[Athen] Slightly OT: library licensing of ebooks

[Katherine Deibel]

Oh yes, all this. The pricing models are absurd and gouging.

Katherine "Kate" Deibel, PhD
Library Accessibility Specialist
Twitter: https://twitter.com/metageeky
GitHub: https://github.com/metageeky

From: athen-list <athen-list-bounces at mailman12.u.washington.edu> On Behalf Of Deborah Armstrong
Sent: Tuesday, September 13, 2022 1:24 PM
To: 'Access Technology Higher Education Network' <athen-list at u.washington.edu>
Subject: [Athen] Slightly OT: library licensing of ebooks

As more and more public and college libraries increase their digital offerings, it's a great boon for those of us with print disabilities. I find it very exciting that I can borrow so many digital books, and rent so many digital textbooks as well!
But there's a dark side to all these ebooks as well; it costs libraries more to license them. I researched this over the weekend and was truly surprised over publishers' greed!
To summarize: when libraries buy a printed book, it is theirs, and they can loan it until it falls apart. But digital books are often licensed for just two years. After that, the library has to purchase a new license.  This means a book you want to read now may not be available forever. If not well-funded, a library's collection is going to decrease. Quality too will decrease as the less popular books will of course have cheaper licenses. Archive.org says: "... The publishers are willing to hollow out library collections for shareholder gain."
I leave you with a raft of blog posts and one podcast.

Publishers Are Changing E-Book Access for Libraries
              https://cals.org > CALS Blogs
NPR Podcast: The Surprising Economics of Digital Lending
              https://www.npr.org/2022/08/18/1118289764/the-surprising-economics-of-digital-lending
Digital Audiobooks in Public Libraries: A Current Assessment
              https://www.infotoday.com/cilmag/apr21/Blackwell-Coan-Mason-Parker--Digital-Audiobooks-in-Public-Libraries-A-Current-Assessment.shtml
              Publishers Change Ebook and Audiobook Models; Libraries Look for Answers | Library Journal
              https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/publishers-change-ebook-and-audiobook-models-libraries-look-for-answers
Libraries lend books, and must continue to lend books: Internet Archive responds to publishers' lawsuit - Internet Archive Blogs
              https://blog.archive.org/2020/07/29/internet-archive-responds-to-publishers-lawsuit/
Internet Archive Opposes Publishers in Federal Lawsuit - Internet Archive Blogs
              https://blog.archive.org/2022/09/03/internet-archive-opposes-publishers-in-federal-lawsuit/
Book Publishers Go To War With The Internet Archive
              https://hyperallergic.com/753044/book-publishers-go-to-war-with-the-internet-archive/

--Debee
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