A Quick Look at Penguin Random House's New (and temporary?) Models

PRH Tries an Experiment, or, with apologies to the great Garcia Marquez, Love (Sort Of) in a Time of COVID

On March 17 (the same day that Macmillan announced its change in license models—coincidence?), Penguin Random House announced an INTERIM  DISCOUNTED DIGITAL-BOOK LIBRARY PROGRAM FOR ONLINE PATRONS, EDUCATORS, AND STUDENTS.  The press release noted the following:

To further encourage book reading, especially among students, and to support school and public libraries that are closed with the escalating CV-19 outbreak, Penguin Random House will discount the prices of the e-book and audio book  titles sold through wholesalers to these institutions. This discounting  begins immediately and will be in effect for 90-day period.

“In this time of unprecedented disruption, Penguin Random House wants to continue and to expand our unwavering commitment to public and school libraries the best way we know how: by making our books more accessible for educators and students, especially those engaged in remote learning, and to library patrons everywhere,” said Skip Dye, Senior Vice President, Library Sales & Digital Strategy, Penguin Random House.

Penguin Random House sells its books to libraries through wholesalers, who have been provided with a 90-day temporary-pricing model for its accounts.

The RF Working Group wanted to wait until we saw actual vendor prices before commenting.  It should be noted that while PRH may set a certain price, not every library vendor necessarily reflects that price accurately, and prices listed below may reflect that.

It took some time for price changes to begin showing. One of Canadian members noted two week later “Splendid and Vile was $125 last month; it is still $125 for 24 months, and now they have added $63 for 12.” More recently, however, prices seem to be coming down about 5%. That is good news in a time when many libraries are trying to bolster their digital content to meet greater need when many physical facilities are closed.

Interestingly, Canadian libraries also getting a pay-per-use option, which U.S. libraries are not. At $7 per circ or thereabouts for many titles, it is still prohibitively expensive and we don’t expect t see it used much. Imagine, however, if prices were much lower on, for example, a backlist. Could we see greater use of title we might not be so willing to license for a long term?

Even more importantly, many of our members were happy to see multiple models offered at point of licensing.  Hilary Lewis of Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh noted that an Unabridged Digital Audio of Where the Crawdads Sing was available in OC/OU perpetual license and n a 12 month metered access. She calls the option “very helpful” and says having the option on such a popular title “will help out a ton right now” by allowing greater short term access (get one for the long term and two for the next year while demand remains high). Ann Archer from Ottawa Library agreed, saying “The one advantage is filling the shorter term needs, like added copies from Holds Manager.” Adds Susan Caron of Toronto Public Library, “We’re seeing the multiple options and one-year license, which is good for top-ups.”

E-books are now available in metered licenses for two or one years. In e-book format, Where the Crawdads Sing is available for 12 months and 24 months. The one-year option is still helpful, unlike when a one-year license is the only option. Notes one member of our group, “The PRH models are really working out for us. Right now my strategy is to buy one copy at the longer meter (24 months or OC/OU) and fill holds with copies at the half price (12 month) model. I got an interesting report from OverDrive recently that shows only 5% of titles need copies repurchased after 24 months.”

Dianne Coan of Fairfax County Public Library is also happy to have options: “I am super appreciative of the 1 year model being added to the arsenal and I hope it stays.  I would love to see the eBook do what we are seeing on the eAudio with the ability to select OC/OU or MA [metered access]. I would also like to see all 3 options (Perpetual OC/OU, MA:12, MA:24).  In this case for the eAudio, we chose both more OC/OU and MA copies. Though we previously had maxed out our internal cap on the OC/OU, with increased demand and added budget, we rethought that cap. We then put some into our new “lucky day” [LD] collection so customers might actually see that we are addressing demand. FYI: this particular title all 15 of those LD copies in each format were snaffled up within two hours.”

In short, having options helps librarians provide access more efficiently.  We don’t spend less.  We spend better. More people have a chance to read more titles. Publishers don’t necessarily lose out.  We can make more titles visible, and give readers a chance for the sampling that (anecdotally, at least) leads to more consumer buying.  Thanks to PRH for offering options now. In a time of pandemic, expanding opportunities for reading and to quality non-fiction titles has never been more important. We can hope this period will be an experiment for PRH, in which they learn that offering options to libraries helps their authors, and everyone, so they might continue even after we have won through the pandemic.

