SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion
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Libraries, Ebooks and Publisher Restrictions
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Regina
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Mar 23, 2011 06:43PM
Chicago is the same for Illionois residents -- but they require that silly visit into branch office! Which is hard to do if you don't live in the area. But Chicago has a good selection (in my opinion).
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Regina wrote: "Chicago is the same for Illionois residents -- but they require that silly visit into branch office! Which is hard to do if you don't live in the area. But Chicago has a good selection (in my opi..."I was going to say the same thing after Vivian's post. For the Chicago library, you have to have a library card for your local public library. And you have to go downtown in person. Ugh. I'd rather pay $35 for the Philly library. ;)
Yeah I work 4 blocks from a branch so it is easy for me. But they set it up in a way that makes it difficult. For US residents the Phili Free is only $15. Or it was in December when I signed up. I find that Chicago, Phili, and my suburban overdrive system all have different books to a certain extent.
Sandra pointed out to me that the Phili Free Library fee is $0 for active duty military. :D
That is great! As it should be! There is an overdrive app for smartphones and iPads. It allows you to check out and download on your device without using the computer. The downside is that it only can do epubs.
My theory about the increase of cost of ebooks is that the publishing house have and are afraid they will have books leftover and are afraid they can't sell them as so many are turning to ereaders.So, raise the price of an ereader book and the individual will buy the pb or hb instead. I have read lots of posts where people are going "I'm not paying that price for an ebook, I will just buy it pb".
So, now there will be an increase in pb and hb sales.
I haven't been to MR for a few days so I haven't heard the latest on the library. I do know that many feel, as I do, that the DRM is totally wrong.I am not for piracy, the stealing of books to sale or even give to others, but when I buy a book, it is mine.
If I buy a pb or hb, read it and then give it to my daughter and then she gives it to her friend, that is allowed. The publishers aren't happy, they would rather each person buy the book but that isn't going to happen in a lot of cases, my daughter can't afford to buy books.
With an ebook, if I buy it, strip the DRM, then give a copy to my daughter and another one for her to give to a friend, that is stealing, plain and simple. Earlier I had only one book to pass around. By stripping the DRM, it has now become possible for me to make a copy and give/sale it to as many as I want to, whether it is two or two hundred. That is wrong, I should have only the one book.
Right now, if I do as the publishers want, I will download the book and if my reader dies and I get a new one, I have to rebuy the book from them.
Well, if I bought a book (pb) and moved to another house I would take that book with me, why can't I take the ebook I paid for with me, to another reader?
So, if I strip it and save it to my computer and two years down the road my reader dies and I get another one, I can then redownload the book onto my new reader. That should be allowed. And that is where I see stripping DRM as right and I have no problem in doing so. It is to have a backup of my book, for my own personal use.
Publishing companies are running scared and instead of learning how to live and adapt to the changes in the world they are wanting to try to stick their finger in the hole of the dam. It won't work, after a while that hole is going to bust wide open and they will drown if they don't change with the world.
Well said ^^^It's like buying a CD. You can play it in any player in your house. You can take it to a friend's house and play it. You can give it away when you are done.
Absolutely agree, Jlyates. I've loaned tons of pb/hc books, should be able to do that same w/my eBooks. I've also donated 100s of books to libraries. If I wanted to loan/donate my eBooks, I should be able to do that as well, IMO.
Absolutely agree with you all! If an ebook has DRM I tend to buy it in pb or not at all. Just can't be bothered with the hassle. And I hate Adobe Digital Editions wih passion.
To Adobe Digital Editions credit, their customer service department by email was great. The brainy Yogesh was able to help me get back all my DRM files when I lost them on Christmas day. But I hate those f&^*(%$ DRM files.
Sandra: "And I hate Adobe Digital Editions wih passion."AH: "But I hate those f&^*(%$ DRM files."
Ditto!
And I agree with Jlyates too. I'm seriously considering DRM stripping so I can read my Kobo books on my Kindle. I so don't want to fork out more money on another ereader just so I can read 'em on e-ink.
Amy or "Ames" wrote: "Sandra: "And I hate Adobe Digital Editions wih passion."AH: "But I hate those f&^*(%$ DRM files."
Ditto!
And I agree with Jlyates too. I'm seriously considering DRM stripping so I can read my K..."
See that is the other problem - the myriad of book formats available out there. Makes the transferring of books more difficult.
Calibre has a plug-in for removing drm but I'm not sure if it's for all formats. And it is legal for private use from what I understand.
Is that in a new release of Calibre? I must take a look at it. I don't see why it would be a problem if it is for personal use.
Vivian wrote: "Calibre has a plug-in for removing drm but I'm not sure if it's for all formats. And it is legal for private use from what I understand."OMG there's a plugin? I'm so looking for that now!
