COSLA: eBook Feasibility Study for Public Libraries Final Report: • Library Leader Interview Findings • Industry Expert Interview Findings and Scenarios for Action Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
1104 NW 15th, Suite 400 Portland, Oregon 97209 503.477.9090
Table of Contents Executive Summary
3
Interviews with Library Leaders: findings and recommendations Summary
6
Devices: changing them, lending them
7
Access: high interest, low usability
9
Working together: buying power and leverage
11
New roles: going beyond content
13
Interviews with Industry Experts: findings and scenarios for action Summary
16
18
Assure Access: cooperate for quality
Purchasing power, vital collections
25
Scenario Three
30
Data and Leadership: show value
33
Research connections between library use and book buying
Scenario Four
Scenario Five
40
Civic discourse and public policy
Scenario Six
Living Literature; discover new roles
35
Create authors and support self-publishing
Scenario Two
eBook reader certification
20
One point, many libraries
Scenario One
45 48
Library as laboratory and new skills for librarians
Scenario Seven
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
50
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 2
Executive Summary In the fall of 2009, the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) began an internal conversation about eBooks. What will they mean to the future of libraries, especially public libraries? Will these institutions be able to turn another digital format to its advantage, as they have with audiobooks? Or is it different this time? COSLA members wanted to arm themselves for action, instead of waiting to see how commercial forces would impact popular reading materials and the public library’s central role in providing them. COSLA initially wondered whether they could force a disruption in the eBook marketplace by creating their own eBook reader, designed especially for people who borrow from public libraries. To discover whether this was feasible, COSLA formed a task force and approached the design strategy and research consultancy Pinpoint Logic. Together, we crafted a study to find out. In the course of the research, we talked to library leaders and industry experts who raised critical issues that shaped our thinking. We changed direction as we learned more, moving away from product design and toward areas of opportunity for public libraries and eBooks. In this report, you’ll read concerns and ideas about access and ease of use for library eBooks, library purchasing models, shifting relationships with vendors and publishers, cost and selection, copyright and fair use, and how to make the public library’s voice heard as eBooks change how people read for leisure and learning. We found new roles for public libraries and ways that COSLA could help provide leadership. The research is cumulative, so the second part of the report builds on the first and finalizes our thinking. We hope those who love and serve public libraries everywhere will find inspiration in this work, especially the scenarios for action. There are many paths COSLA and its partners can take together to make eBooks work for public libraries, ensuring these muchloved institutions continue to delight and engage the people they serve.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 3
COSLA Task Force
Consultants
Stacey Aldrich State Librarian, California Email: saldrich@library.ca.gov
Diane Cass Senior project manager, Pinpoint Logic Email: diane@pinpointlogic.com
Stacey is an inspiring and creative library leader. She knows every type of library, from the inside out. What makes Stacey special is the torch she carries to understand and speak about the future of libraries. After all, she is a cardcarrying member of the Association of Professional Futurists.
Diane is a creative problem solver who builds relationships carefully and well, always adjusting to the people on her teams, how they communicate, and what they need. Her motto is, “Let’s figure out how to move forward from here.”
Jo Budler State Librarian, Kansas Email: jobudler@kslib.info
Dwayne King President and senior strategist, Pinpoint Logic Email: dwayne@pinpointlogic.com
Jo just joined the team at the State Library of Kansas, continuing her intrepid trek into what state library leadership can accomplish. She carries years of state library agency experience from past work with Michigan, Nebraska, and Ohio state libraries. Jo also attended the prestigious Iowa Writer’s Workshop, so she has the heart of an artist.
Dwayne King has led creative teams for over 15 years, always asking for less. Less complexity, less ego, less whiz-bang, less copycat thinking. That leaves room for elegant, useful design that brings something new into the world. Dwayne digs into business and customer needs first, transforming himself from a questioning student to a confident strategist.
Rob Maier Director, Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners Email: Robert.Maier@state.ma.us
Eva Miller Senior user experience designer, Pinpoint Logic Email: eva@pinpointlogic.com
Rob has been part of library leadership in Massachusetts for nearly 20 years. He led library development services for eleven years, then became director of the Board of Library Commissioners in 2002. Rob knows how state libraries can drive innovation.
Eva’s business card says she’s a user experience designer. Sometimes, she’s a content strategist. Sometimes, she’s an information architect or a design researcher. Really, she’s a librarian, organizing a new collection to suit a particular audience every time, and blending that age-old practice with a visual sensibility.
Jim Scheppke State Librarian, Oregon Email: jim.b.scheppke@state.or.us
Tom Peters CEO, TAP Information Services Email: tpeters@tapinformation.com
Jim began working with the Oregon State Library in 1986. He’s learned the value in supporting projects that solve problems for libraries and their users and giving up-and-coming library leaders their chance to shine. Jim started this project by stating a concern based in simple fact: The e-book revolution is coming. What can we do to shape it? How can we make sure libraries are part of it?
Tom has worked in and with libraries and library-related organizations for over 20 years. He has led projects in academic, public, special, and governmental libraries. He also has worked with publishers, vendors, and technology companies on a variety of development and testing projects. Tom’s areas of interest and specialization include librarianship in virtual environments, downloadable digital audiobooks, and digital library services.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 4
Interviews with Library Leaders
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 5
Summary We analyzed these interviews to surface larger themes and insights that guided the remaining research with industry experts, through which we gathered a more complete picture and determined areas of opportunity for COSLA and its partners to pursue.
Conclusions Participants expressed needs around eBooks in these areas:
Background and methods As electronic books grow within the public consciousness and more devices and economic models arise to vend them, public libraries are increasingly concerned about how it will affect their core audience. Many library leaders believe a tipping point is not far off. When enough people choose convenience over a sharing model, the relevance and mission of public libraries are in jeopardy. Libraries need to anticipate this shift and become part of the eBook story. To discover what library leaders want and need to make eBooks an effective piece of their service model, COSLA worked with Pinpoint Logic, a design strategy company. We interviewed ten library managers and staff from urban, suburban, and rural public libraries. Each interview lasted an hour and covered these topics:
eBook access and delivery
•
Finding a low-cost way to lend devices through the library or let people try them out
•
Improving the ease of use for discovering and getting library eBooks
•
Expanding access to eBooks through larger collections and national buying pools while delivering real-time local statistics in a manner that helps library funders see the value of large-scale collaboration at the local level
•
Applying leverage to publishers and vendors for better pricing, licensing models, more reasonable copyright or DRM models around shared use, and standards
•
Exploring how libraries can transition from an emphasis on content supplier to creating spaces that invite social interaction around learning and living literature
These needs range from a short-term help to a long-term view. We feel the best strategy lies somewhere between. Would a national buying pool have the intended effect of bringing larger collections and a establishing a good foundation for additional leverage with publishers? If so, how does that effort raise the importance of solving the user experience issues in finding and getting library eBooks from a national project? And what local usage reporting would we need to provide to gain credibility and high participation from member libraries around the country?
•
Buying decisions: print vs. electronic
We’ll elaborate on our findings in the following areas:
•
Licensing models
•
Purchasing through consortia
1. Devices: changing them, lending them
•
Competing for the public’s attention
eBook devices •
Lending them to patrons
•
Designing a library-centric device
•
Haves and have-nots Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
2. Access: high interest, low usability 3. Working together: buying power and leverage 4. New roles: going beyond content
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 6
Devices: changing them, lending them Devices drive eBook use Respondents agreed that the new generation of eBook readers has created a sudden demand for eBooks. Many felt eInk screens are the major factor because they make devices lighter and reduce glare for more comfortable reading, like paper. Before long, the device’s role in driving eBook growth may change. Some respondents felt there may be a better future for browser-based eBook reader software than operating systems found on a single-purpose device, like the Kindle or Nook. Many stated they believe people prefer devices that can do more than one function, like iPhones, though lengthy or leisure reading requires a design that makes it comfortable for people to use the device from a variety of resting positions.
No great device for library use yet In general, respondents believe these devices are not well-designed or mature yet. They had clear and compelling ideas about what current devices lack, especially for the voracious reader who uses libraries heavily. Many felt eBooks should support multiple media types, including video, audio, Web, and other enhanced content. They should represent an entirely new reading experience, not just display text on a screen. The main thing respondents wanted was eBook readers to be flexible in accommodating eBooks from all suppliers. But they also wanted to see more consistency among devices in features that readers want, such as creating and saving annotations from the text, wireless capability for browsing and downloading eBooks with the device itself, the ability to adjust text size and brightness, a read-aloud mode for dyslexic or visually impaired people, and word definition or translation tools for those trying to read in something other than their first language. For devices meant for library lending and use, respondents added some remarkably consistent needs. They would need to be simpler than any other device, more durable, much cheaper ($100 or less seems to be the magic number), rechargeable, with no cords required for use, larger controls, and accessibility options that work for the largest range of people possible. They may not need much storage space, since they are aimed at both lending the device and using library materials, though some respondents felt people always want to blend Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
buying and borrowing. Some wanted the ability to rate or comment on titles they’d read or send an eBook recommendation to a friend.
Libraries can’t compete with product vendors Questions about whether libraries could or should produce a library-centric reading device revealed a clear “ghetto” mentality about libraries. Responses didn’t dwell as much on strategic considerations as libraries’ inability to compete with product designers. No one felt libraries would do a good job getting a device to market or that libraries even support basic technology very well. A few respondents said that designing our own device might be a source of inspiration, but only if we could make something better than anything else out there to show we know what readers want. A sense of helplessness tinged other responses about large efforts to persuade vendors and publishers to take libraries seriously, though not as sharply as when participants considered creating a library-centric eBook reader. Mostly, respondents voiced little enthusiasm or confidence in the idea of creating actual devices.
Libraries want to show or lend devices Because devices are expensive, respondents worry about haves and have-nots, but they also worry that devices are not common. People can’t try them or see how they work before getting one. Most respondents felt comfortable with a limited device lending model meant to let people try them out, meaning they would not have many of them or favor a single device. Others preferred the “technology petting zoo” approach that exposes both staff and the public to these devices through programs that encourage handling them. Some wanted to lend devices as a reader’s advisory opportunity, preloaded with a book series, popular genre, or readalikes. Most needed a low maintenance solution that limited staff time with the device, such as vending machines managed by an outside company. The catch is that no one could justify the expense against the cost of more traditional materials. Most respondents expressed discomfort over lending somewhat fragile devices that cost over $300. Some stated they couldn’t include devices in their public services until the price drops significantly.
