Publishing Industry Forces OverDrive and Other Library eBook Vendors to Take a Giant Step Back

167 Responses to Publishing Industry Forces OverDrive and Other Library eBook Vendors to Take a Giant Step Back

1. ebooks, renting & location location location « Metadata, cataloging, & various librarian-like stuff on February 28, 2011 at 10:51 am

   [...] to @librarianbyday on Twitter I found out about OverDrive’s partner update email. Then from @librarythingtim  on Twitter, I heard of HarperCollins limiting [...]

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2. An eBook User’s Bill of Rights | The Plaid Librarian on February 28, 2011 at 10:58 am

   [...] Publishing Industry Forces OverDrive and Other Library eBook Vendors to Take a Giant Step Back | Lib… (librarianbyday.net) [...]

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3. The eBook User’s Bill of Rights #ebookrights #hcod on February 28, 2011 at 11:07 am

   [...] See also. Do you want to help save libraries? Spread the word: [...]

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4. whose ebooks? « anthroarchivist on February 28, 2011 at 11:50 am

   [...] and Twitterverse.  If you haven’t read up on it yet, check out Bobbi Newman’s blog post which sums up the issues well and links to many other blog posts and articles on the [...]

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5. 

   Peter Atkinson on February 28, 2011 at 11:55 am

   This is just my opinion but I believe that a boycott is a mistake. From the publisher’s perspective, if we stop buying their books, people will have no choice but to buy books which is exactly what they want.

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   • 

     Barbara Henry on February 28, 2011 at 12:10 pm

     So, on March 7 libraries should just keep buying? How about “due to budget constraints, HarperCollins ebook purchases are no longer a high priority at our library. If there is money left, maybe we will consider purchase. We cannot afford to purchase at full price an ebook that will disappear after 26 check outs.” If boycott is too strong a word perhaps you can tone it down by calling it a “No Buy Zone” and delay your purchase indefinitely. I think a “business as usual” approach is a mistake.

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     • 

       Peter Atkinson on February 28, 2011 at 12:25 pm

       Again, in my opinion, NOT buying is a mistake. We need to engage them in another way. We have two fundamentally different goals. Ours is the greater good, theirs is profit. We can be technically right or morally right and it’s irrelevant to a corporation; they are legally obligated to maximise profit. If we can show that free digital content drives sales of paid content, then this issue will disappear and you’ll see the relationship with publishers bloom. Unfortunately right now I think that’s a mixed bag; yes for films, yes for some musical groups, no for digital music in general.

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     • 

       Barbara Henry on February 28, 2011 at 12:52 pm

       I guess each library or consortia will decide what is good for their library, their collection and their users. And whether or not purchasing ebooks from HC is a good financial decision for their shrinking budgets. It is hard to imagine a library spending lots of money on an ebook that will disappear after 26 circs. We definitely do not want a bunch of hysterical, irrational, angry librarians rampaging in the streets.

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   • 

     Bobbi Newman on February 28, 2011 at 12:30 pm

     Peter – I’m in agreement with you. At this time I do not think that a boycott is the best course of action. I worry it makes us look hysterical and irrational. Not the image you want to take to the negotiation table.

     There may be a point in the future where a boycott becomes necessary to make a statement but that time is not now.

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     • 

       Peter Atkinson on February 28, 2011 at 1:04 pm

       Thanks Bobbi. I sincerely appreciate that. I agree with Barbara that we need leadership from our state/provincial/national associations. If data shows e-books in libraries drive book sales this is a no-brainer but if not, publishers will believe that they benefit from a boycott by libraries – but maybe not from the public. That highlights that longer term libraries need a really clearly defined brand. That will make these big issues that we wrestle with individually so much easier to deal with.

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     • 

       Barbara Henry on March 1, 2011 at 9:16 am

       “I worry it makes us look hysterical and irrational. Not the image you want to take to the negotiation table.”

       Interesting choice of words.

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     • 

       Peter Atkinson on March 1, 2011 at 10:37 am

       Here’s why this is happening:

       http://www.publishers.org/main/PressCenter/Archicves/2011_Feb/DecemberStatsPressRelease.htm

       You can read this two ways. 1) They’re moving to squeeze more revenue out of the faster-growing ebooks channel 2) The growth of ebooks hasn’t affected total sales. Now if only we had someone to have that discussion with publishers for us.

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6. Limits on library e-books stir controversy on February 28, 2011 at 12:00 pm

   [...] in reading more? This post from Librarian By Day includes a lineup of [...]

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7. The Galecia Group » Keep Struggling with Ebook DRM or Boycott? on February 28, 2011 at 12:35 pm

   [...] By Day (http://librarianbyday.net/2011/02/25/publishing-industry-forces-overdrive-and-other-library-ebook-ve…) explains the issue well.  The quote below is from a letter sent by OverDrive to their customers: [...]

