulation limit was arrived at after considering a number of factors,
> including the average lifespan of a print book, and wear and tear on
> circulating copies.
>
> As noted in the letter, the terms will not be specific to OverDrive, and
> will likewise apply to "all eBook vendors or distributors offering this
> publisher's titles for library lending." The new terms will not be
> retroactive, and will apply only to new titles. More details on the new
> terms are set to be announced next week.
>
> If a lending period is two weeks, the 26 circulation limit is likely to
> equal roughly one year of use for a popular title. For a three-week lending
> period, that stretches to a year and a half."
>
> I think I may write to Mr. Marwell (Josh.marwell at harpercollins.com) and
> inform him that, effective immediately, our library will not buy any title
> from any HarperCollins imprint in any format (print, audio recording, or
> electronic) as long as his new policy remains in effect. I will inform
> patrons seeking HarperCollins titles of the reason we do not have them.
> Because many lower-demand titles are profitable primarily through library
> sales (poetry and reference books come to mind) this action, if taken by a
> few thousand libraries, would certainly get Mr. Maxwell to reconsider.
>
> Who's with me on this?
>
>
>
> Bob Jones, MA, MSLS, CAS
>
> Library Director
>
> Milton-Freewater Public Library
>
>
>
> From: "Jill O'Neill" <jilloneill at nfais.org>
> To: <web4lib at webjunction.org>
> Sent: Friday, February 25, 2011 12:19 PM
> Subject: [Web4lib] NFAIS Webinar on eBooks
>
>
>> NFAIS Webinar: e-Books and the Future of University Presses: Key Findings
>> from a Three-Year Study
>>
>>
>>
>> There is a tremendous drive in the academic library environment to reshape
>> content and service models to deploy technologies in ways that more
>> effectively and efficiently serve the user at the point of information
>> need.
>> One of the hottest topics for libraries in this regard is e-books. This is
>> also an area of rapid development across the publishing industry - with
>> activity to standardize file formats, a proliferation of dedicated
>> devices,
>> and the transformation of purchasing and copyright practices originally
>> developed for print books. For libraries, there are associated issues in
>> terms of both constrained purchasing budgets and the expanding popularity
>> of
>> patron driven selection. Recent key library events such as the ARL
>> Membership meeting, Charleston Conference, and the ALA Midwinter Meeting
>> highlighted the issues and interest seems to grow daily.
>>
>>
>>
>> Publishers in a university press environment also face these new
>> challenges.
>> At a time when print sales are declining, how should e-books be integrated
>> into production and distribution to demonstrate the ongoing value of a
>> university press in support of academic research? Rising interest in the
>> creation of cooperative branded consortia for purposes of distributing
>> scholarly monographs is evident as several such initiatives that have
>> emerged. (InsideHigherEd, New Models for University Presses, November 22,
>> 2010, http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/11/22/presses.) The Andrew
>> Mellon Foundation has funded one such exploratory initiative involving,
>> among others, NYU Press, Temple University Press, Rutgers University
>> Press,
>> the University of Nebraska Press, and the University of Pennsylvania
>> Press.
>> The 60 presses that are joining the University Press eBook Consortium
>> (UPeC)
>> are focused on satisfying the needs of the scholarly community as they
>> move
>> forward in selecting a platform and planning their collections.
>>
>>
>>
>> This webinar will address key findings from the three year effort,
>> including
>> the following:
>>
>>
>>
>> . Strategic vision
>>
>> . Academic library budget developments
>>
>> . Research about library eBook adoption
>>
>> . Patron Driven Selection
>>
>> . Current trends
>>
>> . New and evolving standards
>>
>> . Academic publishing in trends
>>
>> . Exploring technology driven efficiencies in workflow and
>> production
>>
>> . Determining core competencies: what stays in-house
>>
>> . Expanding service partner options
>>
>> . Service level agreements
>>
>> . New business models
>>
>>
>>
>> Featured experts are October Ivins, Principal, Ivins eContent Solutions,
>> and
>> Alex Holzman, Director, Temple University Press.
>>
>>
>>
>> If you want to learn more about the results of this three-year initiative
>> register for the NFAIS webinar today. NFAIS members pay $75 and
>> non-members
>> pay $95. An unlimited number of staff from an NFAIS member organization
>> can
>> participate for a group fee of $225. The group fee for an unlimited number
>> of staff from any non-member organization is $285. The registration form
>> is
>> can be accessed at:
>> http://www.nfais.org/page/323-e-books-march-23-2011-webinar
>>
>>
>>
>> For more information contact: Jill O'Neill, NFAIS Director, Communication
>> and Planning, 215-893-1561 (phone); 215-893-1564 (fax);
>> mailto:jilloneill at nfais.org or go to http://www.nfais.org
>> <http://www.nfais.org/> .
>>
>>
>>
>> NFAIS: Serving the Global Information Community
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Jill O'Neill
>>
>> Director, Planning & Communication
>>
>> NFAIS
>>
>> (v) 215-893-1561
>>
>> (email) jilloneill at nfais.org
>
>
>
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-- 
Hilsen
Anders Ericson
Nett-red. Norsk Bibliotekforening
http://www.norskbibliotekforening.no
+4797775170