Librarian by Day » public libraries

Penguin Pulls eBooks From Public Libraries Dropping it Down to 1 of the Big 6 Publishers Playing Nice With Libraries

Bobbi Newman — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 15:25:53 +0000

image by Andy Woodworth

Yesterday the big news online was Penguin Groups decision to withhold new titles from OverDrive, meaning new Penguin titles are no longer available for library patrons to check out. Additionally Penguin has requested that OverDrive no longer allow library patrons to check out existing Penguin titles on Kindle devices and apps.

Penguin’s Official Statement emphasis added by me

Penguin has been a long-time supporter of libraries with both physical and digital editions of our books. We have always placed a high value on the role that libraries can play in connecting our authors with our readers. However, due to new concerns about the security of our digital editions, we find it necessary to delay the availability of our new titles in the digital format while we resolve these concerns with our business partners. Penguin’s aim is to always connect writers and readers, and with that goal in mind, we remain committed to working closely with our business partners and the library community to forge a distribution model that is secure and viable. In the meantime, we want to assure you that physical editions of our new titles will continue to be available in libraries everywhere.

OverDrive’s Official Statement (which of course came after the Penguin statement because OverDrive always responses late, sorry guys but you do) again emphasis added by me.

Last week Penguin sent notice to OverDrive that it is reviewing terms for library lending of their eBooks. In the interim, OverDrive was instructed to suspend availability of new Penguin eBook titles from our library catalog and disable “Get for Kindle” functionality for all Penguin eBooks. We apologize for this abrupt change in terms from this supplier. We are actively working with Penguin on this issue and are hopeful Penguin will agree to restore access to their new titles and Kindle availability as soon as possible.

All existing Penguin eBook titles in your library’s catalog are still available and additional copies can be added.

Honestly I just don’t understand this. As Kate Sheehan puts in on Twitter

You don’t have to work with libraries, but if you’re not going to, at least give us a reason that isn’t insulting to our intelligence.

Penguin doesn’t state which “security” issues they are concerned about, but I think it is safe to assume it has something to do with piracy. Apparently public libraries are full of pirates? Sorry I’m goning to have to agree with Wilda Williams on this one

Given how cumbersome downloading library ebooks sometimes can be, real hackers aren’t going to bother with libraries.

And really Penguin? You’re gunning for public libraries when there are much bigger fish to fry?

OK, I really want to write this post without it turning into a rant. Let me attempt to do so.

We are assuming the security issue is piracy because that seems to be the main concern with ebooks. First I did a quick check on a couple of popular torrent sites and I can confirm that The Help and a number of other ebooks from the homepage of the Penguin website are available to download from both. If Penguin is attempting to keep their ebooks from being pirated the genie is already out of the bottle on that one. I can also confirm that many titles from Simon & Schuster and MacMillan are available on torrent sites. Based on this I think we can conclude that allowing library patrons to read your ebooks on their device does not lead to pirating since neither MacMillan or S&S allow libraries access to their ebooks. Second, we know that most people don’t pirate because they are nefarious criminals walking around with handlebar mustaches tying damsels in distress to railroad tracks,they pirate because a reasonable legal option isn’t available. Now we can debate all day about what constitutes a “reasonable legal option” but since we already know that DRM does not work wouldn’t it be better to stop beating that dead horse, especially at the expense of a public institution like public libraries? After all we’re on your side, why aren’t you on ours?

The Big Six

Now let’s talk about the Big Six. If you’re not familiar that would be Hachette, HarperCollins, MacMillian, Penguin, Random House and Simon & Schuster.

Both MacMillion and Simon & Schuster have refused to make their ebooks available to public libraries since day one.
Hachette Book Group stopped offering its frontlist ebook titles to libraries in July.
HarperCollins – last year HC announced their 26 check out policy.
Penguin – right now new titles aren’t available while they work out security concerns
Random House – happily works with libraries. Yay Random House!

I encourage you to share your opinion with them respecrivelly regarding this decision. I also encourage you to share their contact information with your patrons who voice concerns about the unavailabiilty of their titles

Similar Posts:

Why Amazon’s Lending Library is Not a Threat to Public Libraries

Bobbi Newman — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:36:21 +0000

I had no idea that Amazon’s announcement would signal the end of the world, or at least the end of public libraries, or as my friend & colleague Andy puts it, the library apocalypse or I would have included this in yesterday’s post.

First let’s talk numbers about the Amazon Lending Library*

Prime costs $79 a year, that’s roughly $6.58 a month.
You must have a Kindle (not an app) to use the Amazon Lending Library, those start at $79.
There are 5,000 titles available, (here’s a breakdown by genre)
None of the six largest publishers in the U.S. is participating.
You get one book per month, that doesn’t roll over.

