E-books, I Kind of Want to Quit You

I have not tried the ebooks yet, but I know I should. What I do like is being able to read classics through the Gutenberg Project on my computer.

I won't buy an e-book reader. Only because I won't pay the same price for a physical object that I will for an object that is electronic.

Yes, I understand how much I have paid for software that's on my computer right now, and I'm not saying I want all e-books to be .99 before I'll buy one - but when it comes to electronic media the bar for purchase should be lower so more people can access that media. But that's just me and I'm certainly no publishing house.

The fact that there is no cost to replacing the book being the reason for not letting people check out unlimited ebooks at the library is just b.s. - it doesn't cost as much to print the book, either. There is no shipping cost, either.

I really feel that with e-books, the publishers want to have their cake and eat it too. They want to profit from the better margins but not let that good fortune extend to anyone else in the process.

Really, I think the solution is to start looking into and purchasing self-published authors exclusively.

Except for Neil Gaiman, because I have all his hardcovers and love, love, love them.

Jen from Beyond Mom ( http://beyondmom.com )

Over at Library Journal HarperCollin there is the response:
http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/889500-264/h...... ( http://www.libraryjournal.com/lj/home/889500-264/h... )

This is the jist of it:

"Our prior e-book policy for libraries dates back almost 10 years to a time when the number of e-readers was too small to measure. It is projected that the installed base of e-reading devices domestically will reach nearly 40 million this year. We have serious concerns that our previous e-book policy, selling e-books to libraries in perpetuity, if left unchanged, would undermine the emerging e-book eco-system, hurt the growing e-book channel, place additional pressure on physical bookstores, and in the end lead to a decrease in book sales and royalties paid to authors. We are looking to balance the mission and needs of libraries and their patrons with those of authors and booksellers, so that the library channel can thrive alongside the growing e-book retail channel."

Gena Haskett is a BlogHer Contributing Editor. My Blogs: Out On The Stoop ( http://outonthestoop.blogspot.com ) and Create Video Notebook ( http://createvideonotebook.blogspot.com )

My question is, how many times is a physical book actually lent before it needs replacing? I'm sure publishers count on a certain amount of revenue from replacement copies. It makes sense to me to place a limit on the number of times an electronic version, which could be lent indefinitely at a loss to publishers, to have a limit placed on them -- provided it's similar to the replacement rate of physical copies. How did they arrive at their limit of 26 lending cycles per license?

Or it feels that way to me.

~Denise
BlogHer Community Manager
Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

I do everything to get my hands on books from buying hardcover to mass market, to buying at half prices bookstores, to borrowing from friends and family. I just invested this year in an eReader. I am not exclusively reading on it either. I did however just start downloading library books to it. I agree whole-heartedly with your comments here. It's out there so it will be duplicated and pirated as people feel the need, but I personally will never stop buying, borrowing or downloading books because I love them and most of my budget does got to books because of this.

Heidi

heavenisabookstore.blogspot.com

It's just one publisher imposing lending limits. Then Macmillan and I believe also Simon & Schuster don't offer them video the library at all. I think the options may decrease in the short-term but I'm hoping it's only temporary.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

I don't think the music industry and the publishing industry are quite swappable but there are definite similarities. But there are differences too. There was an e-book shop a few years ago that tried an iTunes kind of store where you could buy chapters the same way you buy songs from an album. It's great for short stories and poetry but it don't really work for novels. They ended up redoing their site and are a more traditional e-book seller now.

I'm impressed that you can read e-books on your computer. I tried but they always killed my eyes and gave me headaches.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

Ok,
I could've written this post! Seriously!
I feel the exact same way! I love my nook and have spent a ton of money getting the books I (HAD TO HAVE) and any free ones that caught my fancy!
My husband reads tons of ebooks from the local library each week and purchases many as well.
We'll be in a position to ditch our nooks soon if things go as you say.
Oh the cheaters....they ruin everything for everyone. Jerks!

So that limits the reach of a library book to essentially that of a physical book. Anyone seen stats on this, say the average number of best sellers lent out versus the electronic kind (in big city libraries?)

You can only get that "copy" of the book if someone doesn't already have it "checked out."

