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The disruptive Effects of the Quickly Dropping Prices of E-Readers and the Nature of E-Book Publishing on Libraries and Their Users Anne Silva University of North Carolina at Greensboro
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Abstract At the Library and Information Technology Association’s (LITA) Top Technological Trends of 2010 panel, Jason Griffey spoke about the implications of the anticipated drop of e-reader prices. He stated that basic e-reader prices could plummet to 50 dollars in the next year. This causes problems for collections management, acquisitions, and materials processing. With dropping prices, the demand for e-books is expected to increase exponentially, but it is yet to be seen if basic e-readers can compete with the more multi-functional devices, such as tablets and smart phones, that have the same e-reading technology. It’s also unclear whether libraries can keep up with the demand, due especially to budgets that are being cut and the nature of eBook publishing. E-books are usually published later than the hard-cover release and many publishers haven’t found a good way to balance profit with library usability and the issue of multiple user agreements is still being worked out.
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The disruptive Effects of the Quickly Dropping Prices of E-Readers and the Nature of E-Book Publishing on Libraries and Their Users At the Library and Information Technology Association’s (LITA) Top Technological Trends of 2010 panel, Jason Griffey spoke about the implications of the anticipated drop of e-reader prices ( Diaz, 2010). He stated that basic e-reader prices could plummet to 50 dollars in the next year. This causes problems for collections management, acquisitions, and materials processing. With dropping prices, the demand for e-books is expected to increase exponentially, but it is yet to be seen if basic e-readers can compete with the more multi-functional devices, such as tablets and smart phones, that have the same e-reading technology. it’s also unclear whether libraries can keep up with the demand, due especially to budgets that are being cut and the nature of eBook publishing. E-books are usually published later than the hard-cover release and many publishers haven’t found a good way to balance profit with library usability and the issue of multiple user agreements is still being worked out. One of the biggest issues cited with the use of E-readers is that you can read the books but can’t interact with them (Kirschner et al., 2010). Copyrighted books are often difficult to manipulate, highlight, annotate or take notes in because those features may make it easier to copy, distribute, and can lead to piracy (Dougherty, 2010). While some of the newer editions have increased editing capabilities, the basic models most likely to drop in price will probably still be limited.
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Books that are part of the public domain due to copyright expirations or because of author or publisher donations to the Creative Commons that have been digitized can be downloaded free of charge from a number of sites. Other, more current titles are available for a fee, often reflecting the cost of a hardback or paperback version of the same text, depending on when the e-book version is released. Some websites, such as Amazon, offer texts for its Kindle at a reduced cost compared to the monograph version. One of the biggest issues with e-books in general is that most works that aren’t mass-produced and readily commercially available aren’t available for download. While some publishers are working on digitizing their backlists, there is little incentive if it is part of the public domain and there is no profit to be had. Digital libraries and repositories may help solve this problem (Dougherty, 2010). Do Lower Prices Really Equal a Greater Demand? Even with the dropping prices of e-readers, those on the unfortunate end of the digital divide are not likely to have the technology to utilize e-books outside of a library (Fialkoff, Francine et al., 2010). With the current state of the economy, even middle class people are cutting corners, including foregoing the purchase of unnecessary gadgets at any price. This particularly affects public libraries. Then, there are people who are waiting for the prices of these devices to drop while the technology gets better, and to see if it really is a long lasting trend. In fact, studies show that e-book use is 36% higher than it was only a year ago (Bosman, 2011).
