The Evil Librarian in an E-Universe

By Bob Hughes - Nov 23 , 2011

Libraries are a problem for publishers.

They loan books.

Of course, they buy books, and for e-books, they buy the rights to distribute e-books a certain number of times.

Yet publishers still struggle to find the right economic model to work with libraries.

This is not an issue that can be brushed away, or dealt with harshly, as Penguin has done by refusing to work with publishers.

We’re well into the e-book era, yet traditional publishers are still treating e-books with fear. E-books cost less than paper-and-cardboard books (as well they should, though they’re still too pricey), and publishers haven’t yet arrived at an economic model to support the sale of e-books, given their overhead, their payment of sometimes-astronomical advances and the marketing of books (when they do market them).

Back in the 1950s, when television was on the rise, movie studios were terrified as they saw their hold on filmed entertainment fall away. They hadn’t anticipated the change in viewing habits. Publishers have been coping with something similar in recent years, changing reading habits, but they still face the challenge of monetizing content in an efficient way.

While for most authors, signing with a prestigious traditional publisher such as Knopf is the mark of having arrived, for the vast majority of readers the publishing imprint is irrelevant. It’s the content that counts. Publishing is still a rather insular world, and that insularity, which leads to biding wars, suddenly “hot” authors, etc., is understandable. Every industry is like that.

But buzz is building differently now, and as reading habits, like viewing habits, have changed dramatically, so too must publishing (and literary agencies are changing too in this regard). Publishers are aware of this, of course. But to fight with libraries because libraries are doing what libraries do – pay publishers to loan copies of their books – is shortsighted.

Many people buy Nooks and other e-readers because they can download books from their local library. And e-books that are loaned out are often loaned out for two weeks, just as with “normal” books – if the book is not renewed electronically on the library website, then the book disappears from the e-reader. Publishers fear that too many people might opt to read free books rather than pay for e-books (the rise of e-books has been much faster than any publisher has anticipated). But readers also buy books. Most people who have gotten into the habit of reading books on their tablets or e-readers often buy more e-books than they do physical books – they’re impulse buys.

But fear rules the marketplace now. Blaming libraries isn’t going to make that fear go away. It’s only going to create further antagonism between content providers and the consumer. Publishers are faced with the problem of making money not only in a recessionary economy (when you’d think that books would be the best entertainment value) but with a new kind of market. But they are also in the middle of deciding how to move forward – traditional publishing cannot last. Publishers know that. But few have yet figured out how to move forward.