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8. Is A Boycott of HarperCollins The Right Course of Action at This Time? #hcod #ebookrights | Librarian by Day on February 28, 2011 at 1:16 pm

   [...] Conversations about this have popped up on Twitter, Facebook and in the comments of my original post about the HarperCollines Fiasco, so  I thought I’d provide a venue for discussion just about this [...]

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9. theanalogdivide » Blog Archive » Holding Our Breath Till We Turn Blue on February 28, 2011 at 3:00 pm

   [...] the #hcod debate has continued to grow, many concerned librarians, authors, and readers are beginning to move from discussion to direct [...]

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10. Harper Collins and ebooks | Simon Chamberlain's Blog on February 28, 2011 at 5:17 pm

    [...] area, etc.)”, and there are further issues relating to library consortia. [Much more at Librarian by Day, Librarian In Black, and David Lee [...]

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11. T is for Training 66: Co-Working Spaces or Back to Reinventing Ourselves « T is for Training on February 28, 2011 at 6:29 pm

    [...] This show was taped Friday in the opening hours of the Harper Collins E-Book announcement and reflects immediate opinion and reaction from the callers.  Start your inquiry here at Bobbi’s post which is has been constantly updated. Publishing Industry Forces OverDrive and Other Library eBook Vendors to Take a Giant Step Back [...]

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12. information. games. » Blog Archive » Artificial Scarcity: I attempt to identify the root cause of the #HCOD debacle on February 28, 2011 at 7:57 pm

    [...] and the library will need to purchase a new copy. A New York Times blog ran a piece on it and Bobbi Newman (Librarian-by-Day) has an excellent digest of the conversation. It has certainly stirred a hornet’s nest, but it remains to be seen [...]

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13. The New Deal On E-Books | Information Tyrannosaur on February 28, 2011 at 10:28 pm

    [...] the book. This set off the library community. There are a lot of blog posts on this (there’s a good roundup of them at Librarian By Day). There are also a plethora of tweets under the #hcod [...]

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14. GARZ4LIB | A, B, C, D, E-readers on February 28, 2011 at 10:46 pm

    [...] course everyone and their mother is talking about e-content nowadays, especially in the wake of the Harper Collins/OverDrive upset. After squawking about it enough in my “trends” portion of month-end reports, I was [...]

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15. The Future of the Publishing Industry (or why terms of service are so important): HarperCollins Part Two « The Learned Fangirl on February 28, 2011 at 11:59 pm

    [...] and their supporters are understandably upset, with a variety of posts on BoingBoing, Librarian By Day, Dear Author, Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, Literary Sluts, TechDirt, and many [...]

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16. Kimberly Wells on March 1, 2011 at 5:26 am

    RT @librarianbyday: brief overview of the HarperCollins #ebooks fiasco with links resources #hcod http://bit.ly/hO99z9

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17. 

    Peter Atkinson on March 1, 2011 at 10:36 am

    Here’s why this is happening:

    http://www.publishers.org/main/PressCenter/Archicves/2011_Feb/DecemberStatsPressRelease.htm

    You can read this two ways. 1) They’re moving to squeeze more revenue out of the faster-growing ebooks channel 2) The growth of ebooks hasn’t affected total sales. Now if only we had someone to have that discussion with publishers for us.

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18. Mollie Katie on March 1, 2011 at 11:02 am

    RT @wawoodworth: @thatkevinsmith Lolbrarian context for @mkisstacked's tweet: http://bit.ly/ea0whh (tldr: publisher beating up on libraries)

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19. PublishingSpy on March 1, 2011 at 11:24 am

    @switkowski Stupid innit. Here's some links about it Lots of links for HarperCollinsgate stories http://ow.ly/45pe8 http://ow.ly/1byIlD

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20. 

    Barbara Henry on March 1, 2011 at 11:45 am

    http://overdriveblogs.com/library/2011/03/01/a-message-from-overdrive-on-harpercollins-new-ebook-licensing-terms/comment-page-1/#comment-2229

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    • 

      Barbara Henry on March 1, 2011 at 11:58 am

      That link is the latest from Steve Potash at Overdrive March 1, 2011.

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21. Ebook Lending for Libraries: A #HCOD Roundup | Digital Book World on March 1, 2011 at 1:14 pm

    [...] Publishing Industry Forces OverDrive and Other Library eBook Vendors to Take a Giant Step Back (includes links to multiple posts from librarians on the subject) Bobbi L. Newman [...]