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 7
Devices: changing them, lending them (cont.)
Thoughts from the participants •
I know that eBooks have finally started to take off because of the non-glare readers. I think the device is key.
•
If libraries were to truly compete in this realm...they’d have to have a device that’s better than those being offered.
•
Try it and see if it works for them. Check a reader out and have books on it. Maybe a lease-toown type of thing.
•
Patrons are looking for it. It was all of a sudden, too. I gotta think the Kindle was the catalyst.
•
Would making a dedicated device really be the right way to go when the browser is reigning supreme?
•
I’m a mystery reader. Load me up. Put the whole series of vampire stories on it. All of Harry Potter on one book.
•
I think most people are really happy when a device does more than one thing.
•
People like readalikes...that’s a constant reference desk question. What can I read next?
•
If you’re sitting up and reading a backlit screen, it feels like work instead of sitting in an easy chair or lying down.
•
What I would like to do is come up with something preloaded and have it in a vending machine.
•
There are so many formats and interactions between those and the devices. There are just so many variables. We’d have to devote another team of people just to keep up on that.
•
Expensive. I’m more inclined to do a technology petting zoo. Come try or test them.
•
If people are gonna see the library as a provider of eBooks, they need to be able to read off of whatever device they have.
•
I had a mother whose son got her a Kindle ask me about using the library, and I had to tell her no. She was really disappointed.
•
Equal access isn’t realistic if it’s a $500 device..If I have to choose between buying $500 of books or one device, I won’t do it.
•
I saw the Nook. I was disappointed in it. Mystery meat navigation. Little dots and symbols to navigate. I found that very frustrating.
•
No way we’ll spend $400 on a reader and circulate it. I can see a $100 item.
•
I feel the dust hasn’t settled on them yet. Maybe the next generation might be better.
•
I don’t think current eBook products are taking advantage of their digital nature. Just texts in digital format.
•
I want a holographic novel. I want it to rise off the page, any language I want, and I want to participate in the story.
•
By the time libraries do this, it’ll be too late. Apple moves really fast to replace one idea with a better one.
•
Competing on features. We can’t win that. Some say it’s depressing. I’d say it’s realistic.
•
It should look like whatever you could buy at Best Buy or Target. Not some weird library version, the way we do with our computers.
•
We are buying commodity equipment that’s one generation back. We’re trailing not bleeding edge by nature.
•
Maybe it would be something like the OLPC project. It’d be great if we could lead the way and pressure the rest of the market. Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Glare
Less glare
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 8
Access: high interest, low usability Haves and have-nots. Will and will not. For now, respondents feel that eBooks clearly widen the digital divide. Patrons often can’t download these titles using public computers, meaning access depends on having both Internet access and your own computer. Unlike commercial offerings, library eBooks do not load directly to reading devices. In the case of eBooks, many people also fall into “will” and “will not” camps. The 2009 Forrester’s North American Technographics Media and Marketing online survey shows nearly 70% of adults say they won’t buy an eBook reader that is more than $100, which may indicate people place low value on single-purpose devices. But most respondents believe libraries have an obligation to provide all emerging information formats, if possible. Some stated that it is just as dangerous to cease being relevant to average citizens who can easily look elsewhere for information and entertainment. Haves and have-nots are connected in their needs, with the library hanging in the balance.
High-demand titles and portable browsing serve those who do not visit the library eBooks will drive patrons to libraries Most of our respondents felt eBooks will increasingly attract or keep library patrons who like this format or desire convenience. The Internet, audiobooks—all have driven traffic to libraries, despite worries they would do just the opposite. Respondents reported that patrons will often get a reader and immediately run to the library to try filling it with eBooks. Respondents agree the recent history of audiobooks is instructive here: they see the same energy and sudden interest around a new format. But people still do not like to buy audiobooks, even though devices to play them are now cheap and can be used to listen to other things. Unlike text, audio controls your time and pace, and the files are larger to retrieve. After listening to a book, people are unlikely to revisit it or want to store it, and the cost per title remains high. Even rental services for audiobooks cost more per month than movie or television rental services (two-at-a-time plans are twice the cost on SimplyAudio as they are on Netflix). Libraries are a natural place to get items like these. The question is whether eBooks will be the same: cheap devices and costly titles. Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Earlier eBook collections from NetLibrary featured time-sensitive or quick look-up titles, such as technology training, cookbooks, rules for card games, or business books. Most respondents reported low usage. Some have ceased buying or updating these collections for the public. Respondents from smaller systems stated they have replaced nearly all print reference materials for staff use with searchable eBook versions. This gives all locations equal access to basic resources they need to help patrons, regardless of collection size. But eBook collections aimed at patrons now focus mostly on popular fiction and non-fiction eBook titles. Respondents said patrons have responded well to the change. Maybe too well. It’s a common behavior to “load up” on eBooks. Some respondents stated it’s a natural extension of browsing the library to see what you like first and wanted to support this need. But others admitted “one copy, one user” licensing models or consortium restrictions make it poor stewardship of limited resources. To assure reasonable access for everyone, libraries are often forced to create awkward rules people don’t understand. Respondents expressed frustration that easily shared materials like eBooks still don’t free them from this. Leasing “always available” titles helps, but these do not belong to you and Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 9
Access: high interest, low usability (cont.)
are more expensive than buying eBooks. Some respondents felt leasing would work better for resources that always need to be updated, but preferred to own and control materials on behalf of patrons. Nearly all respondents expressed strong feelings about attracting patrons who can’t or won’t come to the building. Virtual library services aren’t new, but eBooks create fresh urgency and opportunities for reaching people who are mainly interested in reading for pleasure, a core constituency for public libraries. Some respondents talked about the long commutes or distances within their service area, reduced staffing and service hours, and how busy lives mean getting home late and staying there. Many felt libraries need to find, understand, and serve this audience better.
Finding and using eBooks from the library is too difficult Despite the rising demand for eBooks, all agreed that getting eBooks from libraries is not convenient or easy to do. We heard just as many concerns about this as assurances that eBooks will bring patrons to libraries. “One copy, one user” eBook licensing is hard to explain: the title is listed, digital, but not “checked out.” Plus, users must navigate through multiple layers and interfaces to find eBooks on a library site. To get one, they must load proprietary software on a personal computer, download the title there, then transfer it onto a reading device. Improving the eBook browsing and downloading experience for library patrons is critical for competing more effectively with commercial alternatives. When someone values convenience, as you might expect from eBook lovers, ease of use matters greatly.
Thoughts from the participants •
We’ve seen a rise in demand for eBooks and had people write us specifically for ePub format.
•
It’s a small, devoted group, not dissimilar to people who use audiobooks a couple of years ago. Very, very devoted to that service.
•
But with eBooks and the cost of it being not much cheaper than a hardback book, I don’t think people will be as apt to spend that kind of money and delete the digital file or store it and never see it again.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
•
I feel an investment in digital collections and services is really important, even though we know some people can’t access them.
•
It’s extremely important to be able to offer access to information in every format available.
•
We want to appeal to the digital haves. The library is relevant to them. Then use these initiatives to raise the boat for the digital have-nots.
•
We had been largely collecting non-fiction in Overdrive until six months ago. Added fiction and that’s what’s really popular.
•
We bought 25 popular [eBook] titles to see how they’d move. In 3-4 days time, they were all checked out. We got more. In a few days, the rest were checked out.
•
What gets used the most are the “always available” titles. Feeds instant gratification.
•
If you can load up a reader with 13 titles and check out whether they’re good, that’s better.
•
Any artificial limit on how many books you can download will make it awkward, too.
•
Some people are not going to come to the library. This is a whole user base. We know they are there. They are every bit as important as physical visitors.
•
Once you get home, you’re not going to get back out again. I would never set foot in a library again, if I didn’t have to.
•
If you can basically use your library without setting foot there, we can gain customers.
•
No one understands “one copy, one user.” That is the most difficult concept to explain to people.
•
My issue has come down more to the steps necessary to access these titles. Paucity of display options. It’s a discovery problem.
•
It’d be ideal if the ease of use and accessibility issues are ironed out. Otherwise, we’ll lose customers to eBooks.
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 10
Working Together: buying power and leverage Most expressed concern about being able to present convincing, current data to their funders at the local level showing they spent their money wisely in consortial efforts. This is crucial to encouraging widespread participation. Members of a collective buying group need continuous, local measures that tell the right story about expanded access to resources at reduced costs. Libraries need to demonstrate value to the community that paid their fair share of the load. A few respondents worried about local needs, such as foreign language materials or items of greater interest to residents of communities made largely of retirees. But this concern seemed less important than the larger problem of facing increasing interest in eBooks and only being able to afford a collection of a few hundred titles.
Applying pressure to vendors and publishers Greater buying power and larger collections Most respondents stated they need much larger and more varied eBook collections to serve patrons well, especially in popular fiction and non-fiction. Cost is an issue. Nearly all respondents have already joined regional or statewide purchasing programs in order to purchase eBooks and other digital materials at less cost. Some reported being unable to purchase these resources at all without the price break they can get through a collaborative arrangement. It’s a small logical leap to a national or even an international buying pool that may create greater efficiencies for all libraries involved. Most respondents expressed enthusiasm about the potential benefit for their institutions.
The local view While most respondents had no ideological problem with the idea of joining a larger buying pool at the national level, they nearly all expressed a few, similar reservations about it. Some doubted that libraries would be able to work together at that level in a timely, sensible way because they had all seen examples of long, drawn-out attempts to reach consensus about shared purchasing or other cooperative efforts at much lower levels within much smaller groups.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Many respondents want more leverage with the industries they depend on for the products and services they bring to their communities. They universally expressed frustration at how little libraries seem to matter to vendors and publishers, and many felt this is at the heart of many difficulties they are having navigating the current landscape of digital information formats. Respondents were at their most passionate in describing how important it is to work with publishers from a position of strength. Most feel publishers are the key. Nearly everything bad about digital media for individuals or libraries stems from their business practices: excessive copyright restriction and DRM that make titles hard to share, overpriced content, lack of standard formats to work on any device, separate purchasing by format, and licensing requirements that ignore how people think about or use digital media in a shared model. One respondent noted a deep concern about the life cycle of library materials, due to DRM or licensing restrictions that disregard a reasonable period of initial ownership based on payment. Weeding used to mean releasing an outdated or low-interest book to others who may want it, giving it a second life. Now it can mean the item disappears, cutting short the life cycle for that piece of knowledge. Respondents offered ideas for creating leverage with publishers. A national buying pool may be the foundation for gaining more attention and influence as a valuable customer. But they also wanted to help find ways to show publishers that libraries are not their competitors but Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 11
Working Together: buying power and leverage (cont.)
their allies. What would show that having a source for sampling materials people would not otherwise buy does not undercut sales and may even increase them? Some suggested crafting studies to determine the nature of the connection between library use and book sales.
