The St. Albert Public Library is boycotting e-books published by industry giant HarperCollins to protest a lending limit the company imposed in March.
All HarperCollins e-books licensed by schools and public libraries after March 7 expire after 26 loans, requiring the purchase of a new licence.
The move sparked anger in library circles and prompted several libraries in the United States and at least two in Canada to announce boycotts. Now, after analyzing the situation, St. Albert’s library board has decided to boycott as well.
“We recognize that we are a small library and that alone our decision will have little impact on this large multinational company,” said board chair Kelly Aisenstat. “However, we are encouraging other libraries throughout North America to join us in this decision.”
The publisher’s move amounts to a price increase, Aisenstat said. Particularly unacceptable to him is the “arbitrary” nature of the publisher’s lending limit and the lack of consultation, he said.
“It’s like HarperCollins sells the library a book and then decides to come along and take it back when they feel like it,” he said.
The library has about 500 e-books in its collection, of which about 75 are HarperCollins titles. The library will continue expanding its e-book collection with other publishers’ titles and will continue to purchase conventional paper books from HarperCollins.
But the e-book boycott won’t end until the company consults library associations to devise a licensing model that works for both sides, he said.
Aisenstat is aware that the cities of Pickering, Ont. and Halifax, N.S. have already boycotted HarperCollins e-books but he thinks others have likely stopped buying without publicizing it. The boycott will mean that some popular titles won’t be available as e-books but Aisenstat doesn’t think library patrons will be adversely affected.
“I think we’re doing a good thing for the patrons of the library by not taking this sitting down,” he said.
The circulation limit of 26 relates to the average lifespan of a print book, said HarperCollins vice-president Josh Marwell, in an explanation that appeared in the trade publication Library Journal.
At the time of the change the company issued the following statement: “We believe this change balances the value libraries get from our titles with the need to protect our authors and ensure a presence in public libraries and the communities they serve for years to come.”
Many e-book titles available through a library come from a distributor called OverDrive. The titles come wrapped in software called digital rights management, which acts like a digital lock and can be set to render a book useless after 26 checkouts.
E-book sales are growing exponentially across North America and are a growing segment of libraries’ holdings, said Kelly Moore, executive director of the Canadian Library Association.
Libraries across the country are waiting to see if other publishers follow HarperCollins, she said.
She agreed that publishers should consult libraries before imposing licensing changes, particularly given the amount of money that libraries spend on books.
“Everybody’s looking for a new model for what the e-books are going to bring to the public library sphere and we definitely have to be part of the conversation … rather than waiting for it to be imposed,” she said.
Figures from the Canadian Urban Libraries Council show that Canada’s 43 largest public libraries spent $53.5 million in 2009, with $1.1 million going toward e-books. E-book spending rose to $1.8 million in 2010, said executive director Jefferson Gilbert.
His organization has had several discussions with publishers about the issues surrounding e-books and he’s confident that they can find solutions.
“The real loser is the reader,” he said.