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However, one of the reasons that the basic e-reader may drop in price so drastically is to stay competitive with the more expensive, yet multi-functional products like Tablets, Ipads, and cell phones that are capable of e-reader applications. Because of the current use and demand for new technology, including products that are e-reader capable, even the current, more expensive multi-functional products are all likely to drop in price as newer, enhanced products hit the market. So, even if the type of devices used deviate from the basic affordable e-reader, the trends show that there will be a greater demand in the availability of texts available in the e-book form. So What Does This Mean For Libraries? With the projected higher demand of e-books with the falling costs of e-readers, one of the biggest obstacles for libraries is going to be which titles to get in print, which titles to get in electronic format, and which titles to get in both formats. People are going to jump on the e-reader bandwagon at different times and there will always be those who prefer a hard copy to any digital or electronic form. In theory a higher demand for ebooks would increase the library budget to meet these needs while continuing to meet the needs of those who prefer books or need them because specific titles aren’t available as an e-book. But, with municipal and academic budgets shrinking, and because library budgets are often the first to get cut, the theory of increased user need resulting in an increased budget may just be a fantasy. Another issue that libraries will have to address is that the way e-books are published and the way that publishers release e-books in order to make the biggest profit on print and e-book editions isn’t always conducive to the library acquisitions process.
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“Trying to explain to patrons these access and printing limitations across multiple e-book platforms continues to be a challenge for public service librarians… Negotiating with publishers for the simultaneous release of titles in both print and e-book formats would be a good place to start” says (Hodges et al., 2010, p. 1). Many publishers put a hold on the release of e-books in order to garner the most profit from hard cover and paperback editions. But, e-books often cost the same as hardcover editions, sometimes more for multiple user copies that are so convenient for libraries. Most libraries cannot afford to buy the same title twice, so they have to decide whether to purchase the hardback edition so that patrons have access to it as soon as possible, or wait until the e-book edition comes out in order to give patrons the information in the format they might prefer. Another option would be for libraries to purchase the hardcover edition and wait for the price of the e-book to drop before acquiring it. Sometimes, libraries will wait until the e-book edition comes out and in the meantime realize that the title isn’t essential to their collection, and so the publishing company loses out on any profits they might have gained from the purchase of the text in any format (Hodges et al., 2010). So, the best of all worlds would be for publishers to release the e-book with the hardcover at the same price, or to offer a bundle including the hardcover and the e-book at a reduced cost. Different publishers deal with multiple user environments differently, some expect a library to buy multiple copies of an e-book just as they would a print edition, while some offer multiple user licenses at an increased cost (Dougherty, 2010).
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One more issue that libraries face is how to track which e-books would get the most use. There are two types of e-book acquisitions—a single title purchase system based on interest, such as that used by NetLibrary, an OCLC system that catalogs and displays e-books. This is a good option because patrons feel like they play an active role in title selection and that the library is really listening to them and their wants and needs as patrons. It also helps ensure that money isn’t spent on e-books that will never be circulated (Fialkoff, Francine et al., 2010). Another possibility is to buy bundles of ebooks that cross multiple subjects. These books are usually offered at a reduced price, but libraries run the risk of buying bundles that include titles that are rarely, if ever, circulated. Another issue being thrown into the issues between e-book publishing companies and the use of e-books in libraries is the idea of use limitations. For instance, Harper Collins recently decided that when libraries purchase one of their e-books, it is “valid” for 26 transactions, at most libraries this is 7-14 days. After the book is “turned in” for the 26th time, the libraries rights will expire and they’ll have to repurchase the e-book to keep it available to users. The Dropping Cost of E-Readers and its Effect on Patrons The fact that e-books can be viewed from a home computer via the library web page is also a feature that benefits patrons. Even those patrons that don’t purchase ereaders even after the projected price drop still have the advantage of being able to access the e-books without a special trip to the library. It’s possible that after the fall in prices, college students may be required to purchase e-readers to access texts. This is especially conducive to the humanities, where
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much of the text is available from the public domain. Even textbooks are available in ebook format, and while not probable, it would be potentially possible to increase tuition by the average cost of textbooks, with these increases going directly to the library to furnish students with all the text they need via the library e-books if all the titles are available. This could greatly reduce the need for a campus bookstore, and the great rise in textbook websites and off-campus bookstores could render the campus bookstore obsolete entirely. It may also be possible that people purchase the 50 dollar e-reader for the convenience of its portability, even if it is just to read those texts available from the public domain. Another possibility is that the basic, single function e-reader will become obsolete. Just because the price drops doesn’t mean that people will buy them. The multifunctional products are a lot more appealing, being able to meet multiple user needs all at the same time, and they also make it easier to work with texts, being able to have multiple windows open at once, take notes, and save the information as well as the text in one easy place.
