Will $0.99 ebooks make library loans less needed?

amoroso · 03-05-2011, 09:57 AM

With the increasing availability of cheap ebooks that can be bought for as low as $0.99, will library loans still be needed, at least for new titles?

Patrons who loan a limited number of titles per year might find it more convenient and a better value to buy the same books online rather than loan them. The costs of visiting libraries in person, such as gas or public transportations and time, may be comparable or higher than those of cheap ebooks.

Andrew H. · 03-05-2011, 10:17 AM

It probably won't have much of an effect, with the notable exception of PD books. Books aren't fungible, and people who want to check out Diane Setterfield or Tom Clancy or Jodi Picoult from the library won't settle for some other book simply because it's 99c.

bookscanning.co · 03-05-2011, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amoroso

With the increasing availability of cheap ebooks that can be bought for as low as $0.99, will library loans still be needed, at least for new titles?

Patrons who loan a limited number of titles per year might find it more convenient and a better value to buy the same books online rather than loan them. The costs of visiting libraries in person, such as gas or public transportations and time, may be comparable or higher than those of cheap ebooks.

It depends on what you're looking for ... newer books will not be available as a 99 cent e-book, maybe you can find books that are in the public domain for this price.

Timo

OtterBooks · 03-05-2011, 01:14 PM

Ultimately most readers choose what to read based on content. I think very few people decide on their next book by asking "What's cheap?" At least not if they place value on their own time. If the book they happen to be interested in is offered for .99, great.

tubemonkey · 03-05-2011, 06:58 PM

I read based on what's free. I don't buy books.

Giggleton · 03-05-2011, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I read based on what's free. I don't buy books.

OtterBooks · 03-05-2011, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

I read based on what's free. I don't buy books.

I feel the same way about food and shelter. Dumpsters are a good source of both.

tubemonkey · 03-05-2011, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

I feel the same way about food and shelter. Dumpsters are a good source of both.

Why waste money on books when equally good free ones exist?

OtterBooks · 03-05-2011, 10:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Why waste money on books when equally good free ones exist?

Because one good book is not the same as another. I was just goofing around, not mocking the idea of free books. There's definitely a wealth of excellent free literature out there, of course. However, I won't pass up a book with a certain theme/style/idea that I find particularly appealing at the time, just because it costs.

Steinbeck being the equal of Cormac McCarthy doesn't mean I'm gonna pass up the experience of Blood Meridian just because I came across a free copy of East of Eden. I recently read King Solomon's Mines. It was free. But I read it because I wanted to read King Solomon's Mines. Had it been a few bucks it would have been worth every penny.

There's a lot of excellent new authors, writing excellent new things that interest me. Besides, if people only read what was free, many of those free books wouldn't have been published to begin with.

aagstn · 03-06-2011, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Why waste money on books when equally good free ones exist?

I've been mostly disappointed in free offers. The classics are fine, but I'm not always in the mood for those. Most of the stuff given away from modern authors is not very good. I have yet to read one of these free first book in a series and feel I had found a new series to read.

My good source for free books is the library, but I wonder how much longer that one is going to last. I've actually bought my first book in a long time from Amazon. They have some really hard to find books from Prometheus for $10 and reading a quality book is worth $10 especially when most of them are out of print and cost 3 times that much on paper. These are of course topaz format that Amazon scans themselves, but I'm finding the first book from James Randi to be well scanned and enjoyable to read.

saoir · 03-06-2011, 12:14 PM

In the last 100 years the Publishing industry has had no other choice but to sit back and endure the Library system. There was little they could do to stop it because once they sold a book it was beyond their control. They also soon realised that having to physically visit a Library repeatedly was a natural barrier to Library use that, combined with some other limitations, restricted Library reading to a bearable level for their commercial interests.

And that is not to deny the value of libraries in promoting reading and hence purchasing. But let's face it, if Library use had exploded to, say, 75% of the population at some time in the middle of last century ... could the Publishing industry have survived ?

What about the future ? No physical restrictions. No social stigma. What can be done to create a usage model where the business model does not collapse ?

What is a reader's motivation to buy as opposed to borrow ?

If everyone starts borrowing how can publishers and editors and writers make money ?

Giggleton · 03-06-2011, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by saoir

What about the future ? No physical restrictions. No social stigma. What can be done to create a usage model where the business model does not collapse ?

What is a reader's motivation to buy as opposed to borrow ?

If everyone starts borrowing how can publishers and editors and writers make money ?

Publishers will become marketers, they will join with editors and writers in small autonomous collectives and create quality books.
http://thinkcursor.com/

Once a decent system is put into place for routing our monies into the hands of the creators where it belongs, a national campaign to raise the new awareness will be started.

How have books affected you? Celebrity endorsements.