•
It’s not like we missed the boat. The boat left without us because we don’t rate.
•
We’re letting vendors lead the way instead of saying what will work for us. Not using our position or clout.
One respondent suggested establishing an interlibrary organization as an independent publisher. Libraries could play an active role in cultivating and producing high-quality eBooks from new authors, free for libraries to own and distribute, similar to the Best of British Columbia Books Online project that releases all locally authored books to B.C. libraries for free.
•
If COSLA is really trying to figure out where to put the energy, spend it talking to Apple, to Amazon. They are keeping us out of the game on this
•
Libraries can talk about why [standard formats] are important and why they benefit to publishers and people working on the devices
•
We need someone to go to publishers and make sure their stuff will run on whatever device. Apple was successful in selling to people and didn’t care to sell to libraries. Took pressure.
•
Trying to use our buying power to bring those costs down... The talk was to get together nationally and get the cost down.
I walk by the Electronic Frontier Foundation a few times a week. Why aren’t we partnering with them to raise a ruckus about why we need to do things differently?
•
A critical mass or some kind of coming together and using the great numbers that libraries have to get a little bit more purchasing power and be taken seriously.
The first thing that comes to mind is make sensible DRM and to change the landscape of copyright.
•
It would be a sea change in eBooks: how we organize our operations, a structural change in how we work that would get us to that point.
I can download 15 books, try them out, maybe I like all of them. I might go buy the author’s other books, or look at other things the publisher does.
•
It’s a balancing act between efficiency of centralizing processes and the need to tailor it to a specific community
Could we compare people getting print stuff from libraries and how that encourages more purchasing?
•
Could we get a reputation as a small, high-quality publisher? The same thing works now: small presses identify authors. Libraries could launch authors.
Thoughts from the participants •
•
•
•
•
We are part of the collaborative, but we can’t get local measures. That makes it more difficult for me to explain to local officials.
•
I’ve been in database licensing meetings and the complete cluster THAT is. I can’t imagine what it would be like on the national level.
•
It’s a scary thought at the national level. That could be overwhelming.
•
It’s shutting libraries out of this whole market. I worry that we don’t have a seat at the table. We don’t have a voice in this.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 12
New Roles: going beyond content Reference services felt a similar upheaval as Google and Wikipedia began to reveal that people prefer self-service tools and will often take convenience over quality. For many lines of inquiry, good enough is good enough. Libraries no longer need to see themselves as the main place people would go for quick reference or looking up simple facts. That leaves time and money for something deeper and richer. The public library’s main role as a democratic institution that procures and organizes content for the public good may also need to be examined and balanced against what other providers can do more effectively and how people prefer to receive information. If public libraries no longer need to worry so much about an archival role or providing popular materials, how should they fulfill a noble mission to support a vibrant “life of the mind” in their communities? A few respondents felt libraries should shift from a content repository to a community center for learning and events. They urged a stronger focus on performance, programs, storytelling, and using physical space for social interactions that let people hear, learn, meet, and mingle around shared meaning. These respondents imagined a more curated or mediated experience with information.
Making content come alive Some libraries have taken on this mantle already. Recently, Cushing Academy in Massachusetts got rid of all print books in their school library and transformed themselves into an “interactive learning center,” with quiet study spaces, real-time interactive data and newsfeeds, high-definition screens for research, a cafe and lounge for relaxing, and eInk readers for everyone. They report their learning center is now the most heavily used space on campus.
Letting go Some respondents said they think the writing is on the wall for libraries. The smart thing to do may be to prepare for a new future and begin to let go of functions where public library’s are no longer able to provide the most value or keep the public’s interest. eBooks may herald the beginning of this transition and should be considered in that light.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Poets House in New York City just dedicated a new space, designed to make poetry come alive. While they do have many books of poetry, they emphasize programs and events that celebrate the form and bring people together to appreciate, learn, and participate.
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 13
New Roles: going beyond content (cont.)
Thoughts from the participants •
Because of the competition, I’m not sure libraries should be concerned about providing content for people. I see us getting squeezed out.
•
I’m not convinced at all that libraries can compete with Netflix and Amazon, no matter how ideal the library world. Even if we have all the funding we want.
•
Libraries keep seeing themselves as content repositories and competing with other providers. Not a necessary future for libraries.
•
I had one gentleman in his 70s, bought a Kindle, loved it. Said, “Oh, my god, I’m worried about you. You don’t have a future.”
•
The idea of a community hub. Live performance. If we free up the space, there could be programs, live music, storytelling all the time. Living literature.
•
I would open up a 5000-square foot addition to our building with a display wall for discovery of eBooks, loadable on the device of your choice.
•
In the last fiscal year, we cut back to four days a week. We’re seeing a huge drop off in all respects. But tons of people come to story times and programs.
•
I’m thinking about libraries focusing on other things like shared experiences around content instead of vending content.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 14
Interviews with Industry Experts Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 15
Summary roles to enliven community spaces that may no longer need to store so many print books. In this phase, we focused on the views of industry experts and interviewed a range of people, most of whom are listed below (some preferred anonymity):
Background and methods Pinpoint Logic crafted and conducted design strategy research to determine whether it would be feasible for COSLA to design and produce an eBook reading device that would serve the needs of public libraries: low-cost, rugged, simple to use, works well for lending books, and could be borrowed by patrons. To test this premise, we interviewed a range of library leaders and quickly discovered they didn’t care about the devices very much. Most felt the marketplace would soon resolve problems around the cost of these devices. But they worried about eBook standards that assure books are truly portable among devices, fair use for eBooks, library purchasing models that work, lower cost and better selection on eBooks, and easier ways to find and use library eBooks. They also felt public libraries should look beyond storing books for new ways to be relevant and exciting to the communities they serve. Findings from the library leader interviews informed the direction of the research in this report. We carried over themes of improving access and eBook findability, working together to influence publishers and vendors, shaping public policy and fair use, and considering new
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
•
Barbara Genco, editor for collection management, Library Journal
•
Heather McCormack, managing editor of book reviews and editor of BookSmack! Library Journal
•
Joe Janes, Associate Professor, iSchool, University of Washington
•
Jana Bradley, Professor, School of Information Resources and Library Science, University of Arizona
•
Maggie Balistreri, librarian at Poet’s House, New York, New York
•
Brenda Bailey-Hainer, President and CEO, Bibliographic Center for Research (BCR)
•
Kate Nevins, CEO, LYRASIS
•
Peter Brantley, Director, Internet Archive
•
Steve Coffman, Vice President, LSSI
•
Steve Potash, President and CEO, Overdrive
•
George Coe, President of Library and Education, Baker and Taylor
We analyzed industry expert interviews to surface final themes and insights, then crafted a range of scenarios for action. COSLA’s original concern about the cost and design of eBook readers came from a deeper question about the future of public libraries, as eBooks begin to change industry relationships and service models. This was COSLA saying, “We want to create our destiny. We want to be ready. We are tired of allowing others to decide these things for public libraries.” The scenarios in this report are clear paths COSLA can pursue to meet eBook challenges head-on and are meant to provoke critical discussion. In this report, we describe seven areas of opportunity that show potential for COSLA and its public library partners, as they wisely face concerns about the future. We’ve also prepared visual scenarios to illustrate these possible futures for public libraries, based on each area of opportunity.
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 16
Summary (cont.)
Conclusions We recommend sharing this work with others in the form of futuring workshops. COSLA is blessed with an expert on the power of this approach in the person of California State Librarian Stacey Aldrich, a member of the COSLA task force for this study. As COSLA helps others imagine the opportunities presented in this report and what tomorrow could look like, it becomes possible to “plan backwards” from a preferred future. Backcasting from the horizon you seek means determining what your first steps must be to get where you want to go: in this case, how to make eBooks a clear advantage to public libraries. Each state library organization could run a series of futuring workshops based on this report, share their results, and help COSLA pursue the best direction for their organization. One thing is very clear, though. It’s a good thing COSLA is an organization that has national reach. Nearly everything in this report benefits from or requires a national or large-scale approach to be successful. A local or regional innovation is more powerful when combined and shared with others. Public libraries must expand the ways they learn from and assist each other. If any ship has sailed, it is the idea that public libraries can operate individually or even regionally and still compete effectively for the public’s attention. Large-scale, cooperative efforts are essential for the continued health and vibrancy of public libraries because only enormous effort can make a dent in the marketplace of information exchange and capture the public’s attention.
•
Create authors and support self-publishing: take advantage of the explosion in do-ityourself publishing to differentiate public libraries from other sources of popular reading materials and better serve community needs
•
Civic discourse and public policy: foster serious discussions and leadership around copyright and fair use
•
Library as laboratory: prototyping new uses for library spaces, new ways to engage the public in a life of the mind, and identifying new skills for librarians
We’ll elaborate on these seven areas of action under the following themes:
1. Assure Access: cooperate for quality 2. Data and Leadership: show value 3. Living Literature: discover new roles
Participants expressed opportunities for public libraries and eBooks within these seven areas of action: •
Purchasing power, vital collections: group purchasing leverage, tough vendor and publisher negotiation, and quality collection development
•
One point, many libraries; using BookServer to deliver eBooks at the point of interest
•
eBook reader certification: testing and assessing eBook reading devices against usability and design guidelines for public library use
•
Research connections between library use and book buying: showing how public libraries support authors and publishers and feed an ecosystem of reading
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 17
Assure Access: cooperate for quality As books shift to electronic formats, public libraries need to re-think collection development. Cost pressures will rise for eBooks as publishers struggle with pricing that ranges from “pay per sip” licensing to high-cost “library pricing.” Some simply refuse to sell eBooks to libraries. eBooks themselves are moving from a stable object you download to a networked resource you view and never possess, connected to value-added content, like audio, video, author discussions, and more.