It’s questionable whether those who can access e-books from home
computers or laptops are likely to go and spend more money on the e-reader instead of saving for an upgrade to a product that can replace their current computer as well as provide a hi-tech e-reading platform. How Are Libraries and Patrons Reacting to the Trend? People are still much divided when it comes to a preference of one format over another. There are some who would love the idea of having everything available as an e-
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book and never needing a regular print book again. But there will always be those “booklovers” who have some attachment to the physicality of a book in print. These people, while they may purchase an e-reader if the price is right, will continue to use print books as their main source of access. Libraries are continuing to grow their e-book collection, and this will hopefully increase with the projected demand as e-readers become more affordable. However, Libraries are hesitant to abandon their dedication to print books. Reasons for this include that many titles are still unavailable in e-book format, that some patrons will always prefer hardcopy text, and because of historical reasons and a lag in the understanding of the evolution of libraries. Most importantly, libraries are cautiously moving ahead in the area of e-books because recent studies show that e-books are only used slightly more than their print counterparts, and some studies show that the circulation of both e-books and print books are virtually the same (Littman et al., 2004)(Slater, 2009). And, while it is probable that the projected drop in e-reader prices will increase demand of e-books, it is still just a forecasted trend, and forecasted technological trends haven’t always come to fruition. Discussion If the projected drop in basic e-reader prices does have the predicted effect of a higher demand for available e-books, libraries will have a major task at hand in supplying the demand. It could result in a complete overhaul of the budget. As for now, libraries are progressing hesitantly in the acquisition of e-books because of issues with formatting, publishers, and user needs. If this isn’t just a projected trend and is a real evolution in the
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way that people read and access information, it could change the way information is purchased and accessed in academia entirely. However, it is possible that the e-reader fad is one that will run its course because of the gaining popularity of multi-functional products such as the tablet and smart phones, which all have e-reading capabilities. Either way, the demand f or e-books is not likely to decrease anytime soon. While the outcomes and projected forecasts of preferred e-reading methods are still uncertain, either way, ebooks seems to be taking off and will most likely stick around, especially in libraries.
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References Bosman, J. (2011, April 14). Publisher limits shelf life for library e-books. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/15/business/media/15libraries.html?_r=1 Diaz, m. (2010, July 2). LITA top tech trends ALA 2010. LITA blog. [Web log comment]. Retrieved from http://litablog.org/2010/07/lita-top-tech-trends-ala-2010/ Dougherty, C.(2010). E-readers: Passing fad or trend of the future? Journal of Academic Librarianship 36(3), 254-256. Fialkoff, F., Hadro, J., Kuzyk, R., McCormack, H., Miller, R., & Rapp, D. (2010) Our ebook challenge. Library Journal 135 (18), 18-21. Hodges, D., Preston, C., & Hamilton, M. (2010). Resolving the challenge of ebooks. Collection Management 35(3/4), 196-200. Kirschner, A., O’Donnell, J.J., Marwick, A.E., Fitzpatrick, K., Cassuto, L., Palfrey, John., & Sample, M. L. (2010). Me and my e-reader. Chronicle of Higher Education 56(38), B10-B15. Littman, J. & Connaway L. S. (2004, October). A circulation analysis of print books And e-books in an academic research library. Library Resources & Technical Services 48(4), 256-262. Slater, R. (2009). E-books or print books, "big deals" or local selections - What gets more use? Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services v. 33(1), 3141.