Now library ebook/book numbers (I’m not even going to get into other library services and the availability of a real live person to help you)

No additional cost, its covered by taxes
You can use any number of devices for ebooks and no device at all required for print
Untold numbers of titles available
3 of the largest US publishers allow ebook titles in libraries, all allow print.
Unlimited books per month

Now let’s talk some other numbers.

12% of U.S. adults own an ereader. Not a Kindle, an ereader, which includes all other dedicated ereaders.
46.2 million Americans live below the poverty line
20.5 million Americans are living at 50% or less than poverty line, they are the poorest of the poor.

Now let’s look at the doomsday perspective - the numbers just do not add up. Let’s take the number of ebook readers -12% and be SUPER generous and assume that means that 10% of the population owns a Kindle, that’s 90% of the population that doesn’t. Now you have to assume that the 90% a) can afford a Kindle & a prime membership for every household member and b) wants a Kindle. Those are some pretty big leaps that I’m just not taking with you.

You also have to assume that having access to the Amazon Lending Library means users would stop using the public library system. Also inaccurate. For some one book a month might be enough. But, as someone who as worked in libraries and bookstores most of my life I’m pretty sure that’s not an accurate depiction of an avid reader.

Don’t forget that publishers (and writers) have a dog in this fight too. They’ve already stated they don’t care for this model for ebooks (though they were referring to libraries when they said it) and last time push came to shove with Amazon the publishers won.

* I know some people are getting all up in arms about the use of the word “library”, I’m choosing to ignore it even though Webster’s first defintion of library is “a place in which literary, musical, artistic, or reference materials (as books, manuscripts, recordings, or films) are kept for use but not for sale” because it has come to mean so much more and I’m not getting in pissing contest over semantics when there are larger issues here, including that it doesn’t matter what Amazon calls itself, it matters how people see it.

Similar Posts:

Amazon Announces Kindle Lending Library for Prime Members

Bobbi Newman — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 11:13:13 +0000

If you have been paying attention you knew it was coming. The Kindle Lending Library from Amazon. If you own a Kindle, yes you have to have a device not an app, and a Prime Membership you can now borrow books from Amazon.

More Info

Kindles start at $79
Prime Membership is $79 a year.
You can only borrow one book per calendar month.
Right now there are about 5,000 titles.
The book currently being borrowed can be read on multiple Kindles.
devices, as long as they are registered to the same eligible account, but cannot be read on Kindle reading apps.
One book can be borrowed at a time, and there are no due dates. You can borrow a new book as frequently as once a month, directly on your registered Kindle device, and you will be prompted to return the book that you are currently borrowing.
If you have already borrowed a book in that calendar month, you are not yet eligible to borrow a new book until the next calendar month. There is no “roll-over” or accrual of unused borrowing eligibility.

My 2 cents: Honestly I see this hurting publishers and authors far more than libraries. Sure for $80 a year getting to borrow a book a months is a good deal, especially bestsellers. But as someone who has worked in libraries and bookstore almost my entire life I know that a significant demographic library borrows buy books too. Those are the people I use using this service, the ones who already bought the bestsellers because they didn’t want to wait for it. Of course now they can’t donate that used copy to the library. But they’ll still visit the library for other reading material and programs.

What do you think?

PS I’ve been checking the price points of books that are available and so far none of them is over $7.99 and nothing from my wishlist is available.Similar Posts:

Public Library eBooks on the Amazon Kindle – We Got Screwed

Bobbi Newman — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 18:33:02 +0000

Don’t get me wrong, as a consumer I was celebrating as much as the next guy (or gal) last week about library ebooks (from OverDrive) FINALLY being available on the ever popular Amazon Kindle. I love my Kindle, I’ve written about it. The few textbooks and pdfs I’ve put on it make me love it more. But….

But as a librarian and an ebook activist (if I do say so myself) I have to say we got the short end of that stick my friends. I have been working an expansion of my May blog post for Library Renewal where I raised some concerns :

new concerns have started to creep in as I think through the long term implications for this deal. Amazon is getting access to a LOT of information about libraries, even if it is anonymized, and it is making me wonder if we should have done a better job negotiating our deal. I applaud OverDrive for working with Amazon to get ebooks on the Kindle (and Kindle apps); however, I can’t help feel they should have worked a harder deal for the information we will need to ensure that libraries have a future in the ebook business.

Let’s look at few examples.