Public Libraries, United States
Purchasing power, vital collections The amount of money most public libraries can devote to collections has been falling steadily over the past few decades. One participant stated that, as a percentage of total library operating budgets, collection budgets now average only about 9 cents per dollar for print materials and 13 cents per dollar for all materials (based on 2007 figures from the Institute of Museum and Library Services). Each precious collection dollar represents increased pressure to buy high-demand materials over lesser known works. In a 2000 study, Juris Dilevko at the University of Toronto found that, from 1994-1997, bookstores did better at offering diverse materials from independent presses than public libraries, because they could sell those titles at regular prices instead of steeply discounted bestsellers. There are no signs that public libraries have worked to re-balance collections that seem increasingly skewed towards bestsellers and mainstream materials. For one thing, libraries often select only reviewed works, which means choosing increasingly mainstream material. 80-year-old Kirkus Reviews nearly shut down earlier this year, but survives as Kirkus Media to review only 5000 titles a year. Publishers Weekly provides only 7500 reviews annually. But Bowker reports that traditional publishers produced about 288,000 titles in 2009. Libraries have also reduced many decisions about collections to standing orders or approval plans with vendors to save staff time and money.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Journal costs are relevant here. As the Association for Research Libraries (ARL) has shown by comparing the Consumer Price Index against journal costs (ARL Statistics, 2007-08), library pricing far outstrips inflation, partially because pricing models designed only for libraries remove any consumer-driven factors that might cause downward pressure on price. eBooks could be the same. A related concern is that first-sale doctrine in copyright law is not translating well into electronic media and isn’t designed for “rentals.” How can libraries gain more leverage with publishers and vendors, save money, and raise collection quality? Working together on a large scale may help on all counts. When asked about the power of national, consortial agreements, several participants praised the efficiencies of large consortia. Each library doesn’t have to cultivate vendor relationships, place orders, and cut invoices. The scale of the purchase can mean discounted prices. So far, so good. But going big worried other participants. Some felt larger libraries would never participate. One participant argued that larger libraries can often negotiate better deals on eBooks than consortia and select materials more carefully, plus vendors want direct relationships with these “flagship” libraries. Others felt that getting so many libraries to agree on a single plan would be impossible. Libraries often sound positive about sharing but resist without solid assurance they will get as much as they give. They join, drop, and play their options, not fully committed to the consortium. It can also be difficult to get timely, useful data that shows a library serves its local patrons well through consortial purchasing (product vendors are partially to blame). Libraries that already belong to regional or statewide groups may not feel good about joining a national group and abandoning more local neighbors. Some participants mentioned the poor quality of eBook collections purchased through consortia, where the vendor may sell the consortium a package with few options to select
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 18
Assure Access: cooperate for quality (cont.)
individual titles. Several mentioned publisher resistance to selling eBooks through large consortia. Some publishers and vendors believe that group sales mean fewer units sold.
•
I do think the library has ceded its role in deciding what their communities want. I think libraries need to do better at finding materials that work for their communities.
For example, Overdrive won’t sell to the LYRASIS consortium and has begun to balk at statewide purchasing groups. Maybe this is for the comfort of nervous publishers who view eBooks as frictionless, ripe for piracy, or long-term profit losses as library products. But while libraries are each dabbling in various eBook purchasing plans, vendors and publishers will demand models they feel serve them best. Changing this means convincing most public libraries to participate in one model together. But it can’t just be about purchasing power. A national consortium would also need to quell concerns about collection quality and continually measure benefit at the local level.
•
With increasing financial pressure, there’s only so much you can do. How much is the 37th copy of Sue Grafton? How much is midlist? How much is something obscure that we should have?
•
Some libraries spend more than 75% of operating on salaries. Doesn’t leave much for collections or programs, technology, etc.
•
Maybe “by the sip” is better…if you charge a hundredth of a cent but have high volume, you can still make money on it.
One participant spoke about how academic libraries are far ahead of public libraries in how they do collection development. Some universities select materials through a cooperative model, relieving any one of them from having to cover every subject. Art experts select art books. Biology experts select biology books. Selections are shared with all participants. Public libraries could work together in a similar fashion for eBooks, dividing the effort and sharing their work through a national consortium that coordinates selecting and purchasing materials. Each member could also select a small percentage of content for local needs. With the willing participation of representative libraries from the Urban Libraries Council, members could also pool their negotiating savvy to strike better deals.
•
With budget constraints, we’re not promoting [library pricing]. If libraries see the price, they’ll buy bestsellers only, fewer titles.
•
Different publishers have different perspectives. Some won’t work in the consortial environment or stick with smaller ones.
•
We are fighting with publishers and suppliers who don’t want a single point of access. Let’s say California had this. That would raise some prejudice in major publishing houses: today I’d sell more to every branch, but a single point of contact reduces units.
•
Buying pools are a mess, especially state library consortia. Can’t get agreement.
•
Try to get two libraries to cooperate…Sharing is in our nature, but strictly to save money. We don’t do it to save each other.
•
How are my tax dollars being spent? Are those materials here for my constituents and not floating around the state?
•
The data issue is an important one—showing value to funders at the local level. Vendors are also to blame: their data isn’t consistent or shows what local libraries need.
•
If libraries stand behind a consortium and say they want to purchase this way instead of individually, it’d make a big difference.
•
An organization can get a commitment from all of its participants to either join or not… That gets you a certain leverage.
A single, national purchasing point for eBooks combined with expert selection, tough negotiation, and data mining that gives members a compelling story for local funders is a different beast from consortia that mostly fill operations or content gaps for have-not libraries. It forces a reckoning and concentrates eBook access to create real leverage. But it’s a steep climb from where we are. Inspiration and leadership will be key.
Thoughts from the participants •
Many aim at popular materials and formats more than diversity within their collections, chasing models we can’t compete with and frittering away what little resources we have. Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 19
Scenario One: purchasing power, vital collections
eBook Union
eBook Union
Better together
Last week, we finally got BigPubCo, so five of the big six publishers are working with us now.
Better together
Barbara and Heather persuaded them to allow multi-user on all midlist titles
How’s library membership? Did we persuade a few more last month?
Some. Still have a handful of states holding out.
Some of the urbans, too. Can’t get them to join.
What if we all buy most of our eBooks together?
Not just bigger, but better
A national, consortial arrangement would only work if most libraries join. This creates leverage that may make the difference when negotiating with vendors and publishers for contracts that work for public libraries.
Some libraries will only be persuaded if they get better deals and collection quality through the consortium than they would on their own.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 20
Scenario One: purchasing power, vital collections (cont.)
I’ll send out the BigPubCo news and links to the community reports generator. Maybe make a few calls.
I got the collection analysis from eBook Union. 89% overlap with our stuff and 23% unique titles. Pretty good! The city manager will like these reports, too. Maybe we should join. eBook Union. Better together Community Reports
A different kind of consortium
Community impact data
Cooperative eBook purchasing at the national level can’t be aimed only at libraries that would otherwise not purchase anything. There need to be clear benefits to every kind of public library or existing consortium so they will pool purchasing efforts.
The tipping point for many libraries may be how easily they can demonstrate to funders and others that the consortial arrangement is beneficial at the local level. Relevant local usage reports and data are key. Member libraries will want to play with this data and work with it continuously.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 21
Scenario One: purchasing power, vital collections (cont.)
Every time I think I’ll use our “Local Picks” option to buy some Vietnamese titles, eBook Union already has them.
Who picks those?
People at Queens and Oakland, I think. They really know their stuff! I should just follow them on eBook Yammer. Get some tips, maybe.
Six months later... Selection quality and flexibility
New connections among libraries
Libraries will want some room to make local selections.
But the goal should be to create a structure that lets libraries share their strengths without having local needs suffer.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 22
Assure Access: cooperate for quality centralizes resources and serves as a gatekeeper for them. BookServer enables libraries to keep their own holdings, pool descriptive information about eBook collections, and make it freely available across the Web. People aren’t forced to navigate through an integrated library system or specialized product page on a local Web site. They will find electronic materials in the course of ordinary Web searching. BookServer allows libraries, booksellers, and publishers to make catalogs easily, using Dublin Core metadata. BookServer can also pull together book reviews, reading lists, annotations, and fan fiction. Search engines are the gateways for finding it all. The schema allows for a transactional link, as well, giving people an easy way to borrow or buy eBooks from almost any device, since the Atom XML schema is easily rendered in Web browsers, news readers, and mobile applications. For example, a person could type “dragon tattoo” in a search engine, looking for the Swedish mystery The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The results show where it can be borrowed, and the links lead to local copies, with prompts for a library card to allow access. Transactions could allow for borrowing or buying, creating a possible revenue stream for libraries. BookServer may also allow discovery of all available formats or editions of a title, leveraging OCLC’s FRBR technology that draws together all expressions of a work.
One point, many libraries eBooks offer an immediacy that demands easy discovery and use. Amazon’s Kindle store has set the bar for this, with Apple’s iBooks store close behind. But for libraries, eBook collections are often relegated to separate pages or microsites, scattered among thousands of individual library Web sites. Many participants in the research commented on the difficulty of finding and using eBooks through public libraries. Why not pull together a single online channel for people to discover and use electronic materials? Brewster Kahle’s BookServer provides a way to do it. A project of the Internet Archive, BookServer launched in October 2009 and offers a simple way for libraries to concentrate and promote their riches, using open standards and the simplicity of the Atom XML schema. It’s a distributed model, unlike Google Books, which Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Baker and Taylor has a MyLibrary Bookstore option for libraries to offer their patrons. Overdrive also presents their materials through a separate microsite. But these “storefronts” are hard to discover. They are each tied to a particular library Web site, instead of concentrating discovery and browsing behind one, well-designed interface or tool that people will remember or use every day, like Open Library, a BookServer effort that allows anyone to add descriptive records for books or eBooks that link back to library holdings or even original scanned materials generated by participating libraries. (See openlibrary.org for more.) Each library system is struggling to create a better user experience for finding and using library materials. Each library system is wondering how to be at the point of need. This is a problem more easily solved together. Because of Amazon, Google, Netflix, and more, people are used to searching and browsing collections at a national level and beyond. They have come to expect this. A BookServer approach for all library eBooks would help strike a blow against centralized, corporate control of intellectual property and promote wider use and appreciation of community resources. A joint BookServer project like Open Library may be a Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 23
Assure Access: cooperate for quality (cont.)
way to apply pressure to Google’s increasingly commercialized search algorithms: providing access to all the world’s information should not mean Google needs to own it, control it, or profit directly from it.