Retro-Food.com

Here we go again...I loved your article, it is the motived that the publisher are using to "keep you." Everyone is wondering how people are going to be paid, and they are still arguing over that right to he who has the most money wins. That argument was the same when Netflix came on the scene for movies.
The concept is simple, these people do not scenario plan. I took a class in it when I was earning my degree in marketing. All it is planning in a new way, and most of these companies plan to go into a panic mode when something new and different comes to steal their thunder. I think that is what happened with all three media industries. They are being ridiculous about limiting how many times a library can have a book.
But in reference the above subject, I plan to still do both. although I do not have an actual e-reader (even though I am eyeing the Ipad 2), right now I use my PC and downloaded both the Kindle and nook software for use in the computer, and that is how I e-read for the moment, and I also have access to my library's e-reading software, so I borrow. this will be transferred once I get an Ipad 2 ( and I am doing more than just reading with it.)

"People just aren't willing to pay the same price for an intangible item (e-book) as they will for a tangible item."

Because of the limits that are imposed on e-books (you can only move it to x devices, usually in ways that involve some amount of frustration) and the fact that I can't turn around and loan it to a friend if they want to read it (well, sometimes you can now but it's all kinda iffy) I'm not willing to pay that much for the e-book. I expect to pay less for an e-book than I do for a mass market paperback...and not just $1 less.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

The license on e-books already limits how many copies can be checked out at a time. It's not like they are buying one e-book copy and loaning it out to 15 people at once.

It'll be interesting to see what's happening with e-books two years from now. A lot has already happened since I got my e-book reader two years ago.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

I've had my e-reader for almost two years. I find it changed my purchasing habits more than my library habits. I realize that probably doesn't make a lot of sense. lol

I still use the library as my primary source of books but I am also buying more. When my library doesn't have a book I want to read, or the waiting list for that book is really, really long and it's easier for me to a grab an e-book. When Mockingjay, the last book in the Hunger Games series, came out this summer I knew I needed to get my hands on a copy quickly (one part to prevent spoilers, one part so I could write about it here at BlogHer). I couldn't wait for the library copy, didn't want the hardcover so an e-book was perfect.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

Hardcover books especially can handle more wear and tear. I've seen books that are fresh off the presses that have only had a couple of loans (I watch my place in the queues closely) and be in pretty rough shape sometimes. More common with paperbacks.

I think that most people tend to treat library books with respect.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

Is that an e-book is similar to a physical book in that only one person may borrow one copy of it at a time. So if the library only has one license only one person at a time may borrow the e-book. It gets checked out to me for a 14 day period and once that 14 days expire I can no longer access it.

In general with e-book, even when you buy them, you don't have the same rights to them that have you have a physical book. I always compared e-book purchases to leasing a book, rather than owning it.

Oh and with a Kindle you probably can't borrow e-books from the library. Sorry!

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

That makes this clearer... a print book has only so much reach. If you have it, I don't, and have to wait, patiently and otherwise, for it to become available (so hurry it up, rofl.)

With electronic distribution, theoretically a library can offer it up to anyone with an account at that library, instantaneously. This is far reaching, exponentially so, and I can see why some number would have to be established in the licensing to distribute a given book.

a library would never replace a hardcovered or paperbacked copy of a book after 26 checkouts. that would be ludicrous!

we (the library users of the world) are the same community of people that BUY those darned books that they keep jacking prices up on. the publishing industry must know this... that the demographics are one and the same... you would think, no?

i think the dinosaurs of the publishing industry are (rightfully) nervous about the medium and just trying to doggie paddle their way to wading waters. i can only hope that they don't kill the ebook world in the process.

i love my kindle - reading so much more than i was before. i love my library - reading so much more than i was before.

Ownership vs license. When I purchase an physical book I own it in the sense that I have possession of an actual product. I don't own the copyright just the delivery device used to read the book. Same as a library would do; purchase one book and loan that book out one at a time.

The publisher is the middle person between me and the author.

The author is paid a small portion of the value of the book, the publisher prepares it for publication and I pay the full amount to read.

Because of electronic delivery I can get the book delivered to a device that I own. If the library has a copy of the book I don't need to deal with the publisher; I can download the book. Remember, the book has been paid for; libraries purchase books.

