eBook : Computer Hardware Buyers’ Glossary

Libraries

Ebooks are a boon for libraries. They don’t wear out. They can’t get lost. Users can take them out without visiting the library. They can be lent to more than one person at a time. Random House reacted by jacking the prices up to $90 for a ebook to libraries. Penguin refused to sell them to libraries. Some publishers licence the books for N borrowings. I think publishers and libraries will eventually settle on a licencing scheme where libraries have all the world’s ebooks on tap via the Internet, and pay a small royalty each time they lend them. Instead of libraries, we may find websites that help you find something suitable to read, and takes a small cut of the royalty you pay to read it, acting like a specialised library. The actual book might always be downloaded from the publisher or his agent. Libraries and bookstores get a affiliate referral fee.