Thoughts from the participants •
What about a single channel for browsing, borrowing/buying? Publishers would balk.
•
Maybe what some library in Arizona should do is intensively cover all resources on pit mining. Because of digital catalogs, that niche area is available to others.
•
It would be easy in any BookServer lending system to convert a borrow transaction to a purchase transaction if the user wants.
•
For a commercial publisher, [BookServer lets] you start buying the book. For a free book, you might just allow users to download the book. Another kind of transaction would allow the user to borrow the book.
•
The first proposed [Google Books] settlement excluded consortia...We filed a statement with the court and it was changed.
•
In some societies I get certain “tickets.” Health care, social support, a library card. What does it mean? We still get stuck on the library building metaphor. Doesn’t need to be that. It’s a virtual service, a network service. How do I get access to that?
•
Digital access has to live somewhere. If I’m a publisher and selling ePub, that has to live somewhere. I either do that myself or do this through a third party. That wholesale model that Amazon sells books through is from the print world.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 24
Scenario Two: one point, many libraries
I wonder if the library has that new Mark Kurlansky as an eBook... MyTown Public Library Search
MyTown Public Library Search kerlansky
Crap. That can’t be right. I probably have his name wrong, Can’t remember the title...
Found 2 1 Faith of Graffiti Kerlansky, Mervyn 2 How to have it all Kerlansky, Sara
1974 1989
Library eBooks are not easy to discover
Library catalogs don’t always help, either
eBook vendors like Overdrive or Baker and Taylor create separate “storefronts” or microsites for library eBooks, separating them from the rest of the collection or making a user experience that doesn’t blend with the rest of the site.
Public library information retrieval and Web site design is still catching up with commercial experiences designed for discovery. Library systems often fail when people don’t know exactly what they’re looking for.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 25
Scenario Two: one point, many libraries (cont.)
Google usually gets me outta this.
Borrow it? I wonder what that does...
Google Search mark kerlansky
Google Search
mark kerlansky
Did you mean Mark Kurlansky? Top results shown:
Mark Kurlansky - BookServer eBooks Cod, a biography... Borrow (8902 libraries) Salt, a world history... Borrow (3228 libraries) Borrow (4561 libraries) Eastern Stars Borrow (7824 libraries) Basque History... Mark Kurlansky - Wikipedia
People use Google or Amazon to find a title or author first
BookServer search results bring people to your eBooks
People commonly defer to other resources for browsing and discovery and do only known-item searching on library Web sites. But if they are already looking elsewhere for inspiration and ease of use, why not take advantage of that?
BookServer, a project of the Internet Archive, could be used for libraries to pool descriptive information about their eBook holdings and make them easily found across the Web. Unlike Google Books, materials aren’t centralized. Just the way you find them. BookServer links can include transactions like borrowing or buying.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 26
Scenario Two: one point, many libraries (cont.)
BookServer
They say it’s available at the library. Great! This is so cool.
Eastern Stars (eBook) Mark Kurlansky
Just search the Web and get a library book. Why didn’t they think of that before?
Find public libraries that carry this title:
Zip or city/state terra haute in Vigo County Public Library 1 available To view, enter: Library card number Password or PIN
Find it first, authenticate last
Public libraries can use channels they didn’t create
The idea is to be at the point of interest, allow people to search and discover, and worry about the nature of the transaction last. Often, public libraries make people do it the other way around. Stumbling across an eBook you want and could use right now if you had a library card is a good way to bring more people to public libraries.
If you can’t beat them, join them. BookServer is one way public libraries could transcend expensive, less flexible systems inside their organizations and work together for a higher profile nationally. eBooks are an opportunity for this.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 27
Assure Access: cooperate for quality between the content and device. While Apple’s iPad may accept eBooks from other vendors, titles purchased from Apple won’t transfer to non-Apple readers because of DRM. To address some of these problems, Overdrive is launching an eBook reader certification program that defines what makes a device library-friendly. That means creating a set of guidelines for companies that develop eBook readers and assessing products against them for certification. This approach both helps libraries select and recommend appropriate technology for their patrons and promotes usability standards aimed at avid readers. Companies can pursue certification for their devices to differentiate their products and benefit from the library’s “brand.”
eBook reader certification Concerns about eBook readers originally drove this research. COSLA worried about the expense of these devices and what that means to library users who are increasingly offered digital versions of popular reading materials. The device seemed like a barrier to access among the core constituency that public libraries serve. As we spoke with industry experts, though, it became clear that eBook readers are evolving rapidly. The magic threshold for most individuals or library managers to consider buying devices for reading eBooks is about $100. Several participants work with eBook manufacturers and technologies and expressed certainty that we will see eBook readers at that threshold or below before year’s end. Borders recently announced a $120 LIBRE reader that uses reflective LCD (similar to eInk in reading comfort), has good battery life, plays MP3s, and is preloaded with 100 classic titles. What remains from worries about the devices is whether they can accommodate eBooks from any vendor (Amazon, Overdrive, Apple) and if they work well in library situations, such as lending books or the devices themselves. The ePub standard resolves issues with proprietary formats that made it impossible to use some eBooks on any reader. The worse problem is how eBooks are wrapped in a variety of ways for digital rights management (DRM), forcing a connection
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
There is room for libraries to be involved in Overdrive’s certification project, and they should. Overdrive has a long history of testing firmware and devices for compatibility with their products and is a natural partner, but any certification program aimed at library lending should include a library point-of-view. Involving libraries also reduces any bias that may result from having an eBook vendor conduct device certification reviews. Overdrive welcomes library participation, but cautions that they are under great commercial pressure. Business needs aside, applying the public library’s “brand” to a commercial device is not something that should be done without the consent of an independent group convened and empowered to represent the needs of library users. In crafting a feature set and guidelines for library-approved devices, it helps to know about emerging eBook reader technologies and where that market is going. Our research found that the key problem engineers want to solve for eBook readers is power consumption. Reducing power consumption makes the devices lighter, batteries smaller, and leaves more room for innovative features. For instance, some have rumored that many competing tablets did not make it to market after the iPad launch because no one expected Apple to make a device that would have more than five or six hours of battery life or sell for less than $800. When both of these expectations proved false, competitors chalked it up to how well Apple controlled power consumption and went back to the drawing board with their products. Transflective LCD displays may be a key technology to watch for this reason, such as those produced by Pixel Xi (company formed by originators of screen technologies for One Laptop Per Child). These displays can store memory in the very pixels on the screen, dropping
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 28
Assure Access: cooperate for quality (cont.)
refresh rates and saving a lot of power. They are reflective and easy to read, but can be full color and use touchscreens, something that is proving difficult for eInk. LCD technology also has a large, mature industry behind it, which keeps prices lower. One of our participants stated that many industry leaders feel transflective LCD may eventually dominate eInk in eBook readers: it’s a more flexible technology that will be able to support multimedia books. Another technical capability that helps library-centric eBook reading devices is the emergence of cloud computing. Publishers should be much more comfortable with eBook reader networking and display technology that merely views eBook content stored elsewhere but does not download anything to the actual device. In this mode, digital rights management becomes much simpler or even unnecessary for those who never go beyond “borrowing” a book for use.
•
There’s a push to see books as smart packages of network resources, available off of the net. You’ll have portions of them on your device, maybe, but they’ll be increasingly on the server.
•
Cloud computing model: your eReader connects to cloud computer and everything— application, content—is shown to you. You don’t store it.
•
Print will always be part of the picture. But the assumption that a book exists because it’s in print is disappearing,
Thoughts from the participants •
New users are frozen: choice of formats, choice of devices.
•
We’ve defined three categories of devices and want to create a certification program that marks these devices as library-friendly: an inexpensive black-and-white eInk reader, an LCD color reader, and digital touchscreen kiosks for use inside libraries.
•
[Publishers] want to make sure circulating library devices can’t be preloaded by librarians, except in certain cases. Patrons who borrow the device need to have a library card and load it themselves.
•
The majority of eReaders are 6” diagonals. The $99 price is the big target by the fall of this year.
•
We’ll see very low cost LCD-based eReaders coming that put a lot of pressure on eInk. Could see $79 or $69 dollars by the end of the year. Very aggressive pricing.
•
As soon as you put color filters on top of an eInk display it becomes too dark. Doesn’t reflect well.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 29
Scenario Three: eBook reader certification
Looks like the consultant finished the eBook reader design guidelines. They sent out a usability test guide, too.
Now I can send the test guide along with some of these eBook readers to our Lab Libraries. See how well these babies do!
MyState Library Email Today
COSLA Design Guidelines
Library vendors want to ask for better products
Public libraries should help
eBook vendor Overdrive is launching an eBook reader certification program to highlight which of the many devices on the market are best for library use. They will establish design and usability guidelines for eBook readers manufacturers, then review new devices to see how well they measure up.
If the public library’s “brand” is going to be used by industry as a differentiator, then libraries should be involved in how that happens. A national standards group could be formed and coordinated through COSLA and state library agencies with partnership from groups like LITA.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 30
Scenario Three: eBook reader certification (cont.)
We need to ďŹ nd six patrons who would like to take this usability test. They can keep the readers this time.
That helps. We found some good people last time through the email newsletter.
MyTown Public Libra
ry
Now, try to view one of the books you found on the reader
ro Readaway P
Testing devices helps staff
Testing devices helps libraries
Public library staff benefit from getting their hands on new technology and seeing how it changes both the world and their work. Plus, observing usability testing teaches powerful lessons about how people perceive devices and interfaces and encourages empathy.
Seeing the library as a partner in eBooks and reading devices is good advertising for the library. Many people may not think of the library as a place that is tech-savvy or even interested in new devices and innovations.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 31
Scenario Three: eBook reader certification (cont.)
