Perhaps this is due to the
disparity in pricing and availability, which while better than a few years ago,
is still an issue for libraries. Based
on work pioneered at Douglas County Public Library, we looked at comparable prices for this year’s Abe
Lincoln award nominees:
The above chart basically shows
that a librarian could buy roughly 20 (21) hardcovers OR 40 paperbacks OR 18
ebooks for the same money ($320 to $325). That amount is roughly double the
cost that an individual would spend on Amazon ($172) to buy the same eBooks or,
again, roughly double the cost of buying one paperback copy ($161) of each
title. Prices are as of June 2016. Perhaps we will see some movement in the
future as more consolidations occur.
This past spring, Follett purchased Baker & Taylor and last year, OverDrive announced it was being acquired.
Do you have an interesting
way to promote eBooks? Let us know. Interested in etextbooks use of digital
content in schools? Check out this joint report from ASCD and OverDrive, published in April 2016.
