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thewayneMacmillan Publishing is trying to screw up the way that ebooks work - they want to restrict libraries to purchasing ONE COPY of new ebooks for TWO MONTHS after the book comes out! From the CNN Op Ed: "Librarians to publishers: Please take our money. Publishers to librarians: Drop dead.
That's the upshot of Macmillan publishing's recent decision which represents yet another insult to libraries. For the first two months after a Macmillan book is published, a library can only buy one copy, at a discount. After eight weeks, they can purchase "expiring" e-book copies which need to be re-purchased after two years or 52 lends."
It's crazy. Libraries don't pay just full retail price for books: we pay MORE. And ebooks, we pay more than that even! And then, as she says, we pay it again, just so we can continue lending it. Macmillan apparently thinks that each library getting only one copy of an ebook is OK because, since ebooks are digital, a person in the LA County library district, where one copy of the ebook is servicing 1.something million patrons, someone could borrow that ebook from a library in, let's say Vermont, where a library might serve a thousand patrons.
One problem with that: libraries don't lend ebooks outside of their lending area. There are services that they subscribe to, like the Alamogordo library buys in to Libby as do many libraries, but Alamo is still paying for its copies within Libby - Libby is just a distributor. I can't borrow books - physical or electronic, from the Phoenix Public Library, because I'm not a Phoenix or Maricopa County resident.
Macmillan is being idiotic and leaving a lot of money on the table.
Opinion piece by a Vermont Librarian: https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/02/opinions/libraries-fight-publishers-over-e-books-west/index.html
The American Library Association's condemnation: http://www.ala.org/news/member-news/2019/07/public-library-association-condemns-macmillan-publishers-library-lending-model
In libraries and audiobook news, an embargo is being launched against publisher/distributor Blackstone. For six months, many libraries are ceasing new purchases. Blackstone is entering into a new agreement with Amazon, and wants all libraries to get their material through Audible. The problem is that there's lots of issues with licensing. It's just like if you lose a paperback that you checked out from a library, they're not going to charge you $7. They can't go to B&N or Amazon and buy a replacement, it has to come from a publisher or jobber to be licensed correctly so we have the rights to lend it indefinitely.
Big freakin' mess.
One of the reasons I quit doing film programming for science fiction conventions was they started going to Blockbuster and just grabbing videos off the shelf for the film program. Not correctly licensed, and they could have gotten in BIG trouble with distributors for that, and I couldn't be part of it.
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/80658-citing-embargo-libraries-plan-boycott-of-blackstone-digital-audio.html
That's the upshot of Macmillan publishing's recent decision which represents yet another insult to libraries. For the first two months after a Macmillan book is published, a library can only buy one copy, at a discount. After eight weeks, they can purchase "expiring" e-book copies which need to be re-purchased after two years or 52 lends."
It's crazy. Libraries don't pay just full retail price for books: we pay MORE. And ebooks, we pay more than that even! And then, as she says, we pay it again, just so we can continue lending it. Macmillan apparently thinks that each library getting only one copy of an ebook is OK because, since ebooks are digital, a person in the LA County library district, where one copy of the ebook is servicing 1.something million patrons, someone could borrow that ebook from a library in, let's say Vermont, where a library might serve a thousand patrons.
One problem with that: libraries don't lend ebooks outside of their lending area. There are services that they subscribe to, like the Alamogordo library buys in to Libby as do many libraries, but Alamo is still paying for its copies within Libby - Libby is just a distributor. I can't borrow books - physical or electronic, from the Phoenix Public Library, because I'm not a Phoenix or Maricopa County resident.
Macmillan is being idiotic and leaving a lot of money on the table.
Opinion piece by a Vermont Librarian: https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/02/opinions/libraries-fight-publishers-over-e-books-west/index.html
The American Library Association's condemnation: http://www.ala.org/news/member-news/2019/07/public-library-association-condemns-macmillan-publishers-library-lending-model
In libraries and audiobook news, an embargo is being launched against publisher/distributor Blackstone. For six months, many libraries are ceasing new purchases. Blackstone is entering into a new agreement with Amazon, and wants all libraries to get their material through Audible. The problem is that there's lots of issues with licensing. It's just like if you lose a paperback that you checked out from a library, they're not going to charge you $7. They can't go to B&N or Amazon and buy a replacement, it has to come from a publisher or jobber to be licensed correctly so we have the rights to lend it indefinitely.
Big freakin' mess.
One of the reasons I quit doing film programming for science fiction conventions was they started going to Blockbuster and just grabbing videos off the shelf for the film program. Not correctly licensed, and they could have gotten in BIG trouble with distributors for that, and I couldn't be part of it.
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/80658-citing-embargo-libraries-plan-boycott-of-blackstone-digital-audio.html
no subject
Date: 2019-08-11 10:17 pm (UTC)A person isn't borrowing one book, but a few dozen - but at least the library would have several copies available to loan out. And they could use Amazon Prime's loaner library for several of them, allowing up to 10 different books per account to be loaded into the devices.
This'd take a great deal of hassle in juggling book purchases between accounts and tracking which devices contain which bundles of books, but they wouldn't have to deal with buying limited-use ebooks. Shouldn't run into licensing problems because, just like loaning a physical book, they're not making an unauthorized copy. And unlike the "grab Blockbuster movie for convention showing," they're not doing public presentations; there's never been a problem with "grab Blockbuster movie and invite six friends to watch it."
no subject
Date: 2019-08-11 10:53 pm (UTC)Many libraries do lend ereaders, I have no idea how that works. I work for a uni, and we don't. Main campus lends/rents iPads and laptops, I don't have a clue how those policies work over there. It might come to that: bend the rules as far as possible and see where the breaking point it.