MODERATOR: Dick Kaser, VP Content, Information Today, Inc.
Leslie Lees, VP of Content Development, ebrary
Ken Breen, Director, eBook Products, EBSCO Publishing
Rick Rosy, VP & General Manager, Library Services, Ingram Content
Group, Inc.

Ebook publishers talk about the ebook models available from their companies - here are a few points I took away:

NetLibrary and EBSCO

• 1997 ebooks - came on a CD with a 100+ print user guide
• NetLibrary brand is going away
• Ebooks are available for preview on EBSCOhost
• 3 Users Models - Single User, Three User (Single User with lending), Unlimited
• Patron model will have lease model - lend books for 1, 7, 14, or 28 days at a time, with payment made for every time a lease is done
• EBSCO continues to listen and evolve

Ebrary and ProQuest

• Subscription model - 50,000+ backlist titles available, instant digital library, unlimited access
• Perpetual Access Archive - purchase and own many titles, many front-list titles, source through various vendors
• Patron-Driven Acquisition - reduce cost, save selector time, and ensure titles get used (patrons choose what library buys) - model similar to Netlibrary
• Short Term Loans - rent titles and mediate use (model similar to Netlibrary)
• Future holds that ILS' will eventually stop being inventory control software, and more access control to a variety of formats

MyiLibrary and Ingram

• Nashville is a nice place
• Use model single owner, multiple owner, and patron-driven acquisition
• Among large academic library, 43% have an ebook copy of the physical book they also own - shows ebooks and books coexist peacefully
• Focusing on how to keep access to information (ebooks) safe and available no matter what - especially with academic libraries

Overdrive ("and their relationship with the devil")

• There's been a lot of controversy lately, but the future of ebooks, and the current state of things, is extremely strong
• Overdrive sees itself as a library advocate - to fight for library rights and provide a marketplace in which all types of libraries have access to econtent
• Continually innovating - mobile apps already available for Apple products, soon coming to Blackberry, always updating Overdrive Media Console software, always adding new content (new titles and new publishers) to the library - it's all about providing options
• You will see more and more DRM-free books - there will be more self-publishing options
• Most Overdrive libraries are experiencing 600% circ growth - Jan-Apr 2011 will see more circs than total circs for 2010
• If you can, attend Digipalooza - this is the best opportunity to sit down with Overdrive and publishers and have your voice heard and your opinions known

Questions & Answers

• What's going on with DRM and ebooks? How does that mechanism work?
  Overdrive: More DRM-free is coming. Copyright is set by the publishers, not Overdrive (OD advocates for libraries). Adobe is the main mechanism to make download, transfer, and file expiration possible

  Ebrary: some publishers are more willing than others to loosen policies in some channels - we're pushing for more consistency across the board

  Ingram: Most publishers require DRM, but some large consortium have been able to negotiate reduced-DRM or DRM-free options - this shows that money talks

• Could you please develop a standard so ebooks download to all devices easily?
  Adobe isn't actually very good, it was just the first one. Overdrive is working on direct-download options, and Adobe is working to improve. Each ebook supplier having their own proprietary software is a problem, and difficult for libraries to get full support. Vendors usually do this because of the standards they are trying to meet. Overdrive has a front-line tech support in beta with NYPL(?), and will be available soon - hopefully by ALA.
• Do all of you work with the same publishers?
  There is probably differences between Overdrive (which focuses on public libraries) and those vendors that focus on academic libraries
• Do you allow more than 10 pages to download/print before new charges?
  It is growing - standard options seems to be about one page, one chapter, or any 60 pages

Posted under Uncategorized on Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011 at 12:01 pm, by Brian Herzog. Post and comments available via the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.