Prompt-MUGG-Week 11
From reading the articles, it was readily apparent
to me that the publishing houses are being very shortsighted in their view of
the sell and use of eBooks. You do
yourself an injustice, monetarily, when you base eBook sales on the same
parameters as printed books.
For one, eBooks do not wear out after some 100 lends
from the library. The Forbes’ article
states, “There is one number that libraries can easily calculate which
publishers will understand: the cost-per-circulation. This number is simple to calculate. It is the number of lends and divided by the
cost of the books lent. This number is
somewhere in the 50 cent to $1.00 range according to both publishers and
libraries. It can be calculated
separately by publisher and even split between bestsellers and older titles.” Agreeing
on this one calculation, an eBook needs should be thought of in 50 year terms
at least and over that 50-year term, every time the book is loaned out, then
cost should be attached as pennies in charges to reach an equitable amount for
all. Greed seemed to be at play at this
point in time as opposed to making the works available to a wide range of
audience over an extended period of time.
For eBooks to be considered as software is just as
ludicrous as considering corporations as having human rights.
I grew up with a phone that was a party line with
7-9 people on it. Our home ring was two
longs and one short and we were thrilled to watch our brand new black and white
TV. The generation that is reading and
utilizing library services today are growing up having their only contact with a
cardboard and paper book being the ones they are using in school or in the
physical library. Nowadays it is common
to see a toddler with some version of a cell phone or a laptop as opposed to a
plastic book or an etch-a-sketch.
For this generation it is a normal thing for them to
access what they want to read, be that information or enjoyment, via their
electronic device. Moore’s law predicted
in 1975 that more and more circuits could be put on a smaller and smaller chip,
and this has occurred to the point of RFID’s in our clothing and food. The children of today take this all as a
given, an expected in their day-to-day activities. For libraries not to integrate this fact of
our lives now would be a grave error.
REFERENCE:
I used to work in my library's Technology Center (a computer lab for adults). We offered several classes on learning computer basics and software. The majority of those taking the classes were older individuals that did not grow up with the technology we have today. All of them were very eager to learn new skills and interact with technology as today's generation does.
ReplyDeleteI believe that eBooks can't be ignored, but I also believe that there will always be a need for print books. I recently read an article (and of course I can't find it right now), that spoke of the surge in YA literature purchases. The numbers weren't matching up--the younger generation does not tend to read on devices. It was discovered that adults were the one's purchasing YA lit. as eBooks. So, young adults are more likely to read print books. Contrary to what one would believe.