BISG Survey

The Book Industry Study Group, which  “works to create a more informed, empowered and efficient book industry in trade, education, professional and scholarly publishers, as well as distributors, wholesalers, retailers, manufacturers, service providers and libraries,” has asked for libraries’ help with a short survey on the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on the book publishing ecosystem. It takes only 4 min. Please consider responding.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/8HMG2R9

LOC Offers "More Open EBooks"

Kristy Darby of the Library of Congress wrote a guest post in March discussing LOC’s work adding to the open eBook Collection.

She states the following:

anyone anywhere can now access a growing online collection of contemporary open access eBooks from the Library of Congress website. For example, you can now directly access books such as Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, Yochai Benkler’s The Wealth of Networks, and Youjeong Oh’s Pop City: Korean Popular Culture and the Selling of Place from the Library of Congress website. All of these books have been made broadly available online in keeping with the intent of their creators and publishers, which chose to publish these works under open access licenses.

A key objective of the Library of Congress digital collecting plan is the development and implementation of an acquisitions program for openly available content. We have previously discussed a number of open access book projects, including open access Latin American books, and open access children’s books. Significantly, the Library of Congress has long been receiving print copies of open access books through multiple routine acquisition streams. These openly licensed works can be made much more broadly accessible in their digital form.

These books are the result of a pilot effort of the Digital Content Management Section (DCM). DCM staff, in collaboration with the Collection Development Office (CDO), identified books available through Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB) of which the Library already holds a copy in print. DOAB is a digital directory that provides access to academic peer-reviewed books available under open access licenses.

More access is always good, especially in a time when the health crisis has disrupted many normal library operations. Thanks, LOC, for the great work!

The Elending Project Releases Another Important Study

Earlier this month, our colleagues in Australia from the eLending Project produced another invaluable study, in this case exploring how libraries there decide to purchase e-book content. Rebecca Giblin, Associate Professor of and Director – Intellectual Property Research Institute of Australia (IPRIA), sent RF the following announcement.  RF regrets not sharing it earlier but did not wish it to be overshadowed by the license model changes recently announced by some Big 5 publishers.

I’m writing to let you know that our major research report, 'Driven by Demand - Public library perspectives on the elending market', launched today in Canberra, is now online. This is the result of a nationwide survey of Australian libraries aimed at understanding how publisher licensing and pricing practices affect their decision-making about which books to add to their collections. It reflects tremendously thoughtful and generous contributions from libraries all around Australia – the response rate to our survey was humblingly high. Please do check it out – there are some surprising and probably controversial things in there, but our library partners agree that it is an accurate portrayal of Australian perspectives at least.

RFencourages librarians to look at and share the study widely. Their findings would generally carry over in the USA and Canada.  Please look here for a summary. The study’s results are certainly in line with a 2017 ReadersFirst survey of librarians on license models, though far more detailed and of greater validity: (to simplify grossly, with apologies to Rebecca and her co-researchers) multiple/variable models at point of licensing are good, time-bound licenses are not good (licenses should be either circ-bound or perpetual), a pay-per-use model is problematic, simultaneous access would be helpful but is a challenge to achieve under current models, and current models/pricing present challenges for developing broad collections.

Studies are supporting the observations of front-line librarians: we face great challenges in developing the same access to content in digital that we offer in print, with solutions being difficult but certainly requiring joint advocacy and action. Thanks to the eLending Project for more great work to help guide us.

Internet Archive Announces National Emergency Library

ReadersFirst has received the following announcement from the Internet Archive [full disclosure: somm members of our Working Group have endorsed the project]. RF hopes that the Open Library can expand access to titles in a difficult time for library readers, who may often find waiting lists for our content longer:

From Tuesday, March 24, 2020:

With your support, we launched a National Emergency Library this morning, backed by more than 200 endorsements from individuals & institutions (and the list is still growing!).  Thank you for standing with us as we made this bold move.  You can read more about our efforts in the official announcement and in our FAQs.

 What now?

Our work is far from over! While we continue to build our library and raise awareness about our collection, we welcome you to follow along or participate in any way you can, including:

1.    Read books! With suspended waitlists you can dive into some really interesting research, or even rediscover a classic you might not have read (or even seen on a shelf) in years.  Browse the collection now.

