Ebook Libraries and Lending Services

January 24, 2010 2

The Future of Lending Digital Content

I love real books, and although some people have speculated that the age of the paperbound book has come to an end, I don’t believe physical books will become extinct anytime soon. However, I’m excited and optimistic about all the ereaders that could be hitting the market soon. Amazon’s Kindle surprised me when it was released, but it appeared too expensive and clunky for me to rush out and buy one. What got my attention was the growing collection of Amazon ebooks.

With shelves now stocked with thousands of popular books in digitalized form, suddenly with just one click I can get instant access to most of the books I browse through. The creation of Kindle ereader software for iPod Touches and iPhones means that I can start reading the book on my screen in a matter of seconds. I now constantly struggle to not buy a version of each book I add to my wishlist.

That’s why I can’t wait for the development of a quality ebook library or subscription service. One of the problems with owning so many books is that they’re extremely difficult (heavy) to move. Books take up space. They also cost money. Sometimes a lot of money. I’m sure that’s why libraries were invented. However, where I live the library is rarely open during the hours when I could get to it, and many times they don’t have the books I’m looking for. I also just find it incredibly convenient to push a button and get what I want instantly. (Others must also find instant access convenient as well, or services like Hulu and streaming Netflix wouldn’t have done so well).

I am convinced that having instant access to thousands (hundreds of thousands) of digital books would be beneficial to my life. I would happily pay a (reasonable) fee to become an ebook library member or to join an ebook subscription service. Over the summer, I tried a Netflix-style book rental service, but nothing beats a two-week wait like an instant download (and the book rental subsequently went out of business).

Ebook Libraries Now

Libraries like the New York City public library, the Chicago public library, and many others across the nation already offer ebook lending services, but you have to be a card holder. This typically isn’t possible unless you live in that state or county. There are several global ebook lending services out there, but they’re not at all what I’d consider an “ideal” alternative. At this point in time, the companies who are best equipped to start a lending service are the companies who have already have relationships with publishers and who have already amassed catalogs of digital material – the likes of Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, and Google.

The influx of ereaders and tablets set to hit the market this year will be nothing without content. Amazon and Barnes & Noble have stocked their virtual shelves with the digital version of the latest top sellers, and they’re adding new ebooks each week to satisfy Kindle and Nook users. Initially, I believe things will be shaky as tablets and ereaders quickly become more common and users, retailers, and publishers alike struggle to deal with issues like digital rights and cross-compatibility.

Simple and Functional

Ultimately, in order to remain competitive and to truly reach the masses, retailers will have to deliver their digital media in a format that works on all devices. Trying to determine the differences between mobi and epub and pdf is too confusing for the mass population. Either the digital book will work with your device, or it won’t. If it won’t, the distributor is losing out on market share.

Along with the greater adoption of ereaders will come a uptick in digital media sales, some of which might help floundering old media publications, but only if they embrace the technology creatively and with open arms.

A good ebook library or lending service would need to function like a cross between Netflix and Amazon. With ebook revenue projected to top $500 million in 2010, now is an excellent time to get such a service going. The current services leave a lot of room to improve the usefullness and functionality of ebook lending.

An Open Market for Ebook Lending

Ebook readers want access to anything, anywhere. Project Gutenberg won’t ever fill the desire for current popular fiction and nonfiction. The service should offer a see-inside-the-book option, much like Amazon currently allows you to download a sample to read from your Kindle or Kindle-device. This is a great way to get someone hooked, or to convince him that this isn’t the book he was looking for. Readers also want simple and easy access; they locate a book, click download, and in seconds they can begin to read. The best services will allow users to read books on any of their devices: smart phones, ereaders, and computer. A bonus service would also allow readers to synchronize their places and bookmarks across devices, similar to the Kindle Whisper.

What would really distinguish a library or lending service is a strong set of community features. Users should be able to create Amazon-style wishlists and recommendation lists, there should be a robust community of users writing reviews, and they should be encouraged to share in book clubs or discussion groups. The library should show smart reading recommendations based on the user’s favorites and rental history, à la Netflix. Without these services in place, many will abandon for another site like Amazon.

Navigation could be a potential issue. As the Apple App store has shown, you can still be a successful company and do a terrible job of making your products known. With potentially hundreds of thousands of books, catalog navigation and search need to be topnotch.

Students Could Be The Earliest Adopters

Students could make the ereader market, but currently they can’t get what they need to read. Right now in the etextbook market, publishers are tentative. While ebooks could mean that authors and publishers end up with a higher percentage of the textbook revenue, no mass wave of publishers have begun digitalizing their material. Coursesmart offers a textbook subscription service to students, but it’s only available for iPhones. I have used my phone to read small amounts of material, I can’t imagine ploughing through an entire semester’s courseload on such a tiny screen. The proprietary format and DRM currently used in etexts makes them incompatible with textbook-optimized ereaders.

I think the final service that could heighten the usefullness of an ebook library or lending service, is the ability to take notes. While Kindle owners can currently highlight passages, bookmark pages, lookup words, and take notes, it seems likely that features such as these wouldn’t survive a lending service. But they should. Ideally, users would be able to take notes, export the notes from their device, maintain whatever they’ve notated even after they’ve “returned” the lent book, and synchronize the notes with text if they were to check it out again at a later date. These features would truly put a world of information at the fingertips of many.

Illustration by kandinski.