Beginning March 7, HarperCollins books can only be checked out 26 times before the license expires. I was a bit confused as to how Harper Collins came up with the number 26. I had to research a bit more to find more information as to how this number was calculated. It seems that most books are not checked out more than 26 times with the exception of newly released books or popular books. Although I understand that printed books don’t last forever, I do believe they can last longer than 26 years. I’m of the opinion that limiting the number of checkouts for e-books seems a little unfair. But what I have the biggest issue with is that e-books can only be checked out by one person at a time, just as if it were a real book. Living in a digital age, this practice comes across a bit outdated.
As far as the checkout limitation, I think more research should be done to come up with a better solution. I would think that there is less of an expense for producing electronic format of e-books than there is for printed books. So I don’t understand the need to have libraries pay for the same electronic book after 26 checkouts even if the fee is less than the original prices (Boog, 2011). It almost seems that because most people are now using libraries for e-reading, HarperCollins is a bit greedy (Bosman, 2011).
References
Boog, J. (2011, March 2). HarperCollins Responds To Library eBook Controversy. Retrieved July 28, 2016, from http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/harpercollins-responds-to-library-ebook-controversy/25439
Bosman, J. (2011, February 27). A limit on lending e-books. Retrieved July 28, 2016, from http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/a-limit-on-lending-e-books/?scp=1&sq=HarperCollins&st=cse&_r=0
Marwell, J. (2011, March 1). Open Letter to Librarians. Retrieved July 28, 2016, from http://harperlibrary.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/03/open-letter-to-librarians.html
As far as the checkout limitation, I think more research should be done to come up with a better solution. I would think that there is less of an expense for producing electronic format of e-books than there is for printed books. So I don’t understand the need to have libraries pay for the same electronic book after 26 checkouts even if the fee is less than the original prices (Boog, 2011). It almost seems that because most people are now using libraries for e-reading, HarperCollins is a bit greedy (Bosman, 2011).
References
Boog, J. (2011, March 2). HarperCollins Responds To Library eBook Controversy. Retrieved July 28, 2016, from http://www.adweek.com/galleycat/harpercollins-responds-to-library-ebook-controversy/25439
Bosman, J. (2011, February 27). A limit on lending e-books. Retrieved July 28, 2016, from http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/a-limit-on-lending-e-books/?scp=1&sq=HarperCollins&st=cse&_r=0
Marwell, J. (2011, March 1). Open Letter to Librarians. Retrieved July 28, 2016, from http://harperlibrary.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/03/open-letter-to-librarians.html
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