I looked and couldn't find it - I did find that they are starting a website of DRM free books.
I bet a lot of people who get free ebooks from the library end up buying them afterwards. They get it free from the library to try a new author or series. Then pay to download it and make it a "keeper". I won't get an ereader until there's a Netflix for books service like I said earlier. I have nearly 1000 unread books here and there's plenty already in print that I haven't read yet. I will probably only buy an ebook if it's the only way a new addition to a series book I'm reading is issued and it's a series I'm dying to continue.
Mary, I have a lot of paperbacks and I have an ereader. The ereader is good for portability. I can carry many books with me at once. I also read faster on an ereader. I still love paper books - I love shopping for used ones. Your library can act as a Netflix for books with Overdrive software. If your library doesn't have the book, there are many others that you can join for a nominal fee. And there are tons and tons of free ebooks available out there. For that reason alone, an ereader pays itself off.
The following page has plug-in instructions and download link:calibre drm-removal
**I'm not encouraging drm removal for pirating purposes but for personal use only**
Hmmm...interesting! Hoping that can solve the frustration with my mobipocket collection! Thanks, Vivian!
In my Zite reading this AM, I came across these posts @ TeleRead: "Why Readers Hate DRM: The Short Version" and "Three truths that publishers should try to understand about readers".
Quite interesting. Leaves lots to think about!
Thanks for sharing Steph! I completely agree!
No problem. I couldn't help thinking of this thread while reading them, so had to share. :)
Great posts! This pretty much summed it up for me (from the second post):'When you find yourself seeing a reader comment and thinking ‘but there is actually a really good explanation for that!’ your response, publishers, should not be to try and educate this customer on why this baffling situation is actually just and right. It should be to recognize that you have a customer giving you input on what you need to fix in order to get their money.'Amen.
Vivian wrote: "The following page has plug-in instructions and download link:calibre drm-removal
**I'm not encouraging drm removal for pirating purposes but for personal use only**"
Thanks Vivian!
Amazon just announced that starting later this year, the Kindle will be able to access books via overdrive at the libraries:The Amazon Kindle team says:
We are excited to announce that a new feature, Kindle Library Lending, will be coming later this year. Kindle customers will be able to borrow Kindle books from over 11,000 public libraries in the United States.
Kindle Library Lending will provide the same unique features customers love about Kindle and Kindle books, including the ability to read on any Kindle or free Kindle app, Whispersync technology that synchronizes your notes, highlights and last page read, real page numbers, and more. After a library book expires, if you ever decide to check it out again or purchase it from Amazon, all of your annotations and bookmarks will be preserved.
We are partnering with OverDrive, the leading provider of digital solutions to libraries, to bring a seamless library borrowing experience to Kindle. We will announce more information on Kindle Library Lending later this year.
Thank you for being a customer.
The Kindle Team
Wow! That makes me want to download the kindle app
Well it is free -- no downside for the App. :)
But the library overdrive system also has an app -- that allows you to read ePub books only (right now).
Right and I use that a lot, however different libraries have different selections that i would enjoy having access to
And the app is limited as you can't read PDFs on it.
You don't want to read PDFs on the apps. The epub format is easier to read and has a little more functionality than a PDF in terms of navigation. With overdrive, you can use Adobe digital editions and the books pop right into it.
Hey, good news for us Kindle/library users. We'll soon be able to check out books from libraries through Overdrive:Kindle Lending Library news release
Hmm this still seems like its only local libraries
That article says "from local libraries" I was thinking originally that it would mean we could borrow from other libraries that might have a larger collection than my local library
Ah. This is the same thing offered to ePub books (i.e. from Kobo, Sony and Nook). You can check to see if you have access to larger library systems near you -- like I don't live in Chicago but can use their overdrive system. Also Philadelhpia Free Library (which is overdrive supported) offers cards to non-residents for $15 a year.
I was told that to access the Chicago library I need to present myself there at least once. I am thinking about it, but its at least a four hour drive: )
When I looked it up, it says its 35 dollars for access to the Philadelphia library
They must have raised it! It was $15 when I joined in December. I do think it is worth it, the wait times are generally low for me. And I get audio books too. $35 -- divide that by what you typically pay for a book and it seems like a good deal.
A spokeswoman for Amazon.co.uk declined to confirm if Kindle Library Lending service would be coming to the UK. She said: “We don’t talk about future plans.”
Damn.
Amy, maybe this will help ease the sting a little. There's a huge sale in Amazon UK right now, including lots of YA titles. Books are as low as 89 p for select titles like Weather Warden, Soul Screamers, Iron King, City of Bones, Firelight, Need, etc. Mostly the first book in a series.
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