It is the same process only this time the publisher is saying that after 26 readers the library has to buy the same book again.

They do not ask that license of a paper book. That is where the questions of fairness comes up for me.

Not to mention the importance of libraries to the publishing industry. I got rants a plenty about this but I should sit down and write my own post.

Again.

Gena Haskett is a BlogHer Contributing Editor. My Blogs: Out On The Stoop ( http://outonthestoop.blogspot.com ) and Create Video Notebook ( http://createvideonotebook.blogspot.com )

and asks for details on how this all works, at least in the context of a library lending electronic media.

I have a new kindle, a gift from my mother, but I've yet to get it going. My nephew changed the router I had here, one that was encrypted, and I don't know what he did with it. If it is encrypted, I need the goofy settings... anyway, that is beside the point.

This falls into the debate over proprietary content and compensation. We have an established track record with lending print media, and now comes along a means of delivery that is instantaneous and cheaper. There are less costs on the production end, thus lower prices for the product...

but at one point does a lending library encroach upon the ability of writers and publishers to earn via their product? Where is that line? The music industry was mentioned, and they've done a horrendous job of it...

Before I can really form an opinion and offer an opinion, tell me how this all works... when is an book available for download from a library? Upon release? Is there a delay? Is there any cost involved other than a library card? Does the library pay any sort of fee or license for the right?

I'd been eyeballing the Kindle for a while, debating if I would actually use such a device.
When Santa decided I did in fact want one last x-mas, he opened a Pandora's Box that continues to fuel my reading ADD. How else could I read 20 books at once? Where else can I get immediate gratification for my literary appetite? Needless to say I am in love.

Where else can (FREE) Poe, Leroux, Austen and Melville happily co-exist with (Purchased) Larsson, Gruen, Donoghue and Foer? Oh right..the library. <- And therein lies the drawback to e-books. Now I only visit for the children's section.

Hello! I'm the Founder and Chief seed planter of GreenBeans. ( http://gogreenbeans.com ) Have any questions, fire away!

More you say? Okay...you asked for it:

Earth lovin', E-cyclin', Guitar strummin', Kid snugglin' closet fiction

First, as hard as it must be to be in the librarian field right now, I also think it's a very interesting time. eBooks are exploding and the whole way things are done is being reinvented again.

Two, I don't understand why it makes any sense at all for publishers to try to "contain" electronic copies sold to libraries based on "the wear and tear"... ridiculous.

Yes, I both borrow books from the library and I purchase them. The books I buy tend to be books I want my daughter to read when she's old enough (Harry Potter series) or books I love that I know I'll want to read again. My daughter has three bookshelves full of books; we read for at least 20 mins a night before bed. I'll never refuse to buy her a book.

If it's a fiction read or an author I haven't read before, I tend to take out the book from the library. I bought a nook specifically so I could borrow e-books from the library, but so far I haven't been able to find any e-books at my library. I have yet to borrow a single e-book because I haven't found a way to do it. I haven't asked my librarian if they have any e-books because with a 3 year old, I don't have much time to read for me.

My intention is to donate monthly to the library for what I would have paid to read those books I checked out. If I would have spent $3.00 for a used copy of that paperback, why not donate the money to a library instead? I contribute annually to my local library, but so far I haven't seen any monthly recurring donation options from them.

Honestly, I think publishers need to get past the list prices after a book has been in print for a while, especially for e-books. I'd much rather the $4 I spend per used paperback on Amazon went to the author or to the library instead of the Post Office for the shipping cost of the book. It's similar to the $1.29, $0.99, $0.69 pricing scheme iTunes implemented a few years ago. Would they rather lose a sale completely by having me check out the book from the library or buy a used copy than collect a price more in line with what I'm willing to pay? People just aren't willing to pay the same price for an intangible item (e-book) as they will for a tangible item.

I disagree with the lending limits on e-books. If I like a book I borrow from the library, I'm going to buy a copy. If I can't get a book from the library, the next place I'd look is a used copy, not a new full-priced copy.

I do that all the time, especially with cookbooks. Even when I don't have time to finish a book I've checked out from the library I can take a peek at it and read a couple of pages to see if I need my own copy.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

E-book readers, especially those with wifi and/or 3G ability have made it so, so easy to buy books. I'm not at all surprised that you've increased your book spending.

