Tuesday, March 06, 2012

#E-books and Libraries

Well, it seems that the e-book is creating anxieties in the publishing world, which is having an impact on libraries.

We associate libraries with physical books but libraries must keep up with changes in publishing. Naturally they are now being compelled to provide books in e-book format as well as in hard copy. Many library patrons now own e-book readers and those patrons want their libraries to loan e-books to them.

Large publishing houses, such as Random House, are imposing significant price increases on titles sold to libraries in e-book format. I really don't know the true reason for the increased charges but I can venture a guess: reduced sales. If libraries order fewer hard copy books but order more e-books, the publishers need to find new avenues to maintain revenues. Hence the increase in prices - that's my guess, anyway.

The long and the short of it is this: how will the price changes affect the ability of libraries to buy books? I guess that we will just have to watch and wait...

Denise

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www.publishacookbook.com
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