2.    Spread the word!  Please share information about the National Emergency Library with your colleagues, your students, and your followers on social media.  A point on this - there are already critics of what we’re doing who are tweeting and spreading disinformation about our efforts. Please counter them if you find what we’re doing valuable. A chorus of support would be incredibly helpful.

3.    Learn more! We’ve scheduled a series of webinars over the next 3 weeks to help people learn more about Open Libraries and the National Emergency Library. Sign up today! If you’re interested in having a discussion tailored to your local needs, please contact me directly.

4.    Join Open Libraries (if you’re a library) or ask your local library to do so! We are able to meet our community’s needs during this crisis by suspending waitlists.  Your library’s participation in Open Libraries will help us keep up with demand once the suspension is over and we return to normal lending capacities.  Learn more at Open Libraries. 

Thank you again for helping us make books more available while our schools and libraries are closed.  Onward, together!

PRH Open License Online Story Time and Classroom Read-Aloud Videos and Live Events

Mr. Skip Dye. Senior VP of Library Sales and Digital Strategy for Penguin Random House recently appeared on the “Turn the Page” podcast of the Syosset Public Library, discussing PRH’s new license for its books/audibooks during the current pandemic. RF does not typically feature news from for-profit entities but thinks this effort worthy of mention now. Thanks, Skip and PRH, for your help in a difficult time:

Here is a link to PRH’s news, which reads as follows:

In order to encourage reading and classroom read-aloud experiences, and to support schools and public libraries forced to close by the escalating COVID-19 outbreak, Penguin Random House is permitting teachers, librarians and booksellers to create and share story time and read-aloud videos and live events, according to the following guidelines:

For Teachers and Educators providing distance learning to students in a virtual classroom setting:

• Story time or classroom read-aloud videos in which a Penguin Random House book is read aloud and the book is displayed (for picture books) may be created and posted to closed educational platforms such as Google Classroom, Schoology, Edmodo and Discovery Education, in order to replicate the read-aloud book experience that would otherwise be available to educators in the classroom.

• If a Teacher or Educator plans to share a story time video by recording a video, uploading it to a YouTube channel, and posting a link to that YouTube video inside a closed educational platform, that YouTube video must be designated as “Unlisted” (not “Public”) when uploading. See screenshot for how to choose “Unlisted” while uploading on YouTube.

• These story time and classroom read-aloud videos may be hosted on the educational platform and/or YouTube (as an “Unlisted” file) until the end of the current school year, after which we request that they be removed from the educational platform and/or from YouTube, unless this permission is extended for the next school semester.

For Booksellers and Librarians who wish to provide a story time reading or other read-aloud experience to young people who would otherwise visit the library or bookstore in person:

• Story time or read-aloud live events in which a Penguin Random House book is read out loud and the book is displayed (for picture books) may be streamed live, in real time, on social media platforms such as YouTube, Facebook Live, Twitter, and Instagram.

• These story time or read-aloud live events may not be maintained in the archive of the social media platform and appropriate measures should be taken to ensure that videos of the live events are not retained. Because these platforms automatically archive live events by default, when your event has concluded, please  locate the recorded live video in your account (YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) and delete it. See screenshot for how to delete a live video from YouTube after it has concluded.

Reporting requirements – We ask that all educators, librarians, and booksellers please complete this form in order to receive approval from Penguin Random House.  If you have any questions, please email StoryTimeTempPermission@penguinrandomhouse.com.

DPLA Press Release on COVID-19

In a time of pandemic, RF brings you news to use from important digital content partners, in this case the Digital Pulbic Library of America (DPLA), which has shared the following prees release. RF thanks DPLA for working to extend access to content in a time when many libraries have closed doors to physical buildings and digital works are even more important.

Like you, we are practicing social distancing and doing our best to flatten the curve, while also juggling all sorts of new challenges that have come along with the spread of COVID-19. We have been amazed and humbled to see how our community has come together, and we send our best wishes to everyone who has been affected in various ways by this crisis.

We wanted to take a minute to highlight some of the ways that our free DPLA resources may come in handy during this unsettling time.

