ebooks and public libraries presentation - Waikato/BOP Weekend School

Editor's Notes

1. Not only because I only have 30 minutes, but there is just so much stuff happening so fast – my brain would explode trying to distill it all for you and if I managed it without doing that, yours would then explode trying to digest it all from me! I think we can leave brain explosions to rugby players & referees!Very much from a public library, popular lending ebook environment as that reflects my experience – qualify that statement, plenty of coverage of wider issues and what is happening outside of public libraries, but looking at implication of that on public libraries and how they access/supply/provide ebook services to the public Any discussion about ebooks can’t not include discussion on what is happening in the wider publishing ecosystem of which libraries are part – despite what HC or Penguin et al might think! Personal professional observations of stuff that I have come across and that I think needs wider exposure and/or understanding amongst the general librarian population!Ebooks are the very definition of what Clayton Christensen called ‘disruptive innovations’.  The Innovator’s Dilemma (1997), Disrupting Class - 10 Best Innovation and Design Books in 2008” by BusinessWeek Ebooks change the playing field in so many ways that it becomes impossible to outline all of the paths the market could take, or all of the variations that will be played. Just know that the playing field is a lot bigger than the publishing industry thinks, and that they need to be prepared for competitors whose advantages seem wholly unfair. It’s a truism that no new medium kills the one that it eclipses — we still have radio, which pre-dates the internet, television and movies. So it would be foolish to predict the death of books anytime soon. And we haven’t seen the end of creative business models — there is no “all access pass” in book publishing, as is the trend now for magazines and the newspapers which have put up paywalls. Getting an e-book along with your print edition (or, the other way around) could be the best of both worlds, or the worst.http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/06/ebooks-not-there-yet/all/1Nat Torkington – hard to disagree, what’s more who but libraries can fight?
2. May be commonly know as D Rights MPersonally prefer the stronger DRM Definition: protection of copyrighted digital content by means of technologies or systems that restrict its use and distribution. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/DRM Dictionary.com
3. Good intro comment from http://libraryrenewal.org/2011/11/22/this-deal-is-getting-worse-all-the-time/ after Penguin’s initial suspension late last yearI am concerned about what this latest change in our deal with Big Publishing means for the role of DRM in libraries. This year, we have seen two of the Big Six publishers determine that the predominant DRM systems – Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) and Amazon—offer content protection that is insufficient to allow library lending, and force heavy-handed changes on us: Harper Collins added supplemental restrictions, while Penguin has removed content from both systems. These publishers feel that existing DRM and ebook content-protection practices aren’t good enough. These systems (ADE in particular) that drive libraries crazy because they are so restrictive and complicated, aren’t getting the job done. If publishers can’t allow lending with these technologies, I shudder to think what system would make them feel comfortable.July 17th, 2009 – significance of this date in DRM world? deleting copies of the George Orwell novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four from Kindles without explanation, then refunding the purchase price. the idea that we "own" the things we buy is pretty fundamental to... ownership. It's all a bit Orwellian, is it not? Sony loaded covert rootkit installers on 6 million audio CDs, which secretly executed programs that watched for attempts to read the sound files on CDs and terminated them. It also hid the rootkit's existence by causing the computer operating system's kernel to lie about which processes were running, and which files were present on the drive. The short version is “Digital restrictions management always converges on malware.”Who knows what Anti-featuresare?features that users hate the most and arewilling to pay to get them removedGreat example – how many windows users out there?2. price discriminationegWindowsStarterHome BasicHome PremiumProfessionalEnterpriseUltimateSOPAIn fact, the Motion Picture Association of America, a SOPA proponent, circulated a memo citing research that SOPA might work because it uses the same measures as are used in Syria, China, and Uzbekistan. – bastions of freedom of all kinds! It argued that because these measures are effective in those countries, they would work in America, too!PIPA - PROTECT IP Act – Senate equivalent of SOPAFull title Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act of 2011stated goal of giving the US government and copyright holders additional tools to curb access to "rogue websites dedicated to infringing on counterfeit goods", especially those registered outside the U.SCISPA - Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act – SOPA’s evil bigger brother is up nextwould apply to any "theft or misappropriation of private or government information, intellectual property, or personally identifiable information" -- way beyond what might logically constitute a threat against this nation.If you think that is bad, then we have TPP – who doesn’t know what TPP stands for?This is right on our plate now as negotiation rounds are ramping up – can we trust our govt to do the right thing here – you decide.TPP I don’t think we want to live in a world defined by RIAA or Hollywood? US signs WIPO World Intellectual Property Organization - promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world. 185 nations signed upUS then cuts own more restrictive bi-lateral agreements that counter it – now want this on scale covering the whole pacific – that’s before we get to agricultural protectionism & big pharmaThe sum total of all that is that if you think Kim Dotcom is a scary example of the US trampling all over our sovereign right to self-determination, you aint seen nothing yet.Cory Doctorow – lockdown on general purpose computingrelevance to libraries?Purely & simply it Goes to the core principles: open access to information and knowledge, remove barriers between people and information, By buying/subscribing to services that employ these techniques –DRM et. Al, we are acting contrary to our own point of existence and complicit in the continued use of such technology.
