The Beginning of What Could Be the End: Harper Collins & OverDrive - The E-Book Debacle

The end of the beginning...the beginning of the end...that's how the recent e-book debacle surrounding Harper Collins and OverDrive makes me feel. In recent years, libraries have been making the necessary push to remain on the forefront of technology, which includes different media and file types for resources. Now, the outrageous decision made by Harper Collins to mandate bogus e-book terms has the potential to move libraries 5 steps back...wondering how they will be able to afford the convenience of new technology formats for patrons. [more explanation to come]

Enter year 2011, and the overwhelming amount of e-readers that were purchased for Christmas... myself being one of the people entering the digital book age! My husband purchased a Nook for me. I had been toying with the idea for a really long time, but I always thought I would stay true to the print world moreso than with an e-book; but I have come to absolutely love (LOVE) my Nook! I have been reading through the Millenium Series , and have enjoyed checking out e-books through my local library using their OverDrive vendor service.

Imagine my horror when I open my laptop on Friday afternoon to see a stream of twitter posts surrounding an e-book fiasco (hashtag #hcod)! The gist of the hubbub is this:

Harper Collins is wanting to mandate all NEWLY PURCHASED e-books be put on a 26 person/check out/seat limit. TWENTY SIX! This would mean that libraries would be forced to re-purchase that title after 26 uses. With Overdrive being the vendor in this picture, it seems they are being forced to comply and recently sent out an e-mail to all customers of their subscriptions service stating the new change.

So far, the debacle seems to be hitting closer to the public library sector...but I can't help but wonder what other publishers will see this as an opportunity to jump on the bandwagon too...and what other vendors?!

I have a few observations of my own (not anything new really) from reading the twitter stream:

1. What happens if there are technical issues and a Librarian has to download the e-book for troubleshooting purposes. This uses a checkout of the coveted 26 that are allowed.

2. How does this affect my current Library with all of the E-books we are providing? Currently we own 10,000 e-books...and that number continues to increase! The campus library settings remain VERY small (more like a media center), so we have utilized the digital age to be able to provide resources online rather than tangible print items. What does this mean for us??

With the last question hanging heavy on my thoughts all weekend, I decided to send out an e-mail to our team of Librarians to generate some discussion. A few responses so far include:

**This could be compared to a situation where a print copy of a book sees wear and tear and must be replaced after time. --My thoughts

**Reading a bit further into the situation, Harper Collins is also mandating that libraries reveal patron information that surround geographical location in order to make double sure that people outside of the coverage area don't have access to the materials. This could potentially put a damper on our international pursuits where I work --A.C.

**Another main issue surrounding this debate is that "libraries will not "own" the digital materials in the same way they own physical items." Also, "from a collection development and cataloging stand point, how annoying would it be to catalog an ebook, have to monitor its use, and then be sure to either re-purchase or delete the bib record after 26 uses? As though librarians don't have enough to do already.... And what about the student who uses a book once, and then needs to refer to it again later in the quarter? Hopefully that title isn't a popular one, cause if it is, it might have been erased by the publisher!" --E.M.

NEW Responses...
**My e-mail was read during intermission of Faust, "just after Faust had signed his soul away to the devil after seeing the visage of lovely Marguerite!" ..."Right now we pay much more to own a copy in perpetuity, [and in the end,] you [may] pay extra for unlimited seats and unlimited use. Few of our copies will ever hit 26 checkouts and therefore we pay too much just in case a title is popular. I'd rather pay more once a copy does become a hit." ... "Our loaning models differ considerably from the public libraries." --M.S.

I will be adding more to this post as the conversation grows between my colleagues.
Finally, if you would like to read more about this very important issue and make your own conclusions, feel free to peruse the following posts:
Library Journal
Bobbi Newman: Librarian By Day
David Lee King
A Very Interesting Solution That Could Possibly Work