Episode 1: The Battle for Library E-Book Ownership
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Show Notes
The battle over e-book ownership isn't new, but it's getting worse. Publishers control the rights, vendors control the licenses, and libraries are caught in the middle paying inflated prices for digital content they'll never own.
Episode Overview
- How e-book licensing actually works : Publishers and vendors set the terms. Libraries don't own anything.
- The price gouging problem : E-books cost libraries 2-3x more than they cost consumers. Why.
- What's being done about it : Open access, institutional repositories, and the real solutions.
Referenced Resources
Key Points
- E-book licensing is a vendor lock-in problem disguised as a licensing agreement
- Publishers set prices specifically to exclude public libraries from access
- Open access and institutional repositories are the only long-term solutions
Sam Chada: The battle for library e-book ownership isn't about new technology. It's about control. Publishers and vendors made a choice to lock libraries out of ownership, and they're making money off that choice every single day.
Sam Chada: When you buy a physical book for a library, you own it. You can keep it forever. You can replace it if it gets damaged. You can lend it as many times as you want. The author and publisher got paid once.
Sam Chada: E-books don't work that way. Libraries don't buy e-books. We license them. And the licenses are written specifically to extract as much money as possible from institutions that can't afford to buy another way.
Sam Chada: A Penguin Random House e-book that costs $15 for a consumer costs libraries $50-60. For a license that expires. For access that goes away if the vendor goes out of business.
Sam Chada: This isn't an accident. Publishers set these prices on purpose. They decided libraries are a different market from retail consumers, and they're charging accordingly.
Sam Chada: What actually works: Open access. Institutional repositories. Building publishing infrastructure that isn't controlled by three publishing conglomerates.
Sam Chada: Libraries know what we need. Publishers know what they want. The question is who gets to decide what's in the middle. Right now, it's not us.