4. Yes, didn’t I just say something rather different? I did say that ebooks were disruptive and things are changing fast right? See! Might comeback to that later
5. We well know how the present publishing system works. The evolution from print to digital has basically seen publishers perpetuating their ‘hold’ on rights from traditional print-based technological environment to the present.Contracts include “boilerplate” clauses like this one from 1971 – not being around then I can’t testify as to whether ebooks existed then or not!- granting Harper rights to publish the book in “computer, computer-stored, mechanical or other electronic means now known or hereafter invented.”Pretty much got all eventualities covered!Libraries tied to 3rd parties at present – largely to protect publishers interests and print-model thinking I think the ‘moves’ we have seen in the last year or so give some insight into OD’s piggy-in-the-middle position where they have very little influence over what publishers want to do.Idea of replicating library lending process in digital is absurd anyway – whole point is ease of sharing and distribution of copies isn’t it?-ALA report on publishers desire to retain ‘friction’ in digital library lending to mirror traditional lending – as in reader has to visit the library to borrow the book = friction WTF!-some publishers had the impression that libraries lend to whomever visited their respective websites, thus making collections available virtually worldwide without restriction.Talk about not understanding your market OD’s much-maligned clunkiness is due to the fact that it is supporting DRM at publisher’s insistence!What does that tell us? That as pissed off as we are, publishers are doubly scared about where they will end up in the digital wash-up.some of their ‘moves’ to explain – can only be out of extreme fear and trying to protect what they have in face of overwhelming evidence that their business/business model has no place in the future of the book/reading landscapeDRM/not DRM; scathing and flat out nasty pieces attacking libraries; agency pricing, refusing to sell to libraries, refusing to sell ebooks full stop, ratcheting down accessibility at completely the time they need to be opening up.All speaks to a loss of control to a system they have had almost complete control of since it came about.All this coinciding with libraries moving to assert themselves more strongly – Jane talked about LIANZA’s Advocacy focus, Bill about National year of Reading etc. talk about change of paradigm, cast off conservative shackles that bound us to date. Nat Torkington again summed it up perfectly our first salvo in the battle.
6. People are beginning to notice that big publishers are not really all that interested in authors or readers; they are interested in consolidating control of distribution channels so that the only participants in culture are creators who work for little or nothing and consumers who can only play if they can pay.I think it is critical that we formulate and articulate a Libraries position – whether just within sectors, or even a cross-sector one ideally. Otherwise, we are sitting ducks for the ‘divide and conquer’ approachI like the term reading ecology used by the free range librarian as it includes all stakeholders in the reading ecology: not just publishers and libraries, but authors and readers. This is a key distinction and inclusion to this whole argument Plus, it is based on our bread & butter – connecting readers and books!Recognize this crisis as a reading-ecology problem and a fight for the right to read, not just a public-library problem. We’re all part of the reading ecology.Inform and engage our stakeholdersStudy the structure of our reading ecology That all adds up to our e-value proposition!One part of the value sure, but one that can and has to be leveraged for biggest impact in the ebook space – and now! – but with cross-over benefits I think. If we can make traction in such a high-profile, current topic, the rest could fall into place?
7. Forbes magazineTrusted, integrity, respected, friendly, free & open to all = all add up to reputation – that’s what we have to step up and start swinging with!Readers Advisory by another name, its what we do – right Paul?Our reason for existence has not changed as the new delivery format emerged in the form of the ebook. We are about connecting people to informationThe Greatest Threat to Amazon May Just Be Libraries – imagine linking users through to purchase books they browsed on library site and wanted to buy – then let them donate it back to the library too! - Chris Rechtsteiner blogTwo quotes come from Tools of Change conference address by Barbara Genco of Library Journal. Her keynote, titled Public Library Power Patrons Are Your Best Customers: Lessons from Patron Profiles, argued that publishers need libraries more than libraries need publishers.Using results from a nationwide study of patron profile conducted by Library Journal and Bowker, it was found that library power patrons, those that visited the library at least weekly, are all book purchasers. More than 50 percent of all library users go on to purchase books by an author they were introduced to in the library.Genco's final argument is: " The library channel has money to spend. Libraries are ubiquitous delivery systems. They are a discovery zone for readers and a proven marketing engine. It is a win-win-win for the publishers, libraries and readers." – note again the inclusion of readers in this system=our e-value proposition, put a $ value on this and let the bargaining begin
8. Bobbi Newman – Librarian by Day9 Reasons Publishers Should Stop Acting Like Libraries Are The EnemyWe let people read your books.We introduce people to your booksWe celebrate books and authors everyday, all year long.We archive older booksWe do publicityWe WANT to buy your books.We love books too.Who else is going to pay for databases and journals?Library users are your best customers.Anyone disagree?So, the eReading ecology is built on our traditional strengths, or bread and butter of readers advisoryWhat’s more the impact and ability is magnified in the digital spaceWhen coupled with our reputation and standing as readers advocates we have a very strong position – not so much to fear by the ebook ‘revolution’ after all!
