Libraries are annoyed with this system, but some in the publishing world do not like it,either. “So, some of the top titles have long, long wait lists.” “That’s on average, and includes the majority of titles that have zero reserves,” he said. On average, the wait time in McNulty’s network for a digital book is just under two months. A patron requests it January, and she’ll get it in May. For his network’s most popular book, Delia Owens’ "Where The Crawdads Sing," McNulty said the wait is 19 weeks. ![]() The result of these rules, he said, is that library wait lists for e-books and audiobooks can be long. “That was one of the most disappointing things, from several years ago, that publishers were doing,” he said. “All of a sudden, the title vaporizes,” said Philip McNulty, executive director of the Minuteman Library Network, which serves more than 40 library systems, including Framingham, Cambridge and Newton. After the limit is reached - for example, after 26 or 52 lends or after two years has elapsed - a library must buy the license again at full price. The limit varies based on the particular publishing house, but the principle is the same. Publishers generally limit how long libraries can use an e-book or audiobook license. That time-limited access is the second thing frustrating libraries. The ALA gives the example of "The Codebreakers" by David Kahn, for which a consumer can buy the e-book version for $59.99 but a library must pay $239.99 for time-limited access. Green, director of the Goodnow Library in Sudbury and president of the Massachusetts Library Association. “We pay up to five times the cost that consumer would pay for this material,” said Esmé E. There are two key components of the status quo: First, unlike print books, which libraries often get at a steep discount, libraries pay more for digital content than the general public. In the years since 2014, an equilibrium emerged between libraries and publishers that Albanese called “a plateau of mediocrity” because “nobody was really happy” with the situation. “Back in the early part of the decade - 2010, 2011 - publishers refused to sell e-books to libraries at all,” said Andrew Albanese of Publisher's Weekly, who has been covering e-books and audiobooks since before they became widely popular. It was only in 2014 that libraries started offering their patrons access to a wide range of digital books that came from all of the so-called "big five" publishers. Librarians are also hopeful that relief will come from a Congressional antitrust subcommittee investigating competition in digital markets. In addition to petitions and boycotts, the Massachusetts Library Association said they have reached out the state’s attorney general, hoping that her office will bring legal action against publishers. They say the practices are not just unfair and unethical, but they might be illegal. Now, libraries in Massachusetts and nationwide are vowing to fight back. Some publishers are worried that the ease of borrowing a digital book from a library is hurting sales and have decided to limit how and when libraries can access digital books. Voila!Īccording to the American Library Association (ALA), about one fifth of the books sold in the U.S. ![]() Now, if you want an e-book or an audiobook, you can sit on your couch at home, open your library's app, and download it. ![]() In the old days, when you wanted to borrow a book, you trudged down to your local library and checked it out.
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