On library ebook licenses, patron demand, and power dynamics
Meanwhile, libraries have generally proven reluctant to use their power to shape the demand curve and shift digital budgets away from expensive Big 5 bestsellers, even when it means sacrificing diversity and depth in their own digital collections.
Five Things: December 14, 2023
“Comixology was temporary pain relief, never the cure.” Five Things: December 14, 2023.
Five Things: March 30, 2023
“A new economic engine for culture.” Five things for March 30, 2023. That’s it! That’s the excerpt.
Maybe Publishers Should “Love” Libraries a Little Less?
It’s truly amazing how publishers who routinely claim, “We love libraries!” every summer at ALA Annual — the conference many of them hope will replace their own failed Book Expo America — find it so much easier to fight those same libraries in court, on multiple fronts, rather than figuring out how to come to the table and negotiate in good faith with such a critical partner.
Five Things: March 16, 2023
“They never liked you or what you had to say.” Five things for March 16, 2023. That’s it! That’s the excerpt.
Five Things: December 1, 2022
Five things for December 1, 2022. That’s it! That’s the excerpt.
Leanpub’s Frontmatter Podcast: It’s Me, Again!
This time around, we skipped the origin story and jumped right into things. Epp let me rattle on about Comics Plus (aka the day job), Panorama Project and libraries, DOJ vs. PRH, and Twitter — and then cleaned it all up so I sound reasonably coherent. It’s also on video this time, which caught me by surprise as you may be able to tell from the hat I’m wearing — I was a couple of weeks overdue for a haircut!
Five Things: March 17, 2022
Five things for March 17, 2022. That’s it! That’s the excerpt.
Public Libraries and Ebooks Redux [for Independent Publishers]
I had the pleasure of kicking off the new year by participating in IBPA’s PubU Online webinar series, presenting “Engaging New Readers with Ebooks in Public Libraries” and I’ve posted my slides and written up my main presentation here as it pulled together a few threads I haven’t addressed in one place before. Non-IBPA members and other library-curious types might find them useful as a starting point to learn more about how libraries work, and why they’re an important partner for publishers of all sizes.
Five Things: December 9, 2021
Five things for December 9, 2021. That’s it! That’s the excerpt.