Comments on: What’s a Library Dollar Worth?

By: LAPL Library User

LAPL Library User — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 00:23:08 +0000

Dan, the way the system works is if the library purchases 1 copy, it can only be download and used for the set amount of time (7, 14, 21 days) by a single user. In effect, it functions exactly the same as a print book, without the worry of late fees or lost items as they return themselves, in a manner of speaking. To charge an exorbitant amount for the same functionality is insane.

By: Dan

Dan — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 16:11:03 +0000

Some mark up isn’t objectionable in the public library market if it includes unlimited simultaneous users. That seems reasonable for titles that a library would order multiple of copies of in the print market. This post doesn’t address whether these high prices are for single use.

By: Richard Naylor

Richard Naylor — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 13:39:55 +0000

Double kudos. Project these high prices to a significant part of an acquisition budget and it would mean a lot less books to circulate. One more reason to review and discover good books from cooperating publishers.

By: bowerbird

bowerbird — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 01:29:01 +0000

please don’t tell me that you just learned this.
overdrive has been gouging libraries for years.

-bowerbird

By: James

James — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 01:08:54 +0000

Jack is correct. You can’t put the blame on 3M or Overdrive in this case. Publishers are the ones setting the pricing. Personally, as the acquisitions person for the system where I work, I just refuse to buy them. I’ve found plenty of smaller publishers who put out good quality books at reasonable prices. Sure, we don’t have the new James Patterson or Janet Evanovich but I can live with that compared to publishers running scared and trying to prop up a dying business model based on dead trees.

Publishers seem to forget that libraries serve a very useful purpose at exposing our large populations to authors and pricing their works beyond what we can or are willing to pay is only at their peril for their future profits.

This report will be printed out and kept in stacks at our service desks starting tomorrow.

By: Jack W Perry

Jack W Perry — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 21:01:21 +0000

The prices for the ebooks are set by the publisher. The distributors (Overdrive and 3M) pass that price on and are at the mercy of the publishers.

By: Mary

Mary — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 19:45:45 +0000

Kudos to Jamie and staff at Douglas County Libraries for once again leading the way! This report will be helpful to many libraries across the country. It is important for our patrons to know what’s going on and to contact the publishers to help solve this problem.

By: David

David — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 16:15:23 +0000

Wow, Two things stand out. First, there is an unjustifiable difference in the print and electronic price of books. I find it incredibly hard to believe that the extra DRM associated with library ebooks is more expensive than the production costs of printed books. Second, DOJ sues Apple for charging a flat rate $14.99 for ebooks as being anti-competitive but 3M & Overdrive have the same obnoxiously price for their books and the price is 3.2 to 5.4 TIMES more than the Apple store price. When it comes to the smell test it does not even come close to passing… something is very fishy