Amazon will know exactly how many Kindle owners are library borrowers. This is huge information as we advance in the evolution of ebooks. Libraries should have access to these numbers. Amazon won’t even confirm the exact number of Kindles they’ve sold. Yes OverDrive should be able to tell us numbers and percentages for how many of our borrowers are Kindle owners. But what I would really like to know is how many Kindle owners also borrow from their public library.

Amazon will know exactly what percentage of library checkouts lead to purchase. We know that borrowing books from a library doesn’t hurt sales, and in fact it improves them. There has been research. But now Amazon will have the cold hard numbers that show what percentage of people borrow a book from the library then buy it from Amazon. They might even know if you borrowed an ebook then bought a print copy. This is so important as we (and Amazon) move forward in negotiating our place in the ebook world.

Amazon is going to have access to a LOT of stats about library user habits, both borrowing and buying. These are just two examples. This is very valuable information as we advance with the development of ebooks, and the role libraries play. This is information libraries need and should have. While I am thrilled personally that I’ll be able to use library ebooks on my Kindle, and professionally that I’ll no longer have to tell Kindle owners that they can’t borrow ebooks from the library because Amazon doesn’t allow it, I can’t help be concerned that in the end we have made a very uneven trade.

But Gary Price over at InfoDocket has put together such a great list of questions and concerns I’m not going to reinvent the wheel. Gary raises some great points so go read the whole thing. Really. Here are a few points I want to highlight

Is Amazon collecting download information?
Is Amazon saving library download info permanently?
If not, how long will they keep it? Is there a retention policy?
Can you provide any info about privacy as it relates to OverDrive/Amazon?
Will the library books you borrow be used by Amazon to provide recommendations of books for you to purchase?
Is there a link to scrub all of your personal “library” data from Amazon.com’s servers with a single click?
Do OverDrive and Amazon.com have any suggestions about how to make the entire process clearer to users?
How would they respond to the issue that, since the service is being marketed by libraries, users might incorrectly think library privacy policies may still apply?

To top it off today Amazon made some pretty big announcements today: including 3 new black & white ereaders, their first tablet and their very own browser. In the last year or so Amazon has also announced it’s own Android App Store, Streaming video for Prime Members and a cloud based music library. Add to that their ownership of Audible and wireless delivery of audiobooks directly to your Kindle and Amazon is sitting pretty on a huge mountain of electronic delivery options. Some might argue that so is Apple, but Amazon tops Apple in two ways first their price points, you can’t argue with cheaper. Second is their amazing customer service. Sure Apple might have good service, but you wont know that until you shell out the big bucks for one of their products fist. But I was getting amazing service from Amazon before Kindle was a twinkle in Jeff’s eye. Good service makes for loyal customers.

How long do you think it will be before Amazon starts their own lending library? Oh wait they already have. You can rent textbooks right now. I guess the question is how long do you think before they start applying what they’ve learned from that model to fiction and popular nonfiction?

Ok so back to libraries and how we got screwed with the library ebooks on the Kindle. We stood around like beggar orphans asking for more instead of making demands. The public library systems in America (and elsewhere) spend a great deal of money each year on books. Money that goes to publishers and authors and instead of standing up as a unified body we’ve taken the pitiful ebooks scraps we’ve been given. I’m not even going to get in to the ebooks as a whole, let’s just talk about the Amazon deal. All of those questions on my list and Gary’s, we should have answers to those. We should at the very least given access to any and all that stats we want or need. We should be getting a referral fee every time a patron buys a book after discovering it in library catalog or something off the one click page that shows up later.

I want to be angry about the bad deal we’re getting, but I’m not even sure who’s screwing us and I don’t know who to be angry with. I could be angry with Amazon, but they are business in business to make money. I could be angry with ALA because they have totally blown it on the books issues, but they are a nonprofit that gets a new president every year and is mostly run by volunteers, and I’m not totally sure they can speak for all the libraries. I could be angry with OverDrive, but they are business too and I think they did their best to do right by us. I could be angry with the government and political system that have allowed a valuable institution such as public library system to be bullied and dominated by profit hungry businesses, but I wouldn’t even know where to start with that whole ball of mess. I could be angry with the consumer who doesn’t seem to care about privacy and is willing to spend money and sacrifice so much for just a little convenience, but I don’t know how to make them see or, more importantly, care. I could be angry with me, because it doesn’t matter how many blog posts I write or how many presentations I give I feel like I’m standing alone shouting into the dark about how we’re getting the shaft and I don’t know what to do to make a difference, a real difference. I just don’t know.

But I know we got screwed.