MyTown Public Libra Please keep the reader as a thank-you from us. Use it, and we'll call you next week to ask a few last questions.
Four of our Lab Libraries failed this device on the same three usability guidelines. Guess it looked better than it worked.
ry
Back at MyState Library... Testing devices helps patrons
COSLA and state libraries can coordinate this effort
In a safe environment, patrons get exposure to new reading devices they may have been unable to try anywhere else. It may even be possible to allow people to keep the test models.
Device manufacturers, vendors, and other industry partners will want a coordinated response from libraries for any device assessments or testing in which they participate. This means there is a role for a group at the national level, participating in testing activities and compiling results.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 32
Data and Leadership: show value But eBooks are changing perceptions about this. Electronic versions lack the friction and natural lifespan of physical objects: they can be used by many simultaneously and don’t need to be replaced. Publishers want library models that collect payment for every use, lease access instead of sell objects, or have digital rights that enforce methods that worked for print, such as one copy, one user. They fear piracy, and some project a loss of profits over the long term in providing eBooks through libraries. When a library’s existence is threatened, we see the public’s outcry as evidence these institutions are valued. How can public libraries tell their story in more positive terms at crucial junctures like these, when their business model is threatened?
Research connections between library use and book buying
Public libraries could do more to demonstrate their value to publishers, vendors, and authors in ways that transcend the limits of circulation data, a measure that indicates what happened but not why. As roles in the chain of cultural production blend and disappear, libraries need to become experts about publishing and attuned to forces that are changing it. One participant explained, “Trying to work with publishers is better than ignoring them. Publishers are going to try to assert their role, just as writers are asserting their independence.” Both libraries and publishers are living in a climate of fear about their futures. These groups seek leadership and need solid information to support strategic decisions during uncertain times.
Several participants we interviewed expressed concern about the relationship between publishers and libraries as eBooks rise in importance. eBook vendors say they often need to persuade publishers about the value of libraries for promoting books and authors and creating stronger readers. Overdrive recently produced a white paper meant to show how libraries promote books and readership. Baker and Taylor also believes in the marketing power of libraries and researched high-circulating items in larger libraries to identify which systems buy more high-demand titles and are the “promotional friends” of publishers.
COSLA could work with academic and consortial partners to design a research approach, create a pilot to test it, and eventually fund a large-scale effort through an IMLS Leadership Grant. The research would explore correlations between using print and eBooks through a library and any measurable impact on book sales. Once established, this connection could become an on-going indicator that grows in scale and fidelity: the “Book Promotions Index” would be a snapshot of how public libraries expand awareness and consumption of the written word, both inside and outside of libraries.
In 2007, the American Library Association’s Office for Research and Statistics and Harris Interactive surveyed about 4000 people, half of whom visited a library in the previous year. Of those, 40% of adults and 36% of youth bought at least one book they had also borrowed. Libraries have been a natural source of marketing for publishers and not a threat to sales.
Perhaps a good approach would compare existing library use data for selected people against self-reporting on book purchases, while assuring individual anonymity. These research subjects would be like library “Nielsen families,” reporting relevant activity as it happens.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
The pilot project could begin with one city that has a strong reading ecosystem: busy libraries, bookstores, and a public with strong readership, such as Portland, Denver,
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 33
Data and Leadership: show value (cont.)
Minneapolis, or Ann Arbor. For individual “Nielsen family” subjects, researchers would automatically collect and track their borrowing history, have them self-report any book purchases for a year, and look for relationships between the materials. Are there common subjects? Similar titles? How do eBooks differ from print in this assessment? Other research activities might include looking for correlations in existing, large data sets, like several years of library circulation and bookselling data, online and local. One participant suggested comparing Overdrive titles in a local collection with usage of the print equivalents or area bookseller data for the same titles. Another suggestion came from an experiment offered through Library Journal’s BookSmack! newsletter. Macmillan released The Holy Thief by William Ryan and gave BookSmack! librarians a rights-free, advance copy through Overdrive for four weeks. They could read and talk about it. Connect this activity with library usage and book sales for the title, and you have a way to see direct results of librarians discussing a book, especially if they liked it. Mid-list or hidden gems are natural targets for some librarian buzz. As mentioned earlier, Overdrive recently published a white paper about how libraries help, but many points they make seem questionable. Overdrive “storefront” pages for public library sites do not make titles more findable in search engines (try to find one). The book Eat Pray Love got its second wind in paperback through smart work by Penguin executives, an excerpt in Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine, and a mention in the New York Times Book Review, not library word-of-mouth (so explains the Wall Street Journal). People who visit library pages, look at titles, then leave to buy a book online may be disappointed customers who won’t return, so that’s short-lived marketing. We can find better reasons that libraries help.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Thoughts from the participants •
Research has shown in the past that people who read from libraries tend to buy books. There is a reading class.
•
I remember when it came to publicity, coveted reviews were not only from the Times but also librarians. Publishers courted librarians for their reviews and ability to hand sell books to visitors.
•
If you could get compelling data that demonstrates people in public libraries who use books are no less likely to buy books...Who’s in a position to generate this kind of data? Maybe OCLC, or Urban Libraries Council.
•
Do an analysis by state and city where there’s an Overdrive contract. What are the holdings on print where Overdrive is in place? Where there’s not? Is there a difference? Are print sales higher where Overdrive is in place?
•
There’s no reason why there can’t be an effort to have some kind of organization—a consortium might be a good place to house an IMLS grant or some other kind of research organization.
•
[LYRASIS] would love to have a role in leading up research like this. We have researchers that understand cause and effect.
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 34
Scenario Four: research connections between library use and book buying
“This public broadcasting program sponsored by Libraries Count, researching all the ways public libraries promote reading. Be counted at LibrariesCount.org.”
es Librari
Count
o help
nted t be cou
and Sign up s librarie c i l b u p
ry 54301 ur libra o y e t d a in t F ty/S e or Ci d o c p Zi . track it ll ' e W e. g it her ething? lo m r o o s , il ema Borrow ? Call, k o rivacy. o p b r u a o y y u B tect ays pro lw a e W
Creating a compelling case for how libraries help
Data exists but could be more compelling
As eBooks rise in popularity, publishers, authors, and agents see potential loss of profits by having their product in libraries. One eBook can be used by multiple people without wearing out like print books. The push is towards a relationship that exacts fees based on use. Libraries need to make their case anew. These are places that create readers and promote authors and books.
ALA’s Office of Research and Statistics recently determined a significant correlation between using a library book and actually purchasing it. Maybe the same idea could be made into an ongoing data collection effort among many public libraries, asking patrons to log purchases and allow data mining on their circulation history.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 35
Scenario Four: research connections between library use and book buying (cont.)
My eB
Cit
oo
k
yP
ub
lic
Better load up a few library books for my vacation...
Li
bra so Wo ny ry r d o ur Vow y S she ell, hipm lf: Sa Sh rah ates o / So p Cl a u Ma lcraf ss as tth t/ ew Cra wfo rd,
Flyaway Books
Libraries Count Book log for: Person 728 07/21/2010 Wordy Shipmates / Vowell, Sarah
Better get a cheap book for the beach before I get on my ight...
Shop Class as Soulcraft / Crawford, Matthew
Use circulation data to tell more
See the reading life as an ecosystem
Public libraries use circulation data to show library use, perhaps encouraging a false comparison with bookselling. It may be better to find stories in this data. If people who read certain subjects tend to buy in those areas, when do they decide to buy? What would they never buy and why? Looking for patterns can tell us more about readers and how the library fits into the way they use information.
It’s a safe assumption that many reading formats will live alongside each other, driven by personal taste and needs. Print is not going away soon. Public libraries can work together to craft research that reveals how and why people blend print and electronic formats to make a stronger case for the library as a critical part of that formula.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 36
Scenario Four: research connections between library use and book buying (cont.)
Did you see this peak in August? Vacations, maybe?
I’ll just log that book I bought on my phone...
Libraries Count Add a book by:
Libraries Count
Title or Author Just Kid just kidding trudy ludwig just kids patti smith Q W E R T Y U I O P A S D F G H J K L Z X C V B N M .?123
space
return
Libraries Count Book log for: Person 728 07/25/2010 Just Kids / Smith, Patti 07/21/2010
Yeah, and a lot of libraries reviewed advance e-copies of Sarah Vowell's new book about Hawaii
Wordy Shipmates / Vowell, Sarah
Depend on your good name and make it simple
Telling the story everywhere
People may resist helping nameless companies, but they do love public libraries. If a large-scale research effort sponsored by COSLA and interested partners helps make public libraries stronger, people may be happy to participate. Assuring confidentiality and making data collection automatic or easy to do helps, too.
Creating research that streams data continuously and allows for any interested parties to see relevant visualizations or even download the data for use in other projects or “mash-ups” helps get the public library’s story out there and could lead to surprising results and alliances. Data from civic institutions is becoming more open to citizen use. This can, too.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 37
Data and Leadership: show value libraries work together to become the champions of these titles? They represent new territory and a way for public libraries to diversify collections, promote unsung authors and titles, and serve local needs better, instead of worrying so much about bestsellers. Professor Jana Bradley at the University of Arizona is researching the self-publishing phenomenon and urges public libraries to return to true collection development for their communities, focusing more on these materials. They increasingly represent an effort to write books others will enjoy, instead of aiming for high style or using self-publishing to gain access to traditional publishers. Some self-published works are calling cards for a company or business, written to share expertise. Others are personal stories or life experiences. Selfpublishing also includes a lot of genre writing. This is middlebrow stuff, but often very readable. Bradley was surprised to discover she would happily read a third of the 385,000 selfpublished titles she reviewed for her research. Other ideas for promoting authors from small presses or self-publishing include:
Create authors and support self-publishing Several participants raised the issue of explosive growth in self-publishing and what it could mean for public libraries. From 2008-9, Bowker states that self-published titles increased 181% (authors who requested ISBNs). The cultural production represented by self-publishing is now more than twice that of mainstream publishing. While there is still “vanity press” stigma attached to self-publishing, it’s beginning to change. Traditional publishers are putting out more literature titles, hoping for a winner, as if playing the lottery. Though total numbers of traditionally published titles dropped a bit in 2009, literature titles have increased from 6000 titles in 2002 to over 9000 in 2009, with no measurable increase in readership. Because of this, quality control and marketing support from traditional publishers are naturally decreasing; budding authors can expect little help from publishing houses in these areas. Suddenly, making your own book seems sensible, just as musicians are beginning to bypass big labels and do it themselves. But self-published work is difficult to track or find, isn’t usually reviewed, and often has inadequate descriptive data attached to it. Some participants asked the question: why don’t
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
•
COSLA and interested partners coordinate and sponsor tours for unsung authors instead of competing for big names: libraries in participating cities schedule an author event, promote it, provide local accommodations, create buzz about the author and their work, encourage “word of mouth” marketing, and post images and reviews of the event on an “Unsung Author” site. The author is encouraged to share impressions of their journey, as well. Libraries supply circulation and sales data for the author’s work as the tour progresses. This idea caters to interest in “indie” culture and art—forms of expressions that are less processed and closer to the source.
