Why
are popular titles unavailable as eBooks?
First, not every book that gets published is published as an
eBook. For example, it wasn’t until
March of this year (2012) that the Harry Potter series was published as
eBooks. Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger, a popular Book Club
selection is another example of a title not legally published as an eBook. Authors and publishers make this decision for
each individual title.
But
I see them on Amazon.com (or the B&N Nook Book Store)?
Not every eBook that is published is available for library
lending. Unlike a regular person, a
library cannot purchase an eBook from Amazon or Barnes & Noble and then
lend it out to our patrons. Libraries can buy a print book from publishers,
place it on the shelf, and lend it out. But
digital content is being treated differently by the publishers and the
companies who manage digital content licensing. Instead, publishers sell their content to
OverDrive, our eBook vendor, who then allows libraries to license titles from
them.
eBooks
are still relatively new, and publishers are trying to determine how they
affect publishing. Currently, several major publishers do
not support a public library lending model for eBooks. Others have made prices so high or have
implemented such severe restrictions, that it restricts our ability to select
them. OverDrive, our eBook vendor, works
with publishers so that libraries have selections available but this is
continually a work in progress.
Why is there a waiting list for
eBooks?
A
common misconception is that eBooks are always available, that an infinite
number of people can check out the same eBook at the same time. This is not accurate. eBooks are just like physical books in that libraries
have to purchase the rights to each copy in our collection, and that only 1
person can borrow 1 copy at a time. As
our collection is relatively new, ECRL starts out with 1 copy of the titles we
purchase, though we may add additional titles as waiting lists grow.
Why is the eBook available in EPUB
format but not Kindle format? Or, why is
it available in Kindle format but not EPUB format?
Right now, there are two main filetypes being used to describe
eBook files: the Amazon eBook standard, or .amz file, and the ePub file
(.epub) that is used by just about every other eBook vendor. In other words, they are two different
computer languages. In order to create
an eBook in both formats, publishers must make the choice to code the books and
sell them to Amazon and Barnes and Noble (or some other EPUB distributor). The cost of creating eBooks in the two
formats, the percentage of net profits, and control over pricing are all
reasons why authors and publishers may choose one, the other, or both formats
for distributing their eBooks.
ECRL has now offered eBooks for over a year, and will continue to grow the collection. A final reminder: If you would like to
request that ECRL purchase a specific eBook title, you
may make suggestions by sending an email with the title and author to ecregion@ecrlib.org. All suggested items will
not be purchased, since suggestions will be considered with regard to
collection development plans and budget available.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Publisher
Name
|
Do
they sell
their
eBooks
to
Libraries?
|
Restrictions
|
Examples
of authors/series
they
publish
|
Hachette
Book Group
|
YES
|
300% markup from the same item in print.
|
Nicholas
Sparks, James Patterson, Karen Kingsbury
|
HarperCollins
Publishers
|
YES
|
Allow 26
circulations per copy before expiring. Libraries then must purchase an
additional license if they wish to retain the title.
|
Daniel
Silva, Susan Wiggs, Debbie Macomber
|
Macmillan
|
YES
|
52 checkouts or 2 years, whichever comes first. Titles published less than 12 months ago: $60.00. Titles published 12 months ago or more: $40.00. Libraries then must purchase an additional license if they wish to retain the title.
|
Nevada Barr, C.J. Box, M.C. Beaton, Lisa Kleypas
|
Penguin Group USA
|
YES
|
Lisa
Gardner, Clive Cussler, Nora Roberts
|
|
Random
House, Inc.
|
YES
|
Libraries
are charged 300-400% the price Random
House for the same item in print.
|
John
Grisham, Danielle Steel, Lee Child
|
Scholastic
|
YES
|
Allows copies to circulate for 24 months (2 years). After 24 months, libraries must purchase an additional license if they wish to retain the title.
|
Hunger Games, Goosebumps, Rainbow Magic, Baby-Sitters Club
|
Simon
& Schuster
|
YES
|
After 12 months, libraries must purchase an additional license if they wish to retain the title.
|
Jodi
Picoult, Vince Flynn, William Kent Krueger
|
*Not
intended to be a comprehensive list of publishers, but rather an indicator what
libraries are facing from the major publishing houses. In addition, major publishing houses have multiple
divisions and subsidiary companies, which are subject to the lending models of
their parent company.
Sarah Biro, Branch Librarian, Chisago Lakes Area Library
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