[Web4lib] eBooks

Mon Mar 7 13:53:59 EST 2011

I'm confused about this controversy.  Is HarperColllins violating a contractual 
agreement with libraries, or anyone else?  Did they, at some point in the past, 
promise or imply that their ebooks would be accessible in perpetuity?

________________________________
From: Cary Gordon <listuser at chillco.com>
To: Jim Knutson <tintin at exchangenet.net>
Cc: web4lib at webjunction.org
Sent: Tue, March 1, 2011 8:09:28 PM
Subject: Re: [Web4lib] eBooks

I think that it is pretty straightforward. Whatever you think that the
print book business proposition was is irrelevant. For all other
media, publishers are selling highly proscribed licenses to access
their protected intellectual property, and they can sell them under
any terms they like. The choice of whether to purchase a license under
the terms offered is yours.

Case in point: Amazon. Your Kindle, their "book".

Libraries have limited bargaining clout, particularly when you
consider the fractious nature of our industry and community. The only
courses of action that I can see are: Throw ourselves on the
publishers mercy, which for me conjures up an image of diving off a 50
meter platform into a thimble; Convince the House, Senate and Supreme
Court that we need legal protection; or organize enough that we can
reach out directly to content creators with a viable plan for
disintermediation.

Cary

On Tue, Mar 1, 2011 at 3:40 PM, Jim Knutson <tintin at exchangenet.net> wrote:
> 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.orgor 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
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>
>

-- 
Cary Gordon
The Cherry Hill Company
http://chillco.com

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