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22. Is the Only Way on March 1, 2011 at 3:15 pm

    Should libraries be able to buy an eBook once then distribute forever? http://t.co/kVt9oNE

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23. Kristin on March 1, 2011 at 4:39 pm

    Publishing Industry Forces OverDrive and Other Library eBook Vendors to Take a Giant Step Back http://t.co/Ye88NKi

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24. David A. Kowalsky on March 1, 2011 at 4:45 pm

    Blog post from @librarianbyday has lots of links to read to learn about the uproar over the library e-book limit: http://bit.ly/eB5mCP

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25. My thoughts on the Harper Collins/Overdrive controversy | Information Wants To Be Free on March 1, 2011 at 9:17 pm

    [...] which libraries can license their books on Overdrive. If you haven’t read about it already, here’s some background info. I’m not particularly up-in-arms about what Harper Collins did; I’m far more concerned [...]

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26. HarperCollins, Thy Name is GREED | Short Librarian's Blog on March 2, 2011 at 2:44 am

    [...] Publishing Industry Forces OverDrive and Other Library eBook Vendors to Take a Giant Step Back by Librarian by Day [...]

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27. And so the war begins… | The Digital Immigrant on March 2, 2011 at 7:34 am

    [...] few readers sent me links to this story about OverDrive and it’s also appearing on numerous blogs. To get caught up, just follow the aforenoted link [...]

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28. Library Views 圖書館觀點 » 圖書館員發起抵制 HarperCollins on March 2, 2011 at 7:36 am

    [...] by Day － Publishing Industry Forces OverDrive and Other Library eBook Vendors to Take a Giant Step Back [...]

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29. 

    Alycia on March 2, 2011 at 10:58 am

    One more resource for the bibliography: The Readers’ Bill of Rights for Digital Books: http://readersbillofrights.info/

    It’s a website and a project that we have been working on for a while now, out of an interest to preserve the right to read in electronic format. We’ll be presenting at ACRL on April 1st, and we plan to cover many of the issues discussed here, as well as how this situation is akin to other movements (F/OSS, etc.). http://www.goeshow.com/acrl/national/2011/profile.cfm?profile_name=session&master_key=24DE61D0-D609-A648-27F3-857405A3C05C&page_key=558E302F-DDE0-40D3-8D24-C1CC650F9288&xtemplate&userLGNKEY=0

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30. Darko Majcenovic on March 2, 2011 at 11:07 am

    Publishing Industry Forces OverDrive and Other Library eBook Vendors to Take a Giant Step Back – http://bit.ly/gOGTbO

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31. On the #hcod boycott – If you’re going to use a stick, you’d better have a big enough stick « thewikiman on March 2, 2011 at 11:33 am

    [...] limit on the number of times their e-books can be borrowed, before they need to be re-purchased. (A fuller explanation can be read here on LibrarybyDay, including links to a whole bunch of articles on the [...]

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32. This Library E-Book Will Self-Destruct After 26 Check Outs – NYTimes.com | Slinking Toward Retirement on March 2, 2011 at 12:41 pm

    [...] are, not surprisingly, up in arms over the announcement. (You can follow the hashtag #hocd hashtag on [...]

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33. 

    eric on March 2, 2011 at 12:42 pm

    I smelled this coming from a mile away. The introduction or large numbers of ebook readers, ipads, iphones and ipodsbeing sold in the market place today was a big sign of things to come. Having printed materials converted to electronic/virtual materials was just a another way for these publishing companies and writers to exploit the readers for thier every dollars and cents. The best way to combat this activity is to have many underground or so-called street writers willing to provide thier content for free to libraries, and their readers, and who are willing to sue writers of this guild for copyright infringement.

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    • 

      Lis Carey on March 2, 2011 at 1:32 pm

      The writers don’t decide the terms of sale to libraries or to individuals. Even the biggest bestsellers simply don’t have that much power. Very popular and tech-savvy writers often find themselves unhappy with the limitations imposed on digital sales by the publishers.

      My head is spinning, frankly, at the idea of suing the owner of the copyright for copyright infringement, in any case. On what grounds?

      And if you want to stock your library with the works of “underground or so-called street writers willing to provide their content for free”–good luck with that. You’ll quickly find out what the real service is that publishers provide to readers and to libraries. It’s not distribution. It’s selection and editing. If you’ve never read slush, you have no idea what first readers at publishing houses are saving you the experience of wading through. Not that you won’t find gems, too–you will–but in finding them, we’d have no more time to do the rest of our jobs.

      Refusing to buy ebooks on terms that are just not viable for libraries, as Pioneer is doing, is one thing, and I strongly support it. Having hysterical fits, blaming parties who have little influence and no control over the situation (writers), and threatening lawsuits for copyright infringements because you can’t buy the works you want on terms you like–not so much.