And yes, large font! I love the ability to change font sizes.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

These folks demonstrate the policy in action:

So if the library has a budget for one paperback at $7.95 and the same e-book at $26 which one is going to be selected?

Hmm, let me think...

Gena Haskett is a BlogHer Contributing Editor. My Blogs: Out On The Stoop ( http://outonthestoop.blogspot.com ) and Create Video Notebook ( http://createvideonotebook.blogspot.com )

I often check out a book from the library first, like cookbooks, to preview. If I like the book, I buy it. If not, I don't. If I can't preview it, I am even less likely to buy it.

The same is true with e-books. I don't use an e-reader right now because there aren't many books I can check out from the library. I won't buy one until I can check out a fair selection to decide if I like the format. So for a publisher to limit the library will actually limit any potential sales from me.

I also think these big publishers are losing site of how the industry is changing as a whole. With people able to self-publish so easily, the big publishing houses are rapidly becoming dinosaurs who need to get with the program before facing extinction.

Great post, Sassy!

Publishers need to consider people like me who have been brought into the reading world again with these devices.

I got a Nook because it is compatible with the L.A. Public Library but I find myself searching Barnes & Noble for my next read. I have already spent more money on e-books in 3 months than I spent in the last 2 years on paper. The large font option has me reading faster than I did before.

The old market is definitely changing but so is the customer base. These publishers should try to maximize these opportunities.

By the way, I am reading The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin thanks to a random shopping spree from my bed one night. It was $.01 and well worth it!

As the creator of the modern library system, I have a feeling Mr. Franklin would be delighted in an e-reader and appalled at limited access to reading materials. He would have found a new way to build this industry.

Heather blogs about Motherhood & Other Offensive Situations at http://www.ultimateoutcasts.com.

When I'm travelling I tend to load up my e-reader with books, usually from the library. I almost always load it with more books than I'll have a chance to read because the idea of getting caught in a travel delay without reading material is frightening. But if the library ends up having to pay that much sooner because I didn't read it? Ouch! Total guilt attack.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

I borrow books from the library and buy books. I typically buy books that I want to read as soon as they come out because I can't bear the months of being on the hold list at the library.

I hate the idea of limited how many times an ebook can be checked out of the library because I borrow more books from the library than I actually read. A good chunk come due before I've gotten to read them so they go back untouched. The library should not have to pay for the ebook again because I checked it out and didn't get around to reading it.

Another reason I buy books is because I know several of my family members or friends would like to read it when I'm done. The limits what I'll buy as an ebook because it's too complicated and limited to lend ebooks easily to other people.

BlogHer Marketing Coordinator Carrie Winegarden (@carrieactually ( http://twitter.com/carrieactually )) blogs at Carrie Actually ( http://www.carrieactually.com ) and Kuchen Together ( http://www.kuchentogether.com ).

I could do inter-library loan with my library but I generally if I want to read it that much I buy it. I have book purchases built into my budget. Depending on how I feel about the book (if I don't really need to keep it after reading it) I usually turn around and donate it to the library.

p>Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

I find my buy vs borrow tends to breakdown along fiction vs non-fiction. I read oodles and oodles of fiction and I tend to be more discriminating about what I buy. The library helps me discover what fiction I need to buy. I buy non-fiction pretty indiscriminately, especially histories.

I don't have a Nook but my Sony similar in functionality. It's pretty easy to borrow from the library with them.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

I am too frugal to buy books. I have a pretty good library, where if they don't have a book I won't they will either get it from another library or even just order it for me.

 http://www.themarthacomplex.blogspot.com/

I won't quit e-books. There are times when I need to get my hands on a book asap for work and there's one bookstore in my community and it tends to be slow about putting out books on release day.

I love the convenience and portability of e-books. I'm weary of, for lack of a better descriptor, the politics of e-books.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

I use the library a lot and I buy books as well. Like you, I tend to buy books that I really want to read and discover new finds through the library. There have been a number of authors that I discovered through the library and then purchased every other book they had written. Without the library, I would never have bought any of them. My library does loan e-books but since my Nook is new, I haven't tried it yet. I have been enjoying the free books for now.

