Virtual Town Hall on Ebooks October 23, 2013 American Library Association Chicago, Illinois

1. Virtual Town Hall on Ebooks October 23, 2013 American Library Association Chicago, Illinois

2. Introduction Barbara Stripling President American Library Association

3. Welcome • Important issues at the ALA-wide level in the past few years include: • Community engagement • Declaration for the right to libraries • School library advocacy • And of course, ebooks • Had a philosophical / emotional reaction in the library community, in addition to substantive aspects • Quite a ride for ALA!

4. Ebook Town Hall Purpose • Take stock of ALA’s activities and successes over two years of intensive work • Where are we today? What are publishers and distributors doing?

5. Ebook Town Hall Purpose (2) • Informed by my personal involvement • Led ALA delegation to NYC several weeks ago • Member of several previous NYC visits led by Maureen Sullivan • Directions for the future

6. Today’s Program • ALA strategy is yielding success – Maureen Sullivan, ALA Immediate Past-president • Publishing insights – Robert Wolven, Co-chair, ALA DCWG • Ebooks and publishing: Where do we stand today? – Sari Feldman, Co-chair, ALA DCWG

7. Today’s Program (2) • Future directions: Beyond basic access from the Big 5– Alan S. Inouye, Director, ALA OITP • ALA members, communication, outreach, and ebooks – Keith Michael Fiels, Executive Director, ALA • Questions – Barbara Stripling

8. ALA Strategy is Yielding Success Maureen Sullivan Immediate Past-president American Library Association

9. The Way We Were: Fall 2011 • In wake of HarperCollins blowback from spring 2011 – initiation of 26 circulation model • Simon & Schuster, Macmillan out of library ebook market entirely • ALA makes first delegation trip to NYC – meets with Association of American Publishers (AAP) • Penguin pulls back from library ebook market

10. 2012: Building Relationships, Knowledge, and Conflict • Penguin pulls out; Random House price increase • Relationship building • ALA delegation visits to NYC: Jan, May, Sept., Dec. and to Philly in Mar. (PLA National Conference) • Molly Raphael participated in AAP Annual Meeting • ALA hosts publishers at Midwinter and Annual • Many exchanges of information via phone and email

11. 2012: Building Relationships, Knowledge, and Conflict (2) • Conflict increasing • The Open Letter to publishers • Session with publisher staff at AAP headquarters in NYC • Increasing dissatisfaction/impatience from ALA members • Increased focus on advocacy; ALA launched Ebook Media and Communications Toolkit

12. 2013: Breakthroughs! • More ALA delegation visits to NYC: April, May, Sept, including Book Expo America appearance • Macmillan in January, June & October • Simon & Schuster in April • Penguin in April & September • Hachette Book Group in May

13. Publishing Insights Robert Wolven Co-chair, Digital Content Working Group American Library Association

14. Educating Publishers About Libraries in the Ebook Era • New business models and technologies implicated folks beyond the usual library marketing staff → a bit of education needed about libraries • Ebooks rapidly changing and evolving – even hard for librarians to keep up! • Misconceptions • Fears

15. Educating Libraries about (E)book Publishing • Publishers are large, complex, multinational corporations – with the corresponding internal organizational process • Relationships between publishers and distributors – some black box aspects • Author contracts, relationships • Concerns about large distributors/online retailers and publisher place in ecosystem

16. Towards Understanding About Libraries and Ebook Publishing • Friction • How much already exists • How much is really needed? • Library role in discoverability and in the reading ecosystem • Still early in the (r)evolution: Publishers and libraries trying to figure out their models

17. Ebooks and Publishing: Where Do We Stand Today? Sari Feldman Co-chair, Digital Content Working Group American Library Association

18. The Current State • Penguin (Penguin Random House) • All titles, one year term license • Pricing typically a bit higher than consumer ebook prices • Random House (Penguin Random House) • All titles, purchase/perpetual license • Pricing often a multiple of consumer ebook prices

19. The Current State (2) • HarperCollins • All titles, 26 circulations; “renewal” at a discount • Pricing a bit higher than consumer ebook prices • Hachette Book Group • All titles • Two tier pricing

20. The Current State (3) • Macmillan • All titles in backlist (more than one year old) • 2 year / 52 circulations term license • Simon & Schuster • NYC-based pilot • Sales option offered to library users (not just for those on waitlist) • 1 year term

21. Some Issues • Pricing • Too high • Hard to determine the “correct” level • Each publisher has a different model • Each publisher only has one model

22. Polling (1) • Which of the short-term options work best for your library? Keep in mind the differing price points (e.g., a 2 year term will have a higher price than a 1 year term for a given title). • A. 26 circulation license • B. 1 year term license • C. 2 year term license

23. Polling (2) • How important is a purchase/perpetual license option to your library? Keep in mind that the price of this option may be significantly higher than the price of a 1 or 2 year term or 26 circulation license. • A. Must have • B. Important / should have • C. Nice to have • D. Don’t need perpetual access or too expensive

24. Future Directions: Beyond Basic Access from the Big 5 Alan S. Inouye Director, Office for Information Technology Policy American Library Association

25. Issues: Looking Outward to the Publishing Ecosystem • The publishing / reading ecosystem is being re-invented • Further alignment and cooperation with authors and authors’ groups • Discussions with smaller publishers • And with distributors and booksellers • Archiving and preservation

26. Issues: Looking Inward to the Library Community • Role of (e)book sales in the library context • Future of libraries: Libraries as publishers • Advancing discoverability • Articulating and promoting what libraries do • Leveraging technology to enhance discoverability in the ebook context: New directions for connecting authors to ebook readers via libraries

27. Other Issues • Accommodations for people with disabilities • Privacy

28. ALA Members, Communication, Outreach, and Ebooks Keith Michael Fiels Executive Director American Library Association

29. Resources and Education • American Libraries E-Content blog • American Libraries supplements on digital content • Reports on ebook business models • Transforming Libraries website

30. Awareness and Outreach • ALA delegation trips: 8 to NYC and 1 to Philly • 2 AAP sessions • Authors for Library Ebooks initiative • Countless interviews, articles, op-eds, quotes, and comments in the media • Digital Book World blog

31. Member Communications and Engagement • Programming at ALA conferences • Appearances at chapter conferences • Video for all ALA members in Jan. 2013 by Maureen Sullivan • Ebook media & communications toolkit: Communication & awareness for public officials • Plus: Previously mentioned resources

32. Questions Barbara Stripling, Moderator Resources • American Libraries E-Content Blog • American Libraries Supplement on Digital Content • Ebook Media & Communications Toolkit • Transforming Libraries Website