1. eBooks &
Public Libraries
getting books to people as the future shows up a little early

2. Are eBooks a threat to
libraries?
• They could be...
• It depends on our approach...
• The 5 laws still apply.

3. Raganathan’s
5 Laws of Library Science
1. Books are for use.
2. Books are for all.
3. Every book its reader.
4. Save the time of the reader.
5. The library is a growing organism.
1931

4. Michael Gorman
5 New Laws of Librarianship
1. Libraries serve humanity.
2. Respect all forms by which knowledge is
communicated.
3. Use technology intelligently to enhance service.
4. Protect free access to knowledge.
5. Honor the past and create the future.
1995

5. Jamie LaRue
Director, Douglas County Libraries
• “We really only need two people in the
equation: author and reader. Right now, there
are a lot of people in the middle, including
libraries.”

6. Books vs. eBooks
• “The content is divorced from the container.”
• Jason Griffey

7. The physical book
limitations are inherent to the format
A book can only have one user at a time. Not so with an eBook.
Copying a book is an ordeal. Not so with an eBook.
A book will eventually wear out. An eBook will not.
The First Sale Doctrine applies. With an eBook, it generally doesn’t.

8. Publishers want eBooks to
behave like physical books,
so they add artificial limitations called Digital Rights
Managements.
*a real book would never lick the sidewalk.
But these eBooks have no boundaries.

9. Kindle User Agreement
• Use of Digital Content. Upon your download of Digital Content and payment of any applicable
fees (including applicable taxes), the Content Provider grants you a non-exclusive right to view,
use, and display such Digital Content an unlimited number of times, solely on the Kindle or a
Reading Application or as otherwise permitted as part of the Service, solely on the number of
Kindles or Other Devices specified in the Kindle Store, and solely for your personal, non-
commercial use. Unless otherwise specified, Digital Content is licensed, not sold, to you by the
Content Provider. The Content Provider may include additional terms for use within its Digital
Content. Those terms will also apply, but this Agreement will govern in the event of a conflict.
Some Digital Content, such as Periodicals, may not be available to you through Reading
Applications.
Limitations. Unless specifically indicated otherwise, you may not sell, rent, lease, distribute,
broadcast, sublicense, or otherwise assign any rights to the Digital Content or any portion of it
to any third party, and you may not remove or modify any proprietary notices or labels on the
Digital Content. In addition, you may not bypass, modify, defeat, or circumvent security
features that protect the Digital Content.

10. Having eBooks in libraries means a
fight for user access.

11. The fight of actually
acquiring eBooks to offer
• Libraries must negotiate terms and licensing.

12. ALA Joint Statement
on E-content Pricing
• “Libraries, like other consumers, should be free to buy any published e-
content at competitive prices, to keep these items in their collection,
and to loan them to their patrons. Anything less violates basic
democratic principles of a free market, freedom of speech, and
equitable access.”

13. Business Models
and Digital Rights Management

14. Vendors

15. The fight of getting library-
held eBooks to the public
• Costumer Service: Devices and technical
support

16. Library patrons fall
somewhere on the curve.
adoption/innovation curve

17. The long multi-faceted
process of finding and
checking out an ebook.

18. In the encroaching
virtual domain
libraries must be open to physical
change.

19. How to proceed:
some suggestions
Create content, become a publisher
Budget for investment in Technology
Ask for Ownership, discounts, and integration from vendors and publishers
Libraries should make sure public interests shape ebook policy not just the interest of
publishers and vendors.
Make use of free ebook content
Make user instruction a priority, host ebook classes and digital petting zoos.

20. Questions?