Kate Davenport asked Lois McMaster Bujold:

I just read this in my local paper and I wondered what your thoughts were: "Opinion: Publishers are blocking your access to e-books at local libraries?" https://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/2019/10/opinion-publishers-are-blocking-your-access-to-e-books-at-local-libraries.html

Lois McMaster Bujold This is an interesting problem that is part of the technological changes of our times. In the old paper-only world, book sales to libraries were self-limiting -- after a certain amount of use, books wore out, and needed to be replaced or discarded. They were not available in unlimited quantities free forever to compete with actual book sales, upon which not only publishers but authors live.

Attempts to fit ebooks into this old economic model have been awkward. One mode is to limit the number of checkouts per purchase to something approximating the average life of a paper book. Another, mentioned in the article, is to up the price to the libraries to partially compensate. One I would actually favor, which I understand is used in some other countries, is to charge the library some small sum per checkout. Overhauling the multitude of scattered and independent library systems to e-report same to the multitude of publishing entities is obviously do-able, but difficult; some central money clearing-house might need to be devised (and paid for, siphoning off yet more between reader/purchaser and author, sigh.) Amazon manages somehow, but they have a better budget and are under a single roof.

I am, increasingly, an ebook user from my local library, as my eyes don't play well with print on paper anymore. (My tablet turns every ebook into an instant large-print book.) So I find myself on both sides of the debate, wanting more to be available to me as a reader, and wanting to actually be, y'know, paid for my work as a writer. The current system, or rather, mess of competing systems, isn't really satisfactory for anyone.

Ta, L.

flag