# Open Letter to HarperCollins & Readers of eBooks



## Big Don (Mar 25, 2011)

Open Letter to HarperCollins & Readers of eBooks                                      
                                                      Pioneer Library System                                                                         -                                                                          Press Releases Excerpt:                                                                           Tuesday, 01 March 2011 11:42          On  February 24, the Pioneer Library System received a  message from our  downloadable materials vendor,  OverDrive, stating that an unnamed  publisher  would place the following requirements on their eBook titles,  &#8220;for every new  eBook licensed, the library [&#8230;] will make the eBook  available to one customer  at a time until the total number of permitted  checkouts is reached.&#8221; While the  one customer at a time portion has  been standard the &#8220;total number of permitted  checkouts&#8221; was a new  restriction.
 That publisher turned out to be HarperCollins. 
 Starting March 7, the &#8220;total number of permitted checkouts&#8221;  for any  HarperCollins eBook will be 26, after which point, libraries will  have  to purchase the eBook again. This figure does not account for people   renewing an eBook to finish reading it and no accommodations are made  for  eBooks which never checkout. There is no option for the library to  remove the  title from their virtual collection; instead it will remain  listed and  unavailable for customers and library staff to access.  The  eBook is essentially locked until a  re-entrance fee is paid by the  library for the next 26 checkouts.
 The rationale offered by the publisher is since paper books  wear out  and need to be replaced if they are to remain in a library&#8217;s   collection, the same should be true of their electronic formats. The  publisher  argues that it should not be denied revenues that come from  reselling  replacement books and resources. Because the publisher  assumes digital  resources never deteriorate, they have set an arbitrary  limit to the number of  times an electronic resource can be accessed.  Not planned obsolescence. _Forced_ obsolescence.
    We are genuinely concerned about this action taken by HarperCollins,   publishers of some of the Virtual Library&#8217;s most popular authors such  as the  Janet Evanovich, Meg Cabot, Michael Crichton, Neil Gaiman and  Lemony Snicket.
 The argument against the arbitrary number is twofold. First,   replacement of books in libraries is based upon the condition of the  book, not  the number of times it has been checked out.   It is not  unusual for popular books to be checked out 100 times or more  before  the wear and tear of circulation takes its toll and the book has to be   replaced or repaired.  Second, eBooks,  too, eventually wear out. The  electronic file formats become obsolete in a  matter of years as  technology progresses and customer interests change.  Remember the  switch from VHS to DVD or  cassette to CD?


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## Big Don (Mar 25, 2011)

I agree with the librarian. One of these days I'll get an ebook reader. Wal Mart carries the Nook now. It is much thinner than I expected.


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