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Alan S. Inouye of the American Library Assocation Office for Information Technology Policy probes the history and present day status of libraries, ebooks and publishers in America.
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Connecticut State Library Ebook SymposiumFebruary 28, 2014
Alan S. InouyeAmerican Library Association
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Agenda
• A little bit of history• Where are we today?• Challenges and opportunities• The bigger picture: (E)book lending
and the role of libraries• Question / answer time
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The Way We Were:Late 2011 to Early 2012
• In wake of HarperCollins blowback from spring 2011 – initiation of 26 circulation model
• Simon & Schuster, Macmillan out of library ebook market entirely
• Penguin pulls back from library ebook market
• Random House imposes substantial price increase
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What To Do? • Many possible avenues to pursue; lots of
advice• What are ALA strategic advantages?• What would have value in the longer run?• Need to focus energies• Conclusion: Direct engagement with
publishers– Later, expanded to publishing ecosystem– Always subject to revision
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Two Plus Years
• ALA leadership visits to NYC: – 8 multi-day trips
• Conferences: ALA, PLA, AAP, BEA, DBW• Communications– Publications– Articles, op-eds, “Open Letter to
Publishers,” media and communications toolkit, Authors for Library Ebooks campaign
– Informal
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Publisher Perspectives
• Start: Sales displacement, friction, security
• Large, complex, multinational organizations
• Libraries 101: Library marketing staff v. digital business staff and general managers–Misconceptions– Fears (library and non-library based)
• Supporting many platforms and models
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Publisher Perspectives (2)
• Value of ebook >> print book• The distributor black box• The megaplayers: Amazon, Apple,
and Google• What is the little local public library
just around the corner?
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Library Perspectives
• Start: Unfairness, hostility• Publishers are real people• Publishing 101: Didn’t know much
about publishing, and digital publishing– Exacerbated because of rapidly
evolving marketplace
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Library Perspectives (2)
• Making the business case v. library needs
• More than publishers: authors, distributors, retailers, and readers
• Libraries far from homogeneous too• More than “libraries” – state
libraries, cooperatives, …
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Big Five Current Status
• HarperCollins• Penguin Random House• Hachette Book Group• Macmillan• Simon & Schuster
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Some Issues
• Progress in 2013, but…• Pricing• Business models: Too many yet too
few• Remaining restrictions on availability– Frontlist– Pilots– Consortia
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Some Issues (2)
• Facilitating sales: How far can/should libraries go?
• Library platforms• Intermediary platforms --
transferring• Archiving / preservation• Privacy• And more
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Value Proposition of Library Ebook Lending: For Publishers
• Analog to digital: Fundamentally changes the value proposition
• Libraries represent direct sales; especially helpful for the backlist
• Ebook discovery/exposure via brick and mortar facility– Decline in physical outlets; rise of Amazon;
B&N?– Increasing possibilities of libraries as sales
outlets?• Discovery /exposure: The “growth” area?
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Libraries: Facilitating Ebook Discovery and Exposure
• Analogues from print book world still in play
• Leveraging the digital environment– Library Reads– Illinois Author Project– Orange County (FL) Shake It app– Gimme (a clue), Scottsdale (AZ) library– Digital review copies (Edelweiss, Net
Galley)
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The Evolving Library• Library as publisher– Promotes community engagement &
(digital) literacy
• Reframing: The publishing ecosystem– Implications and possibilities for libraries– And then more than ebooks…
• Brainstorming: The future of libraries–Working with Connecticut resident Roger
Levien
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Think Beyond Replicating the Book Model in the Ebook World
Reader PublisherLibrary/Bookseller
Author(& Agents)
Distributor
Reader
Publisher
Library/Bookseller
Author(& Agents)
Distributor
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Discussion - Questions
Alan S. InouyeALA Office for Information Technology PolicyWashington, D.C., [email protected]
Resources• American Libraries E-Content Blog• American Libraries Supplement on
Digital Content