RE: Interview w/Sarah Pritchard, Univ. librarian, Northwestern U.

["Pikas, Christina K." <Christina.Pikas@jhuapl.edu>]

With respect to what readers of romance novels want, are you all 
speculating or basing this on data?  In my local public library, 
they have purchased many Harlequin series in ADE format and the 
books are almost always checked out with holds.  Furthermore, 
when the economy goes south, romance novel readership goes up. 
Granted this is an extremely small sample size - but one of the 
biggest library systems in the country. Also, ADE, so not usable 
on the iPad, AFAIK.

But this is all off the topic of the main point. I'm just saying 
that in fact, this is a poor example because readers of romance 
novels might be earlier adopters of the technology than other 
recreational readers.

Christina


-----Original Message-----
From: owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
[mailto:owner-liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu] On Behalf Of Hutchinson, Alvin
Sent: Thursday, June 10, 2010 11:42 PM
To: 'liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu'
Subject: Re: Interview w/Sarah Pritchard, Univ. librarian, Northwestern U.

The technology should come down in price as quickly as it has for 
other technologies.

Pretty soon these things become commodities and you start finding 
old, dusty electronic devices in the back of your desk drawer or 
your glove compartment.

44 year olds who love romance novels is a distinct market, but a
much more fast-growing and robust market is those who are
under 25 and who have read more text via electronic display
than on paper.

And if we're talking about university presses, I'd say the latter
are more likely users.

So I'd say Joe is right.

Just my 2 cents.

Alvin Hutchinson
Smithsonian Institution Libraries