You can share but please be fair, support your local writer.

etc, etc,

Lemurion · 03-06-2011, 01:18 PM

People tend to get books from the library because they want to read those books. The only way $0.99 ebooks will reduce the need for library loans is if they make the same books people would otherwise borrow available at $0.99.

I don't care how many books are available elsewhere for $0.99 - none of those other books is going to slake my desire to read the next Honor Harrington book when it comes out.

TallMomof2 · 03-06-2011, 03:49 PM

One of the reasons I haven't bought as many books is because Amazon (and other sites) offer so many good free books. Couple that with library books and I have a very big but virtual TBR pile.

Kali Yuga · 03-06-2011, 04:30 PM

If you have a chance, go to the library

and borrow a copy of Daniel Ariely's Predictably Irrational.

In it, he offers numerous examples of how attaching any price whatsoever -- even 99¢ -- radically alters behavior. In short: "Free" generally gets treated like a social service or good. Assigning any dollar amount instantly changes it to an economic relationship.

Libraries also do more than just hand out books, of course. They have a separate value as a social space for a community.

So despite the fact that $1 ebooks abound, chances are slim that this would truly replace the function of libraries.

03-05-2011, 09:57 AM	#1
amoroso Groupie Posts: 185 Karma: 1004070 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Italy Device: Kindle for Android, Google Play Books	Will $0.99 ebooks make library loans less needed? With the increasing availability of cheap ebooks that can be bought for as low as $0.99, will library loans still be needed, at least for new titles? Patrons who loan a limited number of titles per year might find it more convenient and a better value to buy the same books online rather than loan them. The costs of visiting libraries in person, such as gas or public transportations and time, may be comparable or higher than those of cheap ebooks.

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03-05-2011, 10:17 AM	#2
Andrew H. Grand Master of Flowers Posts: 2,201 Karma: 8389072 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Naptown Device: Kindle PW, Kindle 3 (aka Keyboard), iPhone, iPad 3 (not for reading)	It probably won't have much of an effect, with the notable exception of PD books. Books aren't fungible, and people who want to check out Diane Setterfield or Tom Clancy or Jodi Picoult from the library won't settle for some other book simply because it's 99c.

03-05-2011, 01:14 PM	#4
OtterBooks Wizard Posts: 1,262 Karma: 2979086 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kindle 4, iPad Mini/Retina	Ultimately most readers choose what to read based on content. I think very few people decide on their next book by asking "What's cheap?" At least not if they place value on their own time. If the book they happen to be interested in is offered for .99, great.

03-05-2011, 06:58 PM	#5
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,619 Karma: 158546452 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	I read based on what's free. I don't buy books.

03-06-2011, 12:14 PM	#11
saoir Groupie Posts: 188 Karma: 2088290 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Ireland Device: Kindle Paperwhite	In the last 100 years the Publishing industry has had no other choice but to sit back and endure the Library system. There was little they could do to stop it because once they sold a book it was beyond their control. They also soon realised that having to physically visit a Library repeatedly was a natural barrier to Library use that, combined with some other limitations, restricted Library reading to a bearable level for their commercial interests. And that is not to deny the value of libraries in promoting reading and hence purchasing. But let's face it, if Library use had exploded to, say, 75% of the population at some time in the middle of last century ... could the Publishing industry have survived ? What about the future ? No physical restrictions. No social stigma. What can be done to create a usage model where the business model does not collapse ? What is a reader's motivation to buy as opposed to borrow ? If everyone starts borrowing how can publishers and editors and writers make money ?

03-06-2011, 01:18 PM	#13
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	People tend to get books from the library because they want to read those books. The only way $0.99 ebooks will reduce the need for library loans is if they make the same books people would otherwise borrow available at $0.99. I don't care how many books are available elsewhere for $0.99 - none of those other books is going to slake my desire to read the next Honor Harrington book when it comes out.

03-06-2011, 03:49 PM	#14
TallMomof2 Kindlephilia Posts: 2,017 Karma: 1139255 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Snowpacolypse 2010 Device: Too many to count	One of the reasons I haven't bought as many books is because Amazon (and other sites) offer so many good free books. Couple that with library books and I have a very big but virtual TBR pile.

03-06-2011, 04:30 PM	#15
Kali Yuga Professional Contrarian Posts: 2,045 Karma: 3289631 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Kindle 4 No Touchie	If you have a chance, go to the library and borrow a copy of Daniel Ariely's Predictably Irrational. In it, he offers numerous examples of how attaching any price whatsoever -- even 99¢ -- radically alters behavior. In short: "Free" generally gets treated like a social service or good. Assigning any dollar amount instantly changes it to an economic relationship. Libraries also do more than just hand out books, of course. They have a separate value as a social space for a community. So despite the fact that $1 ebooks abound, chances are slim that this would truly replace the function of libraries.

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