In regards to the HarperCollins
Open
Letter to Librarians article, I disagree with establishing an eBook
checkout limit of 26 circulations per purchase; although, I understand the fear
of publishers that the unlimited borrowing of books will hurt their sales.
Restrictions on eBook checkouts are somewhat inconsistent because emulating the
equivalent price of a printed book is challenging (Cotler, n.d.).
First, our teacher-librarians have indicated eBooks
that are offered with a 26 check-out limitation are relatively the same price
of what other vendors offer with an unlimited single user check-out. This lack
of consistency in pricing stems from the “first-sale doctrine” and procurement
of eBooks. The only way for libraries to obtain eBooks is through the purchase
of licenses (Colter, n.d.). EBook licenses are subject to what or how the
publisher wants to license to the libraries. Publishers maintain control and flexibility
in the pricing structure offered to libraries.
Second, our librarians are purchasing more
nonfiction eBooks to support the type of text found on the STAAR test, and
librarians prefer the simultaneous multiuser books when available for
nonfiction books. Even though they are typically more expensive, for roughly
the cost of two books, our librarians can offer access to the whole school at
once, which makes it usable for class projects/reads should they choose to use
them. To find the big five publishers and library lending terms click
this link. The pdf document confirms that the publishers offer licenses and
various lender terms beginning with 26 checkouts to an unlimited number of
single-user-at-a-time checkouts.
Third, when I asked our librarians how they felt
about eBooks, they mentioned they purchased them because they felt the need to
offer them to our students. In other words, libraries should take advantage of
any opportunities available to place reading materials into the hands of our
students. However, they also felt that purchasing physical books was a better
use of the library funds because students mostly requested the physical books
over eBooks when reading for entertainment. Basically, they felt the pricing of
a printed book along with the longer shelf life compared to many eBooks was a
more efficient way to spend the district’s limited funds (Everton, 2010). Teacher-librarians feel you can get many more
circulations from a book than an eBook with a limit of 26 checkouts. Lanning
and Turner (2010) found this explanation consistent in a recent survey which also
indicated librarians felt printed books were a more popular choice because of
the cost of electronic sources versus their print counterparts.
However, the demand for
eBooks has consistently risen and schools need to make more of them available
to their patrons. One key function of the library is to make books available to
the school community because this has a positive effect on the knowledge and
education of people in the community. Providing eBooks has a greater ability to
reach more people at great distances considering the exponential growth in mobile
devices.
Hopefully legislation
will find an equitable way to provide more eBooks to the schools and community
in a consistent manner.
This article was recently released and is very
interesting about free eBooks being offered to Title 1 schools. I wonder what
implications this will have on the future purchasing of EBooks.
Renee
References
Cotler, A. (n.d.). Libraries in the Digital Age.
Everton, K. (2010). Are Libraries Dying? Ebooks
and the Future of Libraries. The Book of MPub: New Perspectives on
Technology and Publishing, 47.
Lanning, S., & Turner, R. (2010). Trends in
print vs. electronic use in school libraries. The Reference Librarian, 51(3), 212-221.