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34. eoverhauser on March 2, 2011 at 4:47 pm

    For links to these and an overview of the issue, go here: http://bit.ly/ea0whh

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35. Please, take a seat. on March 2, 2011 at 6:29 pm

    [...] been following the #hcod debate with fascination and frustration. I love seeing so many people contributing to the conversation, but I am disheartened to hear people say things like, “we need a seat at [...]

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36. This Librarian Blog Post is Not About HarperCollins and E-Books (But it has FOUR SETTINGS!) « The Librarian Kate on March 2, 2011 at 8:53 pm

    [...] the title says, this is not going to be a blog post about the HC-Overdrive-ebooks-librarians kerfluffle.  (But it does have a Doctor Who joke in the title!)  My one solution to the whole mess is a good [...]

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37. Thursday Threads: HarperCollins Ebook Terms, Internet Archive Ebook Sharing, Future of Collections | Disruptive Library Technology Jester on March 2, 2011 at 11:40 pm

    [...] open letters from OverDrive and HarperCollins. There has been a call for a boycott. Bobbi Newman, one of the first to jump on the story, is maintaining a list of news articles and [...]

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38. Becky S on March 3, 2011 at 7:47 am

    @realjohngreen not sure if you and nerdfighteria know about this yet? http://dft.ba/-f4c harpercollins strangling library e-book access

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39. Why I Love Librarians, and Publishers Should, Too | Guy LeCharles Gonzalez on March 3, 2011 at 11:59 am

    [...] that has caused quite an uproar. Check out Bobbi L. Newman’s comprehensive post, “Publishing Industry Forces OverDrive and Other Library eBook Vendors to Take a Giant Step Back,” for the whole story, including an amazing variety of links to other posts and articles, [...]

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40. theanalogdivide » Blog Archive » Okay, Now What. on March 3, 2011 at 12:06 pm

    [...] collections. There have been some fantastic responses (not to mention some fantastic efforts to gather them all), and each day shows that our understanding of the issue is continuing to [...]

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41. Library Ebooks Showdown | Write Your Own E-book on March 3, 2011 at 4:00 pm

    [...] themselves can potentially understand. I won’t enumerate the changes, many others have done that. What I will say is that I feel [...]

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42. Infobib » DRM-Irrsinn hoch 26 on March 3, 2011 at 6:07 pm

    [...] Zusammen mit DeepDyve und dem “Ausleih”-Konzept der Onleihe ist dies der verschrobenste Ansatz im E-Book-Bereich, die mir bislang untergekommen ist. In Netbib finden sich Hinweise auf viele weitere Quellen, zum Beispiel dieses Posting (mit zahlreichen Kommentaren) von Librarian by Day. [...]

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43. Yet another #hcod blog post | Matt Phillips on March 4, 2011 at 10:30 am

    [...] of them none would get read. The list is that long. Bobbi Newman has done a great job of keeping a list of the posts. I’ve created a short list of more of my [...]

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44. The Death of Libraries: Overdrive, Harper-Collins and You on March 4, 2011 at 3:27 pm

    [...] discussion and information about the impact of this policy.  You can find that discussion at http://librarianbyday.net/2011/02/25/publishing-industry-forces-overdrive-and-other-library-ebook-ve… I encourage everyone who is interested in ebooks as a library service to explore this [...]

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45. HarperCollins’ digital lending cap sparks lively discussion – O’Reilly Radar | Write Your Own E-book on March 4, 2011 at 7:01 pm

    [...] The section of the note he’s referring to states (via Librarian by Day): [...]

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46. Ebooks and Libraries « A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy on March 5, 2011 at 12:49 pm

    [...] just going to give a few links for further reading: O’Reilly Radar Publishing News; the Librarian by Day; Free Range Librarian; Peter Bromberg (whose post pretty much sums up many of my own thoughts on [...]

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47. SunSpec: Giving The Reader Their Due « Agnostic, Maybe on March 6, 2011 at 4:48 am

    [...] the tidal wave of talk about eBooks this past week, there has been a good amount of writing about the reader and how these changes would affect them [...]

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48. Giving The Reader Their Due | The Digital Reader on March 7, 2011 at 1:12 pm

    [...] the tidal wave of talk about eBooks this past week, there has been a good amount of writing about the reader and how these changes would affect them [...]

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49. As We May Think (& Other Points of View) » Blog Archive » Why Does the Physical Keep Chasing e-Books? on March 7, 2011 at 4:11 pm

    [...] I’ll also suggest this SBTB post on the same issue, and Bobbi Newman’s Librarian by Day post with a link to a PDF of the original Overdrive [...]

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50. Pattern Recognition » Blog Archive » Harper Collins and some numbers on March 7, 2011 at 5:56 pm

    [...] after the Harper Collins Incident of the last couple of weeks, I thought it would be interesting to see, based on my library, what [...]

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