•
COSLA leadership helps launch a small, non-profit, high-quality publishing house. New authors pay nothing initially: participating libraries could provide support in the form of book editors, advance copy reviewers, cataloging, and library promotions or events for the titles released through the “Public Library Press.” Contracts with authors exchange professional services against future success. If the titles are well-used and begin to sell, some percentage goes back to the publishing house to support further work. Public libraries are guaranteed a free electronic copy for public use.
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 38
Data and Leadership: show value (cont.)
This is not as unbelievable as it sounds. Librarian Maggie Balistreri of Poet’s House in New York City depends entirely on donated works to build her poetry collection and pays back her poets and publishers at every turn, including an annual collection development event that showcases all the new work she collected over the past year, organized by publisher. This event is a promotional coup for any small press and brings in would-be poets, who want to easily find niche publishers or artist’s collectives like Ugly Duckling Presse and talk to others about how to produce chapbooks and publish their work. While her collection has a single focus, there is no reason this idea couldn’t be adapted to public libraries and multiplied to support a larger range of subjects and titles. As in previous suggestions about shared collection development, public libraries should plan any dive into collecting self-published work as a cooperative effort. There is far too much to tackle alone. Library staff across the country could work together to find, review, and select self-published materials of local interest, then share that work with the larger group in ways that also expose the best of self-publishing to a wider audience, perhaps through the BookServer project mentioned previously. An “Unsung Authors” effort of this type could also provide needed guidance to new authors on how to describe their work well and make sure it can be found.
•
How could consortia support this long tail? How could we make niche books easy to find? I like that idea a lot.
•
I for one am very pessimistic about libraries if they do not adapt to changing situations, particularly, as we emphasized, the need to rethink their collection, selection and procurement policies, and to embrace “local” community needs, both print and online.
•
Not everything is highbrow. You have to understand that great literature doesn’t pay the bills. There’s a whole range of materials that doesn’t fit the cultural snobbery.
•
Self-publishing represents a different model. It’s a model where the ordinary person is incorporating authorship into their lives. It’s not for money.
•
Writers need to learn to be more professional: do it right. Know why you need a copyright page. Invite people to make their books more professional by supplying data about it.
•
Librarians could start their own publishing company and have at least as good a chance at succeeding as mainstream publishers.
Thoughts from the participants •
What’s becoming clear is that libraries are becoming more disintermediated from a large part of the corpus that’s really out there.
•
It is all about introducing new authors and broadening the selection choices of the reader/user beyond the tried and tired. Today’s well-run libraries are all about genre fiction and midlist writers, not to mention local or regional authors.
•
When we anticipate popularity, we just promote it.
•
I don’t think our rhetoric matches the reality: we aren’t tailored to our communities.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 39
Scenario Five: create authors and support self-publishing ary
Libr MyTown Public
This book is so funny, and it’s not in here yet! I’ll add a little review, too, so people pay more attention. Wonder what else he’s written?
Did you find any good stuff at the DIY Book Fair?
Unsung Authors Project Step 1
Step 2
Step 3
Step 4
Add cover art
Yes! I got some interesting memoirs, a few cool kids books. And this one, hilarious alphabet book, all about beards!
Self-publishing is huge and growing
But self-published titles are hard to find
No longer just a “vanity press” or way to get the attention of traditional publishers, many people are self-publishing for a direct mode of expression, not money. Experts want to share what they know, people have personal stories to tell, artists want to control their work. While traditional publishing fell slightly in 2009, self-publishing grew 181%.
University of Arizona professor Jana Bradley feels it’s time to return to traditional selection that reflects the flavor of the community. Self-published materials are an untapped source of readable, relevant materials. They just need a librarian’s touch: someone to discover them, describe them, and make them easier to find.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 40
Scenario Five: create authors and support self-publishing (cont.)
B is for Beard...what could THAT be? ePub...might as well have a quick look...
MyTown Public Library Search beard
Unsung Authors Project
Found 23 Beard on bread Beard, James
1973
Description | Reviews
B is for beard Livermore, BT
2010
Description | Reviews
What a crazy book! 28 libraries added it, though. Worth a look. Maybe we should buy this one...
\Sort by: Popularity | Date added
Print ePub
One Thousand Beards 2001
It’s too hard to do this one library at a time
Many hands make light work
Fewer public library dollars go to purchasing materials every year, so libraries stick with reviewed materials and use vendor plans or standing orders. This skews their collections toward popular materials. Self-published material adds more “flavor,” but each library can’t go it alone. The staff time and cost would be considerable and the benefits largely end with their own community.
Collaborative cataloging isn’t new, but it may need a shot in the arm. Instead of the random approach, public libraries can focus on what’s produced locally, then share what they find with other libraries and indie book lovers. COSLA and its partners can help launch and coordinate this work.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 41
Scenario Five: create authors and support self-publishing (cont.)
What's going on? Lots of orders coming in on the beard book, especially ePub. Libraries are buying these? Maybe I'd better plan another print run.
YourTown Public Library
Unsung Authors Tour 2012 I owe a lot to public libraries. You guys found my stuff and told people about it. And you helped me learn what cataloging is! Librarians are my heroes, seriously.
ou
o cool for y
ss is to Banner Pre
Self-published authors need help and promotion
Don’t stop there
Traditional publishers provide less editorial and marketing support than they once did, mostly because they offer a larger percentage of literature titles to a stable readership, like playing the lottery for the one that will “hit.” Together, public libraries can give self-published authors help in getting their works found and noticed, maybe even create a non-profit, high-quality publishing house.
Libraries could make Unsung Authors a public project and even create their own book tours together, hosting authors and making it homegrown and real. This does more than market deserving authors and titles. It markets public libraries. Cultural production is not for money. It is for people to know themselves and their communities. It is for the ages.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 42
Data and Leadership: show value In Great Britain and the United States, people seem enthralled by a program that presents live debates on key issues of the day called Intelligence Squared. The live events sell out, and many others listen to Intelligence Squared radio broadcasts, iTunes podcasts, or watch online videos of the debates. It’s not unusual for thousands and occasionally tens of thousands of people to review an Intelligence Squared debate video online. Cultivating the public’s interest and lively discussion around copyright in a digital world would show leadership in the face of fear. It also helps tell an old story in a new way: public libraries amplify fair use into reading as a civic act and give democratic societies a place where time-tested ideas and new cultural expressions can collide and become stronger—the original mash-up and something we need more than ever as materials take digital form and cannot be legally transferred or shared as easily as print.
Civic discourse and public policy One participant mentioned the value of leadership over data alone, especially in a time of uncertainty and fear. Publishers won’t be persuaded by either the library as a public good or even studies that prove public libraries are a great way to expose titles and promote interest in authors and their work. The message is one thing. Who carries that message and makes it heard is another. This provocative comment led to a line of questioning among other participants about leadership over data. Most agreed that data cannot stand alone, but when asked, no one was quite sure who might provide the necessary voice on behalf of public libraries. Copyright and fair use emerged as an area of special concern, where strong leadership and new ideas are urgently needed to protect fair use of all cultural materials, digital and otherwise. COSLA could work with appropriate partners like the Internet Archive, Electronic Frontier Foundation, and ACLU to sponsor public copyright debates. These events could include activists, historians, lawyers, publishers, librarians, authors—anyone who can compellingly defend a point of view. But would it work? Public discourse may not be as dead as it seems, sometimes. Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Some participants felt it is simply time for public libraries to push harder on the legislative front to protect the public interest and make a bigger noise about library models for fair use that include eBooks and other digital materials. COSLA may want to coordinate its membership on this topic and throw active support behind existing lobbying and legislative efforts, either in the library world through the American Library Association or through organizations like Electronic Frontier Foundation. People love their public libraries. COSLA could lend strength to voices calling for digital fair use provisions, raising awareness that a few strokes of the legislative pen can do more to decimate the value of public libraries than any budget shortfall.
Thoughts from the participants •
The publishers worry about how easy it is to download books. They are proceeding from a position of fear. You don’t contradict fear with data, you do it with leadership.
•
This idea of one book, one reader is something the industry has been pursuing a long time. DRM is an electronic handle on that.
•
In the 1920s, the publishers association ran a national contest to get a pejorative name for someone who borrows a book from someone else. Winner? Book Sneak. Tried to get this to catch on. Not a nice thing to share books.
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 43
Data and Leadership: show value (cont.) •
One book, one copy idea? I’m gonna go all the way back to working for a document delivery supplier. We delivered faxed copies of journal articles. Huge concern in the publishing industry that this would gut their print sales, even though copyright was paid for each article
•
Fairly to an author means they get paid every time you read it. The economy has changed.
•
There will have to be some resetting of how we think about intellectual property: nationally and internationally. I don’t want to wind up in a license economy where only the barest definition of fair use is acceptable.
•
[Copyright] seemed to suit all of us. Similar aims and objectives. A lot of that is gone. We are both different and here we stand, at the threshold of all these possibilities.
•
Not commercially available, not available for sale or lending. Libraries are caught between copyright issues.
•
Another role that a consortium the size of LYRASIS could do is create forums for discussion, events and symposia that bring publishers together with librarians and public officials. Making a space where discussion can take place.
•
If there’s an articulation for a way forward for the “public book,” then we might be able to do something. “The public book,” or something like that.
•
There’s a role in influencing how buying groups are structured, speaking out on copyright issues.
•
[Change copyright law?] Nobody ever gets what they want. Careful what you wish for. Publishers have more money and clout than we do.