From Me:

From Others

Amazon’s Kindle Price Punking - edited to add 9/29/2011 2:35pm CST
Amazon Kindle Fire’s Silk browser sounds privacy alarm bells
Will Amazon Offer Purchasing and/or Donation Options for Library-Owed E-Books edited to add 4:35pm CST
Kindle Library Lending: A Triumph of Practicality Over Principles edited to add 2:25pm CST
Why We Won’t Purchase More Kindles at The Unquiet Library
How eBook Catalogs at Public Libraries Drive Publishers’ Book Sales and Profits
After Kindle Lending, the Deluge | Josh Hadro
Kindle Lending Library | Jason Griffey
Kindle Library Lending and OverDrive – What it means for libraries and schools | OverDrive
Questions we should be asking about Kindle Library Lending | Sarah Houghton-Jan
Amazon to Launch Library Lending for Kindle Books | Stephen Abram
Some Questions for Overdrive and Amazon about the Kindle Lending Library | Bobbi Newman

Similar Posts:

FCC’s Broadband Action Agenda Fails to Address Training and Education

Bobbi Newman — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:33:06 +0000

I’ve been following the FCC’s National Broadband Plans since they were sent to Congress. I’ve been excited about the possibility of the Digital Literacy Corps. However when reviewing the Broadband Action Agenda I feel a little uneasy. I see no reference to training or instruction. While I agree on the importance of access to broadband I’m concerned about lack of attention to instruction. This sort of training and funding are desperately needed. Dumping broadband access on communities that can’t afford a computer or the monthly fee for high speed access and without any instruction is like giving a 13 year a Ferrari, its a great car but he can’t afford the gas and he don’t know how to drive it. Its basically worthless.

At the VERY least there should be mention of public libraries. They are the ones who will be providing access to this wonderful broadband to people who can’t afford the device or the connection fee. It also falls upon them to provide the training and instruction. Broadband is wonderful but we are not born knowing how to use the internet, not even so called digital natives.

I hope I’m wrong, I hope I’m missing something and someone will point it out to me and I’ll feel dumb, because I’d rather feel that than the disbelief and outrage I feel right now.

Similar Posts:

New Project – Libraries and Transliteracy Blog

Bobbi Newman — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:45:59 +0000

CC image used courtesy of Meredith Harris on flickr

I am excited to announce the kick-off of a new project, the Libraries and Transliteracies blog! The blog is a group effort from me, Buffy Hamilton and Tom Ipri. Due to the amount of interest in transliteracy and the role libraries play, we have created one place to share information and resources. The blog will contain information, resources and links to other new literacies related content from all three authors.

I will still be posting about transliteracy here, but you will find more transltiteracy related content more often on the Libraries and Transliteracies blog. So add the feed to your feedreader.

How this came about (if you’re interested in that sort of thing). Due to the amount of interest in transliteracy and the role libraries play in 21st century literacies, I wanted one place to share information and resources. I decided this blog was not the best venue as I wanted everything pertaining to transliteracy to be easy to find and adding to the current page doesn’t help others keep track of new information. I also I did not want all of the information to come from me, this is an important issue to ALL libraries. This led to the idea of a new blog, with additional authors, but even more importantly, authors from a variety of library types. Having worked with both Buffy, a high school librarian and Tom an academic librarian, before and knowing their interest in transliteracy, they were obvious choices and I am so grateful they said yes.

If you are not familiar with Butffy and Tom, here’s a little about them. The short version – They are both awesome!

The long version:

Buffy Hamilton–Buffy is the lead librarian at Creekview High School in Canton, Georgia. She is passionate about creating library experiences for her students that will encourage them to be lifelong learners and advocating for the power of the library in her community. She collaborates extensively with the teachers and students in her school to create learning experiences to foster students’ information fluency and digital citizenship, the cultural capital students need to fully participate in today’s society. Buffy shares and teaches through her work as a keynote speaker, workshop consultant, adjunct trainer, and guest speaker. Her professional interests include applications of Web 2.0 tools in library programs and instruction, participatory librarianship, an inquiry stance on traditional and new literacies, social scholarship, libraries as sponsors of multiple literacies, social media, and connectivism. She writes at http://theunquietlibrarian.wordpress.com .

Tom Ipri – Tom is currently the Head of Media and Computer Services at Lied Library at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In this position, he directs the future of the libraries’ media collections and services and leads the development of the media design studio, the learning commons, and the strategic evolution of media services within the University Libraries. Tom has published in Computers in Libraries, Lore: An E-Journal for Teachers of Writing, and Information Technology and Libraries. He has presented at Computers in Libraries and Internet Librarian, as well as presented at a variety of workshops. He also reviews films for Educational Media Reviews Online. He writes at http://tombrarian.netSimilar Posts:

Stress Management in the Library Workplace

Bobbi Newman — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:14:38 +0000

Yesterday I attended a MaintainIT webinar – Using MaintainIT Resources for Technology Training, where they shared some useful information and links. One of the sites was Infopeople, a nonprofit that archives their presentations and handouts and makes them available under a Creative Commons license!

