Libraries Are Unsatisfied With E-Book Pricing Models

The past six months have seen quite a lot of activism around libraries' ability to buy books for readers. The issue at hand: e-book pricing.

Libraries currently pay more than general consumers (i.e. end users) for e-books. Publishers provide a variety of pricing models for their e-book products, but there are flaws with each of them—some are time-limited, some are extremely expensive. Ultimately, it seems, librarians feel that publishers are preventing libraries from creating robust collections of books in this format. And they've begun to speak out.

Canadian library associations have so far been leading the public awareness campaign relating to this issue, but, as of this week, the American Library Association has decided to both develop an advocacy campaign aimed at publishers and to formally create a working group dedicated to "address library concerns with publishers and content providers" in order to both negotiate new pricing models that serve libraries better and "to urge Congress to explore digital content pricing and licensing models to ensure democratic access to information."

This is a big step, and one that underscores the significance of the conflict. Publishers need to make money so that they and the writers they serve can get paid; libraries need to maintain their purchasing power so that community tax dollars are spent efficiently and citizens retain access to information and art.

Publishers have over the past year been revising their library pricing models—Hachette is the most recent example of this, having updated their terms last week—but libraries are not yet satisfied. Hopefully all parties can come to the agreement that libraries, publishers, and writers all add value to our democratic society.