[Macworld]

Post your comments for E-book library borrowing hits record pace here

[wwelsh1939]

"HarperCollins has also restricted libraries to 26 borrowings of a single book title license, reasoning that a library would have to replace a single printed book title after 26 borrowings, due to wear and tear." And most librarians will tell you that in most cases 26 borrowings of a single book does not come any where near the end of life due to wear and tear! I wonder why the author included HarperCollins point of view and not that of librarians and consumers???

[MichaelRhoden]

I think another thing that goes along with this phenomenon is the fact that most libraries, at least in my city, are becoming like the post office. Sometimes you have to go, but you don't really want to and get kind of squeamish when you have to. There are many library websites that allow you to check out e-books online, so you can forgo having to go the brick building.
I used to love going to the library. It was inviting and warm. Now, it just seems that it is a place to hang out for people waiting for someone to answer their Craigslist sex ad.

[Roquentin]

I'm just curious how ebook borrowing through libraries even works for people with mobile devices. What, do they install it for you and then you have to bring it back to be uninstalled? Do you have to read it on a webpage via the mobile browser, and then lose access after a certain period of time? Or does it mean they're actually checking out whole iPad and Kindle device during this transaction? Just wondering.

[pcaleb]

wwelsh1939, on 20 January 2012 - 09:55 AM, said:

"HarperCollins has also restricted libraries to 26 borrowings of a single book title license, reasoning that a library would have to replace a single printed book title after 26 borrowings, due to wear and tear." And most librarians will tell you that in most cases 26 borrowings of a single book does not come any where near the end of life due to wear and tear! I wonder why the author included HarperCollins point of view and not that of librarians and consumers???

As I librarian, I can tell you this is absolutely true. Moreover, giving ebooks any kind of expiration date is just a sorry attempt to retain an old business model that has no relevance to the actual product at hand. Publishers might as reasonably price print books by guessing what it would cost to copy them by hand into vellum codices.

[Inkling]

What's going through the minds of these publishers? They've got a growing demand with long lines of people waiting to check out an ebook, yet they remain mired in the mindset of print books. They're behaving like Kodak in the late 1990s. They're refusing to see what the new technology means.

It costs virtually nothing to copy an ebook and they never wear out. Don't sell them in small quantities. Let every patron of every library in the country check out your books. Just charge a per-use rental fee.

[FurriousG]

Until libraries collect fees for each borrowing, there must be a limit on the number of simultaneous and total borrowings, otherwise the thousands of simultaneous readers who read the book for free substitute for buyers.

The first sale doctrine cannot apply to nonphysical, duplicatable objects as it applies to DVDs, CDs, and books.

As this happens libraries will change into a mix of Starbuck's and Amazon.

[cpadave]

Roquentin, on 20 January 2012 - 10:24 AM, said:

I'm just curious how ebook borrowing through libraries even works for people with mobile devices. What, do they install it for you and then you have to bring it back to be uninstalled? Do you have to read it on a webpage via the mobile browser, and then lose access after a certain period of time? Or does it mean they're actually checking out whole iPad and Kindle device during this transaction? Just wondering.

With the Kindle app Amazon just pulls the book off your device when you sync. If your device is not connected (via WI FI or 3G) it stays on your device indefinitely. But you have to connect your device to load additional books so at that point your leant book is gone! I have borrowed several books from my local library this way and it works great!

[ericole]

Inkling, on 20 January 2012 - 08:09 PM, said:

What's going through the minds of these publishers? They've got a growing demand with long lines of people waiting to check out an ebook, yet they remain mired in the mindset of print books.

It is very easy to determine what is going on in their minds. If 50 people check out an eBook, that might have only cost $25 to license, but would cost the same $25 for each copy purchased,they are losing a lot of money. So is the author most likely. It is about money, and as many technolgically-minded people seem to be thinking today, people's works (be they music, video, books, etc) don't come free.

I'm sure there is some middle ground to be found here, but people need to see both sides of this story.