As I was exploring I came across materials for a previous workshop - Stress Management in the Library Workplace. There are a lot of workshops listed but since my post – Library usage will go up during a recession – management are you really prepared? is still getting a lot of hits, I thought I’d share this one specifically. You can download the PowerPoint presentation, some exercise and these handouts:

The “Bakers Dozen” – How to Reduce Stress
Relieving Stress through Exercise
Stress Relief through Nutrition
Stress Relief and Sleeping Habits – 10 Tips for Better Sleep
Symptoms of Stress and Causes of Stress
Seven Quick Tips for Time Management

Similar Posts:

Library Usage Will Go Up During a Recession – Management Are You Really Prepared?

Bobbi Newman — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:49:48 +0000

I’ve seen many news articles and video lately about usage of libraries increasing during a recession. I’ve personally noticed my library seems busier. While many have celebrated the increase of use and the public attention we so rightly deserve, we also need to consider the down side. Our funding might be cut, the public is less likely to approve bonds or tax levies to increase services, in some cases staff may be laid off. Libraries are masters of doing more with less and we are really going to need that skill now.

The other side of recession is that is causes stress. Patrons are likely to be less happy about paying their fines and, in general, be a little more on edge. Staff are aware of the news and what is happening, even those who feel secure in their jobs, have family and friends who have been affected.

So why am I asking management if they are ready? All of this stress means an increase in irritable, angry, demanding, stressed out patrons who are rubbing up against your irritable, angry, tired, stressed out staff. See where I’m going with this?

The one thing you can do is try to decrease the stress level of your staff. Happy library staff makes everything run just a little smoother (not to mention they are healthier and less likely to call in sick). So given the hard times how can you do this? You probably don’t have the funds to hire a masseur to be on call in the break room. I found a great many articles on workplace morale, some things kept popping up :

make sure staff feel appreciated
encourage open communication
training (almost any it seems)
provide clear goals and expectations
encouraging a sense of team
empowering staff
be flexible with time and schedules.
And there is always the fish books

These are great general principles for all workplaces. Oddly enough I couldn’t find any article or recommendations that were specific to libraries. I can think of a few library specifc ones and a few general ones:

ensure employees get break time away from a service desk
make sure they have a clean, comfortable place to take that break
make sure staff feel supported by management in customer issues
empower employees to waive fines or make other concessions that will smooth patron interactions
cross train staff so they are comfortable working all service desks and understand what each point of serivce does
pay attention – just being aware of employee attitudes will allow you to intervene to boost morale faster and more appropriately when/if need
be ready – have a plan, know how will you boost morale overall and on a case by case basis
take action – don’t wait to see the need before you put your plan into place

What suggests do you have? If you’re a manager what steps have you taken with your staff? If you’re staff what things could management do to boost morale?

Find Your Friends on Facebook

Bobbi Newman — Thu, 29 May 2008 18:28:49 +0000

I taught this class last night as part of the series of Internet classes I’m teaching to patrons at MRRL. I was a bit worried going into it, as almost all of the people at previous classes were seniors so I on the handout I added the websites I learned about at Internet Librarian last year. It ended up being a very interesting mix. I had some moms with their teenagers who wanted learn about Facebook to monitor their kids profiles, a lady interested in setting up a page for a Non-Profit, and some seniors. I’m not sure I’ll teach this one again, probably I’ll cover it in Internet Safety that I’m doing later this year or I’ll redirect specifically to parents who want to know what their children are up to.

It’s hard to teach people about Facebook, I think it’s just one of those things that is really hard to explain. This is probably the least well done of any presentation I’ve put together.

Find Your Friends On Facebook

View more presentations from Bobbi Newman.

Similar Posts:

Librarian by Day » public libraries

Penguin Pulls eBooks From Public Libraries Dropping it Down to 1 of the Big 6 Publishers Playing Nice With Libraries

The Big Six

Read More

Why Amazon’s Lending Library is Not a Threat to Public Libraries

Read More

Amazon Announces Kindle Lending Library for Prime Members

Public Library eBooks on the Amazon Kindle – We Got Screwed

Read More

Top Ten Links Week 19

FCC’s Broadband Action Agenda Fails to Address Training and Education

New Project – Libraries and Transliteracy Blog

Stress Management in the Library Workplace

Library Usage Will Go Up During a Recession – Management Are You Really Prepared?

Find Your Friends on Facebook