Vancouver Public Library calling for better access to ebooks for all Canadians
The Vancouver Public Library is among those calling on publishers to lower their prices and up access to ebooks and e-audiobooks for Canadian libraries.
“More and more patrons are looking for books in an electronic format, and we are challenged to provide them due to the access limitations and high prices imposed by the multinational publishers,” said Kay Cahill, VPL’s director of collections and technology.
As a result, Cahill and the VPL are joining the list of Canadian libraries calling on multinational publishers — including Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster — to improve ebook pricing and access for Canadian libraries.
Last year, more than 9.3 million items were borrowed from across VPL’s 21 locations and online. When it comes to print titles, libraries simply buy the physical copy of the book and own it as part of their permanent collection.
“For digital content, the rights-holders typically license access,” Cahill explained.
“A licence is a contract, so the library receives the rights specified in the licence agreement rather than owning the content.”
According to Cahill, many popular titles aren’t available for sale in ebook format to Canada libraries.
Titles produced by Canadian publishers often have the rights sold to U.S. producers or subscription services, which means they’re unavailable to Canadian readers, Cahill noted.
“This disproportionately affects the very people who rely on libraries the most: those with limited incomes who cannot afford to purchase subscription services,” she said.
Meanwhile, those titles that are available are often priced at up to 300 per cent the cost of the same title in hard copy format.
“We recognize that it’s a difficult time for publishers, and that pricing models for digital content need to work for the publishing industry and provide fair compensation for authors,” said Cahill.
“However, we need them to work for library budgets, too, and simply imposing high prices and restrictive licences is not the answer.”