Comments on: A Little Rant on the Current State of Ebooks http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/2011/03/10/a-little-rant-on-the-current-state-of-ebooks/ or, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Fear and Loathing at a Public Library Reference Desk Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:15:25 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Gamer Librarian http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/2011/03/10/a-little-rant-on-the-current-state-of-ebooks/#comment-2215 Gamer Librarian Mon, 14 Mar 2011 15:08:19 +0000 http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/?p=1600#comment-2215 Chris, the “eBook hardware” SHUT ITSELF out from ebook lending. Ebooks are lent as EPUB files, which is a industry standard file format. Every ebook reader can open an EPUB file, with one and only one exception : The Kindle.

If you want ebooks on your Kindle, it is Amazon you need to speak to. Good luck with that – Amazon appears to be using a proprietary ebook file format so that you and your ebook collection are tied to them for life, thus giving Amazon a monopoly on ebooks.

]]> By: Anne http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/2011/03/10/a-little-rant-on-the-current-state-of-ebooks/#comment-2209 Anne Sun, 13 Mar 2011 06:27:16 +0000 http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/?p=1600#comment-2209 The 26 check-out limit is oh-so conveniently one year’s worth of two-week checkouts. If libraries had to buy replacement copies of books every year, we’d be ridiculously hamstrung in providing a decent collection to our patrons.

I think it’s total wank, and as you’ve stated here publishers need to rethink their pricing models. I like your idea of access to an entire library, and then fee per download. I’d rather offer our patrons a wider catalog of titles to choose from, than be limited to just the most popular titles available.

]]> By: Brian Herzog http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/2011/03/10/a-little-rant-on-the-current-state-of-ebooks/#comment-2207 Brian Herzog Sat, 12 Mar 2011 15:54:40 +0000 http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/?p=1600#comment-2207 @Chris: Go to Hellman explains why the $0.99 ebook won’t happen. Publishers are middlemen, and only profit when it’s not easy for the actual producer (author) to address the consumer (reader) directly.

]]> By: Chris http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/2011/03/10/a-little-rant-on-the-current-state-of-ebooks/#comment-2197 Chris Thu, 10 Mar 2011 22:25:23 +0000 http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/?p=1600#comment-2197 Roberta, I will admit that is one portion of my Kindle that I am unimpressed with. I would love to get eBooks for my Kindle from the library. I do not understand while the market leader in eBook hardware is shut out from lending.

]]> By: Roberta http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/2011/03/10/a-little-rant-on-the-current-state-of-ebooks/#comment-2196 Roberta Thu, 10 Mar 2011 15:46:43 +0000 http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/?p=1600#comment-2196 the limit annoyed me because it was so low. The *average* circ of our print collection is more than 20 times. If we have an item, effectively, for less than two years, that means we cannot build any depth to our ebook collection. No library’s budget permits them to replace any or all titles every two years. And because there is no interlibrary loan equivalent for ebooks, we can’t borrow any title we don’t own from anyone else either.

I was happy to see an ereader roundup in Entertainment Weekly last week that commented specifically on the ability to borrow library books for each device. That was excellent PR for us!

]]> By: Chris http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/2011/03/10/a-little-rant-on-the-current-state-of-ebooks/#comment-2195 Chris Thu, 10 Mar 2011 14:01:49 +0000 http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/?p=1600#comment-2195 And on a lighter note, at least one library is *celebrating* eBooks!

http://ashvegas.squarespace.com/journal/2011/3/9/buncombe-county-libraries-celebrate-e-books.html

]]> By: Chris http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/2011/03/10/a-little-rant-on-the-current-state-of-ebooks/#comment-2194 Chris Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:39:49 +0000 http://www.swissarmylibrarian.net/?p=1600#comment-2194 First, I believe that everybody not in the Publishing business believes that Harper Collins is in the wrong. They are being ridiculous.

I’m with you on the 99¢ price point, or even a little more for a new release ($1.50 / $2). Or base it on the number of words in the book. So are many authors. Amanda Hocking was recently in the news for making a killing on selling her self published books at Amazon for 99¢ a piece, and has 7 of the top 100 books on their Top 100 Paid stats. (As of 8-Mar-2011 anyway.) 26 of the spots are from Indie authors. Published author Joe Konrath has also been selling his latest for 99¢ and has a great interview with the current #1 Bestseller regarding his strategy.

As a buyer, I balk at eBooks costing the same or more than their paperback or hardcover price. I imagine libraries do as well, especially knowing that it will be taken away from them after 26 loans. However, I’ve bought 10s of books on Amazon in the last 2 years at 99¢ with the thought that even if I don’t read them or read them right away, I’m not going to go bankrupt. Plus I might then find an author I enjoy and buy more of their books, which is precisely how I stumbled upon Konrath.

Sorry for diverging from your original H-C topic, but I think you nailed the 99¢ price point discussion.

Anyway, here are some relevant links

Amazon Best Sellers:
http://tinyurl.com/4rbe497

Amanda Hocking:
http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/

Joe Konrath interview with John Locke
http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/03/guest-post-by-john-locke.html

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