Publisher stupidity regarding eBook library loans
Nigel Whitfield on eBooks that ‘wear out’:
[New] Harper Collins eBooks sold to libraries will have a licence (enforced by the Digital Rights system embedded in the files) that allows a book to be loaned only twenty-six times, before it expires.
After that, if the library wants to carry on lending the book, it will have to buy a new copy.
I think—especially in harsh economic times—the publishers would do well to support anything that helps people to carry on reading, and learn to love books, rather than to put obstacles in the way, and make it more expensive for readers and libraries alike.
There’s nothing quite like having the will and the desire to embrace new technology, is there?!?
How do publishers expect people to view them as anything other than hopelessly anachronistic dinosaurs when they promote (or require) completely retarded DRM ideas like this?
I’m a big fan of the written word and as a new Kindle owner I’m also keen on digital distribution, but creating a complex licensing system that requires renewal every 26 loans is just stupid. Why not just charge a reasonable flat license fee for the publication plus a (reasonable) flat charge per loan?!?
Oh, so like a “real” library that has to occasionally replace a well-loved volume that has been loaned out so many times it is falling apart… No thanks, I’ll stick to paper books and magazines.