Re: eBooks in Libraries a Thorny Problem, Says Macmillan CEO

[Joseph Esposito <espositoj@gmail.com>]

Although Heather's comment rings true in the abstract, it doesn't
really address the particulars of the situation that were cited
on this list.

The question was not a choice between libraries having flat-sum
pricing or usage-based pricing; what is at issue is whether for
certain properties publishers will make the materials available
to libraries at all.  And here it all depends:  on the publisher,
the property, the state of the marketplace, etc., etc.

Joe Esposito

On Mon, Mar 29, 2010 at 3:22 PM, Heather Morrison <hgmorris@sfu.ca> wrote:

> The trouble with usage-based pricing with respect to knowledge
> is that it inevitably provides a disincentive to use.
>
> If e-books are sold to libraries on a usage basis, then one way
> for a cash-strapped university to save money is to discourage
> use, for example by not allowing walk-in users rights to access
> e-books, or limiting the number of e-books an undergraduate
> student can access.
>
> Usage-based pricing can be useful when we are dealing with
> resources that are of necessity limited in nature: electricity,
> gas, photocopies in the library. But this makes no sense, and is
> counter- productive, when applied to scholarly knowledge in
> electronic form. Here, reducing dissemination decreases the value
> of the resource.
>
> Selected experiments may have limited generalizability. A
> library that would support walk-in and unlimited use with
> usage-based pricing might well be more willing to share the
> results of an experiment, than a library with significant
> budgetary problems that would feel compelled to limit usage.
> Also, the pressure to limit usage might not be seen in an
> experimental situation, but only after such a model was in
> widespread use.
>
> For a broader treatment of this topic, see my book chapter, "The
> implications of usage statistics as an economic factor in
> scholarly communications", available through E-LIS at:
> http://eprints.rclis.org/4889/
>
> Heather Morrison, MLIS
> http://pages.cmns.sfu.ca/heather-morrison/