American Libraries article about circulating ereaders

[Michelle Burns Jurkiewicz]

Has anyone read the article in the American Libraries magazine about Netflix? The author also states that libraries are violating the products terms of service agreement (TOS) by circulating Kindles and other eReaders full of books because they are intended to be for personal use only.

http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/columns/practice/read-fine-print

[Mary Alice Powers]

Yes, Michelle, I too just got my American Libraries issue and was wondering the same thing. I also just read a post in the Kindles in the Classroom group that now Amazon is limiting libraries to a bulk order of 3 Kindles max. (instead of the former 6). I just don't know whether I'm going to go with iPads, Kindles or Nooks yet---I feel I have to "Hurry up and wait" on this issue due to the ever-changing terms!!

[Patty McClune]

Meredith Farkas' article "Read the Fine Print" gives libraries pause. I understand the concerns around Netflix since their VP is quoted as saying he "frowns upon" libraries providing Netflix to patrons. However, in the case of Amazon and the Kindle, I don't remember being asked to sign off or read any fine print for the purchase of the device or downloaded titles. Did I miss something? During phone conversations with Amazon Kindle support the employees with whom I spoke knew the call was from a school library, and they didn't give any indication that the company "frowned upon" our Kindle project. eBooks and eReaders represent a profound shift in the book world and those of us in libraries certainly want and need to be a part of it.

[Sarah Kinder]

Hopefully there will be some clarification on this soon - or at least an increasingly more friendly policy toward eReader use with libraries. One would think that if a library can purchase a book and loan it out to many, then they could purchase a digital version of same book and loan it out.

[Mary Gotham]

And the first computers were intended for business use…

I see Kindle & Nook circulation as two separate things. As I understand it, when you purchase a book for a Kindle, it is housed on the Kindle. If you purchase multiple books on one Kindle and loan it out, wouldn't that be the same as loaning out a cart of books? The Kindle acts as the cart. If that book is on the cart, only the person who has the cart has access to the book.

I have 8 Nooks in my library right now; 6 registered to one account and 2 registered to another. When I purchase eBooks I add them to my registered accounts. I can register up to 6 Nooks to each account. As the manager of that account, I have control over which books are downloaded to which Nooks. I can archive or unarchive titles at any time to facilitate which are available to the Nooks. Even though I have more flexibility with my Nook library, when I loan out the Nook, wouldn’t that also act as the cart?

I like the ability to access classics for free.

I like the idea of purchasing one title and potentially having 6 copies of it. I don’t know how B&N does this without infringing on copyright and I don’t really worry about it. I assume they worked it out with the publishers or we would have heard of lawsuits by now.

The piece I don’t completely understand is loaning the eBook from your Nook account onto someone else’s Nook. I haven’t done this yet. I believe there are restrictions on the duration of the loan (2 weeks) and #’s of times you can loan each item (twice). These restrictions give me pause, as a librarian, I want more flexibility.

This is all so new and the potential is great! Wait until all student textbooks are in e-format. Imagine what that will do to the K-12 and University arenas. I see schools requiring students to purchase their own reader, and when entering school, downloading the necessary textbooks and required novels. This will have huge impact on libraries and librarians… exciting and a bit scary.



Patty McClune said:

Meredith Farkas' article "Read the Fine Print" gives libraries pause. I understand the concerns around Netflix since their VP is quoted as saying he "frowns upon" libraries providing Netflix to patrons. However, in the case of Amazon and the Kindle, I don't remember being asked to sign off or read any fine print for the purchase of the device or downloaded titles. Did I miss something? During phone conversations with Amazon Kindle support the employees with whom I spoke knew the call was from a school library, and they didn't give any indication that the company "frowned upon" our Kindle project. eBooks and eReaders represent a profound shift in the book world and those of us in libraries certainly want and need to be a part of it.