Local libraries might have a harder time getting ebooks/audiobooks...

[DmGuay]

I received this email from my local library system. It appears big publishers are trying to reign in ebook/audiobook loans by local libraries.

A new trend in publishers’ eBook and eAudiobook purchasing policies for public libraries stands to widen the digital content divide in this country. It’s causing great concern in the library industry. Four major publishers – Blackstone Audio, Hachette, Simon & Schuster and Macmillan – have enacted new policies that either limit the number of digital copies public libraries can purchase, charge much higher prices for copies than consumers pay, or make libraries wait to purchase copies until retail outlets have been able to sell them for an extended period of time.

These policy changes are detrimental to our mission of providing equal access to digital content for all of our customers:

There will be fewer copies of many titles, so wait times will be longer.
The higher cost to purchase eBooks and eAudiobooks will stretch the library’s budget and impact our ability to provide the level of service our customers have come to expect.
Customers who can’t afford to pay for eBooks and eAudiobooks will have to wait much longer than customers who can pay for them.
 

Our professional associations and library leaders across the country are speaking out in the hopes of reversing or modifying these policy changes so we can continue to effectively serve our customers. I’ll keep you updated on this rapidly evolving situation.

Here is the news story related to this via Publishers Weekly. It appears they are asking for temporary licenses, rather than one-time purchase to ebooks.
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/80486-hachette-book-group-changes-library-e-book-terms.html

[Bill Hiatt]

That's disgusting, but it doesn't surprise me that some big publishers are trying to squeeze even more from the limited library budgets.

I wonder if these changes will encourage librarians to take more of a look at indies, whose books typically don't have those kinds of restrictions. Unfortunately, the historical forces that have impeded library interest, such as the inability to effectively curate selections from the large numbers of indie books, are still in play.

[PermaStudent]

Sounds like trade pub is making another pass at encouraging the purchase of hardcopy over digital.

That's fine. My books have already made it onto some digital library shelves, and while someone's bummed out at being number 53 on the waiting with 3 copies available (<-- my actual waitlist position for one I want now), all of those beautiful indie titles will be in the "while you're waiting" recommendations...

[Edward M. Grant]

I have a friend who works for a library here in Canada and I know they're looking at getting indie ebooks into the system. Readers would probably have to request them, but at least it would be an option.

I'm not sure whether that's because of the increasing cost of trade-published ebooks or because more readers are requesting indie ebooks.

[notthatamanda]

I'm missing something.  If a book is in Overdrive, and a specific library has Overdrive, isn't the book available to everyone through that library system?

Sorry, I don't really know how these work.

[PermaStudent]

I'm missing something.  If a book is in Overdrive, and a specific library has Overdrive, isn't the book available to everyone through that library system?

Sorry, I don't really know how these work.

My understanding is that books available in Overdrive need to be purchased by individual libraries to become available to that library's patrons via Overdrive. Hence the reason a purchase price needs to be set.

[Bill Hiatt]

I have a friend who works for a library here in Canada and I know they're looking at getting indie ebooks into the system. Readers would probably have to request them, but at least it would be an option.

I'm not sure whether that's because of the increasing cost of trade-published ebooks or because more readers are requesting indie ebooks.

Perhaps both, but I think the financial aspect must weigh heavily on them.

What libraries need is a vetting system for indie books. Librarians would be far less reluctant to recommend indie purchases if they knew the books they were getting were all quality. ALA has encouraged  libraries to have more contact with their local indie authors, but there's really no infrastructure to look at indie books. Obviously, no one is going to read every single indie title, but it would be nice if the ALA (or someone) developed a mechanism for examining a select few. I hate to suggest doing that on the basis of sales, or Amazon ranking, or something like that, which enhances the rich-get-richer aspect of the system, but even that would be better than nothing.