I had emailed someone at work to find out the cost of eBooks for our library system. I told her that a student in this class had mentioned the cost being around $85 per 24 check outs for one title. I received an answer from the woman - she was nice enough to get back to me quickly - who deals with and orders titles from our eBook vendor, Overdrive.
So
many publishers, so many lending models is all I can say here. A few
year back, HarperCollins
took a ton of flack for saying that you were only buying their e-books
for 26 circs and then you would have to buy them again. Libraries
protested and refused to buy them. Sadly, Harper's model seems pretty
good now. Their prices are cheap (about $10 for many
titles) and if a book is circing well, I wouldn't mind the nominal fee
to keep it. (But that's just me!) Then, Random House announced they
would be increasing their prices. A Bestseller like "Takedown Twenty" by
Evanovich costs $84. JK Rowling entered the game
and announced her Harry Potter e-books would be good for 5 years. It's a
brave new world and everyone is still trying to figure out the
mechanics of it all.
I asked if an author wasn't with a publishing house, could they work out a deal with Overdrive?
OverDrive will work with self-published authors. They use aggregators like Smashwords and CreateSpace.
It looks like they typically won't carry an author unless the author has written at least 5 books. You can email pubinfo@overdrive.com
for the specifics.
Lastly, I asked - Is it possible to actually get eBooks through a library that isn't connected to Overdrive?
Or will purchasing or finding freebies be their (our) only option?
Jamie
LaRue of Douglas County is the one to Google here. He was the "big
player" when it came
to trying to do his own thing with e-books. He set up servers, etc. and
wanted to carry local and indie authors without going through OverDrive.
http://douglascountylibraries.org/content/ebooks-and-DCL
There are others. Some library systems in California have followed his
lead. Our own Director was interested in the feasibility of this. After
looking into it, what you would save by avoiding price gouging, etc. you
would be spending on tech skills and support.
Also, the content would not be what many patrons would be looking for.
The patrons want the things they have heard about--Bestseller list
books.
Just thought it was good to know. Thanks again Anna for the heads up on the cost.
It's so frustrating how so many already budget-constrained public libraries are forced to choose between eBooks that are priced exorbitantly and their physical copies - and trying to explain to patrons that some eBooks (and audiobooks) cost SO much more, or simply aren't available, or that you still have to place holds....it's a huge challenge in and of itself!
ReplyDeleteGood info! Thanks for looking into that! I learned about eBook pricing and circulation issues in my Public Library Management class and it can be insane! I'm glad to see that Overdrive does work with self-published authors, even if it might not be easy. Looks like I'm going to have to do more research myself on this topic!
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