Libraries Told ‘Stop Lending’
Comments: 7
The corporatisation of the world comes to the thorny problem of public libraries.
Libraries told ‘stop lending’
Daily Yomiuri On-LineThe prolonged economic slump lies behind the sluggish book sales, but authors organizations and publishing houses feel public libraries are becoming a problem, too.
They also blame second-hand book stores that are selling relatively new used books, as well as coffee shops with libraries of comic books, which are increasing rapidly.
A public hungry for words? Let them read billboards!
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Posted to Books • 2003.11.15 (Sat) • 11:58
Comments
Posted by Kristen 2003.11.15, 12:10
In my town, the library is the best place to get a book, unfortunately. Sure, we have 2 bookstores (Waldenbooks & Media Play), but their selection is so small it’s sickening, not to mention the steep prices on a book that I could read in an hour. On the other hand, most of the good books have to be ordered from a neighbouring library and sent to my library because I live in a yucky town, but the point is that I still get them. It sounds like the book “industry” is getting a bit too particular, just like some other “industry” I won’t name.. I am now awaiting the point in time when I’ll have to pay $1 or more per book I take out of the library.
Amazon.com got a lot of complaints from writers’ organizations when they started letting customers sell used books. As far as I know, they just ignored them and they went away—for now.
Here’s some info:
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/1291
(Jeff Bezos’ open letter on used book sales)
Posted by oli 2003.11.15, 16:05
Recently Amazon started offering users who had registered their credit cards the ability to search the text of books Amazon sells. Naturally this is an incredibly cool feature. When viewing the results you are apparently able to see a couple of pages either way, but are prevented from reading the whole book online. Since it started the service was modified in response to angry book publishers and authors’ groups. Given this feature should improve book sales by allowing customers to find what they’re looking for, I can’t understand the reaction.
You can read more in Amazon; Look but don’t touch on Wired.
Posted by Ben 2003.11.15, 21:45
I’m surprised the book companies didn’t offer some damages figure as many big media companies are so fond of doing. Something like:
Public libraries and their overgenerous “lending” policy cost us $325 million in lost book sales last year alone.
It frightens me that book companies could actually affect change on public library policy because they felt that the libraries were taking profit away from them.
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens 2003.11.15, 23:31
Just last Sunday, on our weekly trip to the library, I was wondering how libraries have seemed to pass under the radar of the copyright crackdown. Every week we stock up on 20 or 30 books, several CDs, and sometimes the odd videotape or DVD—and we never pay a cent (well if you don’t count our exorbitant property taxes that fuel the city budget). In any case, we never pay it to the book publishers and so the poor authors are out their measly $2.00(US) cut.
Time to close this loophole and raise a generation of TV-watching dolts who have no desire to open a book, paid for or otherwise. Yep. That will solve our problems.
Posted by Beaty 2003.11.17, 00:07
This REALLY ‘blows’….
I have a confession to make…I was really down on my luck about 20 years ago. I didn’t have a job, lived off social security and in a filthy rented room…I was one step away from being on the streets…
My one consolation was the library and loaned books. It was here I kept my brain from becoming a cabbage…And it was because this kept my spirits up that I went back to college, and eventually got a job…
This all culminated with me achieving a First Class Honours Degree…And it really turned my life around…
The library service is the only thing that some people have in this life and if teh corporates exclude them from this then how many people will never be inspired to pick themselves up like I did…
Why should being poor exclude you from knowledge?
I can’t express how disgusted I am at this notion…And it makes me wonder what might have become of me if no libraries existed.
Posted by Nancy 2003.11.22, 10:08
This is actually an old, old complaint cum kvetch of the book publishers. I’ve been in the field for about 20 years now and have heard this from “publishers” (various and varied) every few years since I started paying attention to such. Same about used bookstores. Wait a few years, and you’ll hear it again.
Not that it makes the complaint any more valid. It’s wind.
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