1. MLA WORKSHOP: PRINT TO DIGITAL
EBOOKS: LIBRARIES VS. PUBLISHERS
UPDATE - DCWG
Rod Gauvin
8 March 2013
2. Outline
• Digital Content & Libraries Working Group
• Structure and members
• Committees
• Role and progress
• Issues for Public Libraries
• Future Direction
3. DCWG
• Formed in 2011 (EQUACC)
• Strategic, over- arching priorities related to
digital content – focus on ebooks
• Active involvement of ALA leadership
• Working group to increase
communication, cooperation and
collaboration with other divisions, offices and
ALA units
4. DCWG
• Diverse representation across libraries with
more than 30 representatives
• Co-Chairs Sari Feldman (Cuyahoga County
Public) and Robert Wolven (Columbia)
• Includes Jamie LaRue (Douglas County -
Colorado); Alan Inouye (OITP); Christopher
Harris (BOCES-NY) ;Eric Hellman (Gluejar); Erika
Linke (Carnegie Mellon); Rob Maier(Mass Board
and COSLA); very strong group!
5. Working sub-committees
• Business models and terms
• Accessibility issues
• School library business models
• Privacy
• Education to librarians and external
communication (outside the library field)
6. What are the issues?
• Public Libraries (especially) and School Libraries
(lesser extent) cannot purchase ebooks with fair
and favorable terms
• Amazon and death of bookstores – trade
publishers worried – paradigm shift
• Shift from print to ebooks is leaving libraries out
of the economic equation
• There is less friction with ebooks
• Perception that library sales cannibalize
consumer sales
7. About the Publishers – “Big Six”
• “Big Six Trade” - not monolithic
• HarperCollins introduced a 26 lending cycle
• Macmillan is testing imprints
• Hachette & Penguin sell backlist
• Simon & Schuster is not participating
• Random House has high prices
• Corporate ownership and hierarchy
• Smaller/midsize publishers are participating
8. Publisher Viewpoint
• Trade sales to libraries less than 10% of total
• Print declining faster than electronic increase
• Ebooks don’t wear out; more circulations;
lower processing costs – justifies higher
prices – can be outrageous
• Licensing vs. ownership
• Ebook lending kills consumer sales
• Some authors view libraries as the enemy
9. Libraries viewpoints (1)
• High prices
• Embargoes
• Limitations on titles sold
• Rights to accommodate people with
disabilities
• Archiving and preservation
10. Libraries Viewpoints (2)
• Ability to participate in consortia limited
• Interfaces are clunky
• OverDrive and 3M in the middle
• Multiple formats and technology and lack of
interoperability - integration with library
systems
• Contracting and negotiation
12. Goodreads – new survey
• Released this week
• Mirrors the Pew Survey:
http://libraries.pewinternet.org/2012/06/22/
part-2-where-people-discover-and-get-their-
books/
• Suggests that libraries rank low on
recommendation versus other sources
13. Pew Survey (December 2011)
• Those 16 years and older: Where do you get
your book recommendations?
• 64% - family members, friends and co-
workers
• 28% online bookstores & other websites
• 23% staffers in bookstores
• 19% recommendations from
libraries/librarians
14. Are we asking the right questions?
• Surveys are rich and cover a multiplicity of
topics – devices, buying patterns, preferences
• Discoverability is indirectly covered
• Role of libraries is not adequately addressed
• Hard sales data is not available
• Left with “Libraries Steal Doctrine”!
15. DCWG Accomplishments
• Informed ALA executives for Big Six meetings
• Ebook Business Models for Public Libraries and
Scorecard for evaluating terms and needs
• American Libraries E-Content Blog:
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/e-content
• American Libraries Supplement June 2012
• Tracking all media coverage and responding as
appropriate
• Released tool kit for Libraries in November 2012
17. Future direction for DCWG
• One book test - controlled experiment
http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/e-content/one-
ebook-prove-them-all
• Scorecard for evaluating publisher terms
• Discoverability issue
• Continuing to inform ALA executives
• Independents and self-published authors a la Douglas
County model
• Libraries as distributors
• Studying pay per use models
• Copyright in a digital age
