More on Ebooks and Libraries
Jan. 24th, 2012 05:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithHere's another article about how libraries and publishers are failing to meet reader needs, particularly in regards to ebooks.
Basically, if you aren't meeting people's needs, they will find somebody else who will. If your economic model isn't meeting people's needs, they'll replace it with one that will. If your system isn't managing the main flow of activity, it's a failure, and the real system is wherever that main activity is. What we're seeing now in the shakeup of the publishing/literature industry -- and to some extent, media in general -- is the process of consumers declaring that the current options don't meet their needs and they're exploring other options, kthxbai.
You aren't going to make money by trying to trap people where they don't want to be and aren't getting their needs met. You need to find a way to meet their needs and make a reasonable profit in the process; you need to go where the interest and activity are. You also need to treat people decently, and expect them to behave decently. If you mistreat them, they will not hesitate to mistreat you in return and you will have no moral high ground to complain about it.
I'm keeping my eye out for a subscription-based e-library where you can read whatever you want that's in the stacks without the stupid restrictions that the libraries, publishers, and software are currently promoting.
Basically, if you aren't meeting people's needs, they will find somebody else who will. If your economic model isn't meeting people's needs, they'll replace it with one that will. If your system isn't managing the main flow of activity, it's a failure, and the real system is wherever that main activity is. What we're seeing now in the shakeup of the publishing/literature industry -- and to some extent, media in general -- is the process of consumers declaring that the current options don't meet their needs and they're exploring other options, kthxbai.
You aren't going to make money by trying to trap people where they don't want to be and aren't getting their needs met. You need to find a way to meet their needs and make a reasonable profit in the process; you need to go where the interest and activity are. You also need to treat people decently, and expect them to behave decently. If you mistreat them, they will not hesitate to mistreat you in return and you will have no moral high ground to complain about it.
I'm keeping my eye out for a subscription-based e-library where you can read whatever you want that's in the stacks without the stupid restrictions that the libraries, publishers, and software are currently promoting.
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I borrow lots of books from my two library systems, and I'm quite pleased with it
Date: 2012-01-25 03:36 pm (UTC)I generally have at least 8-10 ebooks checked out from the two systems at at a time. Yes, it's true that the selection of brand new books isn't huge, but I'm surprised at what pops up.
I've been happily working my way through several mystery book series that I never read all of in paper format. It's a lot easier to read them as ebooks, and believe me, I'd never be able to afford to buy all of them. I don't mind requesting them or putting them in my Wish List. Even though I read fast, I can't read all of Anne Perry's William Monk series in a three week period, largely because I wouldn't want to. It'd drive me nuts.
Now, admittedly, St. Louis County Library has lots of money, lots of tech, and gets the latest books fast. The Consortium Libraries don't get the same books, which is fine with me. If SLCL doesn't have what I want, I look at the Consortium. If they don't have it, I get it as a paper book.
Every couple of weeks, it seems, there's a new publisher available. Are you using your own library to check out ebooks, Elizabeth? Have you tried the system?