For all their good qualities, and there are almost two, publishers sometimes have really bad traits as well, and one of the worst is a hatred of public libraries. Last week, HarperCollins revealed the extent of this hate when it announced a new ebook lending policy: after 26 check-outs, the ebook’s license expires, and the library has to buy the license again. For a popular title that’s repeatedly checked out for the standard two-week period and that has a waiting list of patrons, that’s about one year of value for the library. Then it has to re-buy the book.
The blog MobyLives points out that at least HarperCollins still permits ebook lending, whereas Macmillan and Simon & Schuster refuse to let libraries lend their titles at all. But in some ways I find HarperCollins’ policy more damaging, in that it’s designed to sap more money from library cupboards, which are already dangerously bare. Of all institutions for a publisher to go after in search of profit, the library has got to be one of the worst.
MediaBistro writes that there’s now a blog up called Boycott HarperCollins, where you can check whether the publisher is still enforcing the self-destruct policy, and read a sample letter you can copy if you want to ask HarperCollins to rethink its position.
But whether you boycott or not — and let’s face it, a boycott is unlikely to do much harm; one way publishers actually benefit from lousy brand recognition is we never check which publisher is behind which book — there’s another way you can fight back on behalf of your local library. Don’t check out Harper Collins titles if you can find pirated versions of them online. You can download the cracked title, read it, and then delete it in a recreation of your very own library experience, and thus leave your beleaguered library’s self-destructing version available for a future patron.
(I should note that you can also donate actual money to your local library, of course. My suggestion above is directly related to the HarperCollins issue.)
(Photo: ricardo266)
By Steve Stowers February 28, 2011 - 8:45 PM
By way of comparison, does anybody know, on average, how many check-outs a typical (print) library book lasts before it has to be replaced due to loss, damage, or wear and tear?
By Chris Walters March 3, 2011 - 1:52 PM
@Steve Stowers, I didn’t know the answer, but some librarians have posted a video where they compare print copy lifespans to the new HarperCollins ebook lifespan:
http://booksprung.com/do-printed-library-books-really-fall-apart-after-26-uses-no-they-dont