Quitting e-books? Not likely. Face it, the same complaints surfaced when paperback books came out.

I love my Kindle. I've read over a million words since Christmas while waiting in various lines.

What's more likely is that I'm going to need a budget. This one click thing is too easy.

Jeff Bezos, welcome to my bank account.

26 loans seems low to me as well. Some librarians did a youtube video of what various numbers loans look like for physical books. I mean, it's all variable right? Some borrowers are hard on books, others are not. Some books are better constructed than others.

E-books in my library's system are limited to one check out at a time and the loan period is two weeks. If the book was consistently loaned the license would need to be replaced once a year.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

I am a book-in-book-form lover, and do not use e-readers, I have never tried one and really don't plan on trying one.

Here is the thing about the whole library situation. There is part of me that can sympathize with what the publishing company is saying regarding the fact that an ebook will not wear out.

The problem is that they set such a ridiculous amount of "borrows" as the cut off. I used to work in the library at school when I was in forth grade......and those books were being checked out by kids (who are not always kind to books) and they lasted through much more than 25 "borrows", especially if they were hardback books.

If the publishing company had made the cut off 100, it wouldn't seem so ridiculous. Sure, it might take a long time to reach 100 borrows, but if ebooks really are going to take over the book world, then the line of logic would say that they will be checked out more and more, making 100 "borrows" not take very long at all.

Either they think that ebooks are taking over....or they are trying to get every extra penny they can from an already stressed library system.

Tracie writes at From Tracie ( http://www.fromtracie.com ) and tweets @fromtracie ( http://www.twitter.com/fromtracie ).  

I think it shows a huge disconnect between publishers and consumers. If that were true it would be equally true of e-books as it is paper books and libraries have been around for centuries. It was just a totally ridiculous statement.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

"I'm still laughing at the whole library card means never buying books thing. "

I'm still lost on this part. I really don't get it. Do you think publishers thought like this when they first invented/envisioned Libraries?

I never really thought about it but I think I unconsciously look for ones that are 20-30% less than the paperback. It just doesn't make sense to me otherwise. I saw a really good one the other day - an e-book that was exactly $0.01 less than the paperback.

I feel so bad for libraries. They are getting kicked financially on all sides.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

I mean yes, they kind of have a point about how e-books are theoretically indestructible... until you get into the fact that technology changes and the books we're reading today are potentially in a format that won't work in 5 or 10 years. I'm still laughing at the whole library card means never buying books thing.

The Stephanie Plum books are on my list of books to read. I'd like to start the series this year. I think they sound like good summer reading.

Contributing Editor Karen Ballum also blogs at Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.ca ) and Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.ca ).

You would have thought that the publishing industry would have learned from the music industry and how they almost ruined the coming digital music boom. But they haven't.

I buy ebooks and actually have done for years (even before they were popular). I like the idea of having my book in a portable and transferable format (not that DRM allows that, but that's a different post for a different time).

Everytime I go looking for an ebook it has to meet the following criteria:
It must have a compelling story (I read romance/erotica and urban fantasy/sci fi, so its easy to get lemons if you're not careful)

The price point must be 20 - 30 below the cost of a paperback (currently pb prices are running around 8 bucks so if its 6 bucks or below I'm willing to shell out for it)
One caveat to the above on pricing, the book has to be priced correctly for its size. I'm not going to shell out 6 bucks for 20 pages, no matter how much I like the author.

I must be able to sample it. If there's no sample I don't even entertain the idea of buying it...unless its from an author I buy from frequently.

The publishing industry's attempt to gouge libraries to line their pockets is not gaining them any friends in my book and once libraries start drawing a line in the sand, we'll see who cracks first.

I'm not a big mystery book reader but I borrowed a copy of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum book.

About once a year I buy a paperback. If I can't sample a book I'm not shelling money out. It was that way before e-readers and it will continue to be that way.

Publishing think that killing book access at libraries is the way to go. They are very much mistaken.

I bet if and when independent publishers step up and fill e-readers with their content there would be a change of attitude.

Gena Haskett is a BlogHer Contributing Editor. My Blogs: Out On The Stoop ( http://outonthestoop.blogspot.com ) and Create Video Notebook ( http://createvideonotebook.blogspot.com )