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Libraries vs. Publishers: The Battle Over E-Books

By IGI Global on Mar 27, 2013
Libraries vs. Publishers: The Battle Over E-BooksProbably the most infamous battle for e-content was the 2001 lawsuit against the music sharing service Napster. Napster allowed users to download songs for free, but two years into their thriving business, the music industry spearheaded a copyright infringement suit to shut them down. This issue may seem a far cry from the publishing business. But the advent of e-books and their increasing popularity has created friction between libraries and publishers as well.

Modern libraries wish to procure e-books to facilitate the customer’s needs; allowing them the convenience of portable and instant access versus physically picking up and returning books. The question that frightens publishers is this: Do libraries increase books sales or monopolize them? For publishers, borrowing an e-book from a library is too easy. Why would consumers buy when they can simply log onto their library’s website and access the content for free? Not only is the publishing company losing customers, authors lose royalties as well. In defense, some larger publishing companies are limiting library access to their content.

According to the New York Times’ article Publishers vs. Libraries: An E-Book Tug of War: “Major publishers in the United States now block libraries’ access to the e-book form of either all of their titles or their most recently published ones.”

The chapter “E-Book Technology in Libraries” in the Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology (Second Edition), evaluates and investigates the issues e-content has created for libraries and publishers. “Instead of joining forces in the digital era, libraries and publishers have been fighting a battle sometimes described by librarians as the fight between good and evil. Frequently at issue is the fact that librarians aim to address community needs on the basis of sharing, borrowing, and recycling- facilities traditionally offered to patrons on a nonpaying basis. Publishers’ transaction models for e-books accommodate the concept of controlled sharing only with considerable difficulty.”

Large publishing companies are victimizing the very principle that libraries were founded on. Open information sharing, free to the public, uninhibited access. According to the Forbes.com article, The Wrong War Over eBooks, “Withholding eBooks from libraries entirely, pricing them higher or limiting lends, all undermine the library’s core mission,” a mission defined by the values of Access, Confidentiality, Democracy, Diversity, Education, and Lifelong Learning (www.ala.org). The Forbes article continues with this solution: “Charging libraries a Cost-per-Circulation or cost per lend fee. This strategy will offer publishers measurability, flexibility, and an equity restricting the monopoly of the library. On the other hand, libraries can attain better access to all material, lower risk, and better financial control of resources."

With the creation of great tools comes a power struggle to control them. But in the fields of publishing and librarianship, our focus needs to remain on the sharing and distribution of knowledge. Maintaining this goal will assist all parties involved in the development of appropriate strategies to promote fairness and non-monopolization of e-content.

The Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology (Second Edition) is a matchless compendium of over 750 authoritative, research-based entries/chapters contributed by nearly 1,200 researchers and experts from 60 countries on a complete range of topics that, together, define the contemporary state of knowledge on technology and its organizational, managerial, behavioral, and social implications. This indispensable reference work is also enhanced with thorough definitions of more than 6,000 technical and managerial terms, as well as an exhaustive reference section that directs researchers, scholars, students, and practitioners to more than 17,500 additional sources for further reading and research. Scheduled to release a Third Edition in January 2014, the Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology will provide additional insights to the series. For more information on these books, visit the Encyclopedia web page.
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