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Book Nook provides readers with insights into the world of books. Vick Mickunas takes you into the center of the publishing world with the latest book buzz, book reviews, and exclusive chats with authors..Home > Blogs > Book Nook > Archives > 2011 > November > 28 > Entry
Amazon, eBooks and your local library
The brave new world of eBooks has left your local library “caught in the crossfire.” According to Publishers Weekly:
“When Penguin announced last week that it was disabling library e-book lending on the Kindle and pulling its latest e-book titles from all library lending platforms, libraries and readers took the hit, but to some observers they were collateral damage in a fight between publishers and Amazon about the control of publishers’ titles.
A day after its abrupt announcement, in which the publisher cited vague new “copyright security” concerns, Penguin officials modified their position, agreeing to restore some older titles to its Kindle lending program through the end of the year. Librarians, however, remained sharply critical of the move.
“If Penguin has an issue with Amazon, we ask that they deal with Amazon directly and not hold libraries hostage to a conflict of business models,” read a statement from ALA. “The issue for library patrons is a loss of access to books, period. Once again, readers are the losers.”
Indeed, Penguin’s move suggests that the publishing industry’s long-simmering concern over Amazon’s dominant position and its aggressive new ventures in the e-book market are coming to a boil. A number of publishers, agents, and authors have been uneasy from the beginning over the Kindle/OverDrive library lending program. And though the program launched in September, its popularity has stoked fears that Kindle library lending could cut into e-book sales….”
What a complicated mess. To read the rest of the article click HERE:
Vick Mickunas
p.s. Follow me on Twitter: @BookNookVick
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By H. Lee
November 28, 2011 2:01 PM | Link to this
This may indicate one of the major problems with “virtual” stuff: if it’s provided electronically by a remote site, it can be obliterated electronically by that site, without the slightest “excuse me.” That can be done legally because when you purchase something like an e-book, you can’t really purchase it; you just rent it, under very specific legal conditions which are written by the owner. Like a landlord, the owner of the book — the publishing house in this case — can evict you any time he wishes, for any reason or none. I love libraries. I don’t see them being able to function much longer in this time of “virtual” print. They’ve already, foolishly, destroyed their hard-copy card catalogs in favor of online catalogs, which leaves them totally at the mercy of the software vendor. The solid-copy card catalogs lasted for 70 years and more. How much is 10- or 12-year-old software worth?