•
Libraries need to be very involved and very articulate about the policy framework they need to create to continue to serve populations they serve and get access to digital books.
•
The one card we have is people love us. Philly, Boston, Chicago want to close branches and people stand up and say no. The best high card in our hand is the public and the willingness to advocate for us when we’re under threat.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 44
Scenario Six: civic discourse and public policy
What are you watching?
Ursula K. Le Guin is telling off Rupert Murdoch at this Digital Freedom debate. She is KILLING him!
Why?
Fair Use or Pay Per Use?
He wants libraries to pay every time someone borrows a digital book. Forever!
Fair Use or Pay Per Use?
rt?
our TPS repo
Did you file y
rt?
our TPS repo
Did you file y
Leadership persuades more than data
Who should lead?
Public libraries and publishers are both fearful about their futures. In that climate, it’s important to make strategic decisions based on solid data and understanding. But uncertainty means people want clear leadership: a voice to define the issues and suggest the best direction. Who will carry the message?
One way to build leadership is define key issues and draw influential voices around them. Copyright and fair use affect how eBooks will be used in libraries and among the general public. It’s an issue that needs more voices and unified leadership from public libraries. Public libraries do have powerful, articulate allies on this. COSLA and its partners can create a forum at the national level.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 45
Scenario Six: civic discourse and public policy (cont.)
No, I don’t think that’s the problem. Are people STEALING them or something?
Then why pick on the freakin’ LIBRARY?
Public discourse is hot again
Appeal to people’s love of public libraries
In the United Kingdom, a series of live, Oxford-style debates has become a hot-ticket event, with videos and podcasts of the pro and con arguments on critical issues of the day freely available online. The same is true of the American version of these Intelligence Squared debates.
People do find lively, respectful argument compelling and vote before and after Intelligence Squared debates to show how opinions shift. A series of Digital Freedom debates may demonstrate that understanding copyright increases public support for digital fair use.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 46
Scenario Six: civic discourse and public policy (cont.)
Madame Chairperson and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, we represent America’s public libraries. We seek expanded fair use provisions that include all digital materials
And the public is behind us. After each of our recent Digital Freedom Debates, viewers supported fair use positions even more strongly than before.
Take legislative action
Make it a public campaign
The situation around the first-sale doctrine is eroding rapidly for eBooks and other digital materials. It may be that shoring up this limitation to copyright will require COSLA and its partners to craft and support legislative action that represents the best interests of public libraries.
When public libraries are threatened with closure, people rise up to save them. As cultural production becomes digital, copyright laws can be as great a threat to public libraries as budget cuts. People need to know this and have ways to easily lend their support.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 47
Living Literature: discover new roles Aarhus Public Libraries learned their buildings need open spaces in public view that are easy to adapt for different purposes. Hosting a range of open events like Monday University or Friday Open Jam Session gives people simple ways to drop in, enjoy a new library experience, and connect with others. Augmenting the space with interactive information, like participatory exhibits or touch-sensitive surfaces, encourages people to be playful in this environment, cooperate with others to create or change the space, and relish the physical place. The fluid nature of the space depends on sophisticated networking and technology that enables many different installations. And people want to be seen in the library. They may want to host a workshop of their own or leave signs behind to show they were here. Can we create a distributed “Libratory” that supports experiments in many different libraries and find the best ideas through prototyping? Then share them with each other? COSLA could both pursue Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation support and pool a percentage of LSTA monies for experiments in living literature. Libraries would submit descriptions of their experiments through state libraries—something risky the library wants to test first that shows new ways to curate collections or design compelling activities. Libraries should match grant awards to indicate they are serious. Descriptions should include what the library would give up in order to sustainably offer the service or activity beyond the grant.
Library as laboratory Participants discussed new roles for public libraries, as collections increasingly become digital and popular materials become plentiful and cheap in the marketplace. At the heart of public libraries is a belief that democracies benefit from having a place that celebrates the open exchange of ideas. How can we find new ways to do this that go beyond collections? Several years ago, the Aarhus Public Libraries in Denmark launched the Transformation Lab, an open, flexible space for experimenting with new modes for public libraries. As a learning project, they ran five different labs to see what would happen: literature, news, music, exhibition, and The Square (a free speech forum). The Aarhus Public Libraries funded half the effort with help from The Danish National Library Authority and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Schools of Information and Library Science could teach their students how to perform design research or partner with students from design schools: for these classes. Students could then lead service design research for proposed library experiments, help craft a good strategy based on the research, learn a lot in a short time about library environments, and report findings or discoveries from the actual experiments. Library staff can also begin to understand how to do this research for themselves. They can serve as digital diarists to publish written and visual reporting about their project on a central “Libratory” site for all to read. They owe the larger community their experience and insight.
New skills for librarians Four broad roles for library staff emerged from the Transformation Lab experiments in Aarhus, Denmark: disseminator, host, facilitator, and advisor. These are not entirely foreign to librarians but show the need to look for staff who have non-traditional talents and enjoy Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 48
Living Literature: discover new roles (cont.)
creating opportunities for people to gather and participate in a life of the mind. People with these talents approach a blank space as a curator or designer might: what do we have to work with? Materials? People? Space? Sound? Light? How shall we create a compelling stage and draw life to this space, so something interesting can happen that people will associate with public libraries? Several participants expressed the need to have different skills on staff as public libraries begin to bring more electronic materials into collections and have more space to deliver new services or ways to experience the power of words and story. COSLA could craft professional development support in public libraries around exposure to curatorial thinking, event planning, public speaking, design, theater arts, and more.
•
If we’re just book people, then doing books better is extremely well-taken. But what does it mean? Shaping demand, shaping taste? Is it helping people find books? Get books? Read them? Understand them? Write them? It’s all of those.
•
They’re concerned. Am I going to get a job? Being able to see that they have some small part in creating a future where there is a professional role would be good. What does this all mean for me as a future professional?
•
I know fellow librarians who are good at programming: that helps, too. Publishing experience helps me. Have some other experience when you become a librarian.
•
Are librarians curators and producers (as publishers are) or guides to finding and refinding (as a search tool is)? Librarians can be both.
Thoughts from the participants •
Whatever you decide to do now is something you do to learn about what works in a volatile time. That’s freeing really. You can experiment with different kinds of situations and figure out where your best leverage will be.
•
Failing is OK. It’s going to be a different world in a very short time.
•
What are libraries for? The kind of reductions we’ve seen in public libraries: branches closing, reducing hours. This question comes up all the time. Has for generations. More immediate and more profound over the last few years.
•
We as a profession haven’t gotten to the line in the sand stage. Deep down inside, we feel the world is better with us than without us. We are willing to change to make sure we stick around.
•
[Independent booksellers] offer a community of like-minded people a shared space. If those are the qualities others appreciated and relied on as well, offer it in a different way.
•
I’m suggesting that librarians appreciate that a library patron wants to see but also be seen. A consequence to my involvement gets my return visit.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 49
Scenario Seven: library as laboratory
I feel lost and miss her so much.
Dear Diary...
Dear Diary...
There is a saying “paper is more patient than man”
If the misery of our poor be caused not by the law of nature but by our institutions, great is our sin
The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank 1942
What’s this? A diary?
Don’t you love rhubarb? I do.
Write in the diary
Can’t find a job. I'm scared.
The Voyage of the Beagle by Charles Darwin
People can see what you write?
It’s an idea we got from another library. You write a private thought on the digital diary wall. Just use the touchscreen over there.
1845
I like my dog more than my wife.
Write in the diary
Not right away. Later. On the walls at the side. The entries are random and anonymous.
Embrace new roles
Create flexible spaces
eBooks may free public libraries to try new roles and leave others behind. If a viable Netflix model arises for reading popular eBooks and a larger portion of library collections are digital, libraries need to celebrate a life of the mind in more visible and engaging ways in their buildings. There will be more space and less need to focus on collecting popular materials.
The Aarhus Public Libraries in Denmark created an open space for experimentation in their main library. This taught them how to both engage people with library materials (literature, news, music) and encourage them to look at public libraries differently (exhibitions and a free speech forum).
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 50
Scenario Seven: library as laboratory (cont.)
What will the library do with all of this?
Next week:
They’re fascinating reading! We might make a book from them when we take this exhibit down. And we're sharing what we’ve learned with other libraries, too.
Party like it's 1899
Dear Diary... If you tremble indignation at every injustice, then you are a comrade of mine.
People always lie. Maybe I am, too.
The Bolivian Diary of Ernesto “Che” Guevara 1967 Oh! I guess I’ll have a look.
Write in the diary
I’ve been humming La Traviata all day.
You can read portions of some famous diaries up there, too. Enjoy!
Give people easy ways to share or create an experience
Share your experiments with other libraries
There is something powerful in seeing your thoughts or creativity expressed alongside others, feeling free to change a public space, or knowing that you are entering a “stage” carefully prepared for you to play a part. It demonstrates that cultural expression is only alive when people see or hear it.
COSLA and partners like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation can help support a distributed model for experimentation through matching grants that give public libraries some latitude to prototype new ideas. They can also create an online channel for public libraries to share lessons learned with each other.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 51
Scenario Seven: library as laboratory (cont.)
Dear Diary...
the diary
The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt The Journals of Sylvia Plath
Liking someone is better than loving them.
Anne Frank, Charles Darwin, Che Guevara, Sylvia Plath, hmm...
1953
Write in the diary
I sing in my car but never anywhere else.
I始ve had cancer. But I始m OK, and now I try more things.
Mine your gold
Create a consequence to visiting the public library
Public libraries are a world of riches. Librarians will need new skills to give these treasures new form. This is a more curatorial role: finding threads of meaning among the collection and weaving them into something special for people to experience and enjoy.
People want to see but they also want to be seen. Creating opportunities for this in open, flexible spaces helps assure that patrons come back to try your next experiment in celebrating a life of the mind. And they leave traces behind that can be used to show something interesting about a community.
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 52
We encourage you to freely circulate the ideas in this report. Digital copies are available from the COSLA Web site: www.cosla.org For further information, you can also contact Jim Scheppke, director of the Oregon State Library: jim.b.scheppke@state.or.us
Client: COSLA | Project: eBook Feasibility Study Final Report
Version 1.0 | June 30, 2010
Page 53