9. How eBook Catalogs at Public Libraries Drive Publishers’ Book Sales and Profits” - OverDriveThought Leadership White Paper Visitor numbers – For some indication of scaleCompare that to 78.6 million attendees at Major League Baseball games in the same year, or 13.5 million attendees at Premier League soccer games. For those of you who don’t know, Baseball is BIG! & football in UK is huge!Libraries can act as on-demand retail sales outletOverDrive research shows that 43 percent of visitors leave library sites immediately after viewing titles – to buy the books? But how to find out how many By way of conclusion, the paper finishes with quote
10. If you think the idea of Microsoft as "an evil empire" held some sway and helped build a strong pro-Apple & open-source environment, imagine how strong the bias against the companies that "killed libraries" would be.Yes, I’m sure but that would be too little too late! Research works act – people power decisionGeorgia Tech copyrightHarvard & Journal prices Step and start swinging and put our case forward – speak to heard and negotiate
11. ImpartialNot favour one supplier, product, publisher etc. over the otherDoesn’t mean we don’t speak our mind  InformativeTell the public what publishers are doing to libraries –by extension to them! Not picking on anyone, just communicating to our users the situations we have to operate in– to You Can Act! Slide 15 & back Champion ‘readers rights’The eBook User’s Bill of Rights The eBook User’s Bill of Rights is a statement of the basic freedoms that should be granted to all eBook users. – back to that alignment with library principles we touched on in DRM http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/2011/02/ebookrights.html Every eBook user should have the following rights:the right to use eBooks under guidelines that favor access over proprietary limitationsthe right to access eBooks on any technological platform, including the hardware and software the user choosesthe right to annotate, quote passages, print, and share eBook content within the spirit of fair use and copyrightthe right of the first-sale doctrine extended to digital content, allowing the eBook owner the right to retain, archive, share, and re-sell purchased eBooks Similar message, video Why can't Karl get ebooks from the library? & petitionPublishers let readers choose what they want to read in the format they wantSell books in all formats to librariesWe (readers) will still buy them ourselves too like we always haveReading is my(readers) business, reading is our (libraries) business, reading is everybody’s business Support open standardsepub Device agnostic Both points covered in the above I think.Same as tradition of offering widest range of formatsHard cover, paperback, Large Print, Audio – to serve the whole public Devices especially, still not known where this will end up, so have to support open & standardised system – backing one device or supplier over another, or the wrong horse is asking for trouble! 
12. The eBook User’s Bill of Rights is a statement of the basic freedoms that should be granted to all eBook users. – back to that alignment with library principles we touched on in DRM
13. Over 50 of the 67 public libraries in NZ have ebooks nowNZ potentialBehind rest of world but can build on what they have learned – they have played guinea pig for us!Breaking news - OverDrive progress!At ALA in Anaheim, June 22-25, 2012, OverDrive will demonstrate our next generation digital library platform for lending eBooks, audiobooks, music and video. Based on your feedback, we’re continually working to streamline the user experience and reduce staff time to support your growing digital collections. Come to Booth #1362 to see how patrons and readers both inside and outside the library will be able to instantly read eBooks without installing any software, app or DRM activation!Opportunity to capitalise on our lack of size and geographical distance to change the rules and level our playing fieldPublisher olive branches and overtures – ALA & NZ post- Publishers Assn Conference in MarchStar alignmentBetter Local GovernmentShared ServicesStrategic FrameworkLIANZA ‘Advocacy’National Library direct lines to power from within DIALimited window of opportunityFrankfurt Book Fair - Guest of Honour 2012 New ZealandNational year of readingStars are aligning – no better opportunity of a perfect storm of circumstances to make our move and make it count
14. 151 views of Hikuwai presentation – woohoo! First foray into slidesharing, went positively viral!