For Everyone:

With many libraries closed, this is a great time to check out the free SimplyE app, available for iOS and Android. Access more than 5,000 ebook titles--from the classics to contemporary fantasy and sci-fi--ALL FOR FREE by choosing DPLA as your library and tapping on the DPLA Collection. No sign in or library card required! [Eds note: These titles are also availalbe from libraries that deploy SimplyE. SimplyE libraries,. DPLA has also added audiobooks to its Exchange, and don’t forget the Indie Author Ttitles from BiblioLabs.]

For Teachers:

Primary Source Sets: Our collection of free primary source sets cover a wide range of topics from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women  to Negro League Baseball to Angel Island. All include a curated set of primary sources, lesson plans, discussion questions and tips for primary source analysis. 

DPLA Search: Use our search to access more than 36 million images, texts, videos and sounds from our 4,000+ partner institutions across the country. Our collection is useful for primary source research and analysis and research projects on almost any topic under the sun as well creating things like scavenger hunts and games for putting a little fun in e-learning.

Open Ebooks: Our Open Ebooks program provides thousands of free ebooks to Title 1 schools. Readers can immediately download some of the most popular works of the past and present, with no costs, no holds, and no late fees. Titles were selected by DPLA’s Curation Corps of school and youth librarians. Register your school today and start getting free ebooks. 

For Students:

Online Exhibitions: Our collection of online exhibitions can introduce students to more than two dozen topics ranging from the 1918 flu pandemic to Political Outsiders in US Presidential Elections to the building of the Transcontinental Railroad. 

National History Day: Are you researching a project for National History Day? Find out more about how DPLA resources around this year’s theme, Breaking Barriers in History, can help.

For Genealogists: 

Family Research: We’ve heard from some budding genealogists who are using their extra time at home to dig into their family history. This family research guide is an introduction to how to use DPLA’s records in your search.
In addition, here are some other online learning resources that we’ve found helpful:

PBS Learning
Library of Congress: Smart Fun for Kids
Smithsonian Learning Resources
The Kennedy Center: ArtsEdge
NASA Stem Engagement
National Women’s History Museum

We hope that all of you are staying safe, and washing your hands.

Tumblebooks Press Release

ReadersFirst is typically unwilling to post press releases from commerical providers, but wishes to thank Tumblebooks for its curent action:

March 20, 2020

TumbleBooks, a world leader in online children’s book databases, announced today it will make its family of online libraries available for free to all libraries until at least August 31.

Its flagship product, TumbleBooklibrary ([www.tumblebooklibrary.com]www.tumblebooklibrary.com) is a collection of animated talking picture books, read-alongs, books, quizzes, lesson plans, and educational games which is used by thousands of schools and public libraries in over 100 countries across the world.

It is inviting libraries across North America to email info@tumblebooks.com with subject line Free TumbleBooks in order to receive free links to all five of its databases so they can be shared and accessed by their patrons from the comfort and safety of their homes.

President and CEO Ron Zevy issued this statement:

“During these difficult times we, like you, are only concerned with the safety and well being of our children. We put business concerns aside and work for the greater good of the community. We hope and pray our content can provide much needed entertainment, distraction, and education.”

TumbleBooks, based in Toronto, Canada, owns and operated TumbleBookLibrary, TumbleMath, TeenBookCloud, AudioBookCloud, and Romance BookCloud. For more information contact: Rz@tumblebooks.com

Macmillan Drops Embargo

Andrew Albanese from Publishers Weekly has posted news that Macmillan has ended its e-book embargo.

ReadersFirst is pleased that Macmillan is returning to its earlier pricing model for libraries.  It can be hoped this move is a good starting point for further negotiations, with good faith on both sides. Some of Macmillan's recent proposals were worth looking at.  The pricing model of dropping costs over time was welcome, though Macmillan’s initial prices on some of the models were unsustainable for libraries.  

Mr. Sargent, we at RF Working Group hope that we might move from a 2-year time-bound license to a circulation-based license (say 40 circulations at a set price?) for metered access.  Please consider adding a one copy/one user perpetual access license, if only a year after a title is published and demand is lower, or even only on a backlist, but ideally up front. It would be worth a higher cost than the metered licenses, but many in our group say we would often get it, even as we also used metered access when meeting high initial demand.

Thank you, Macmillan, for working to end an unproductive stalemate. It was gracious. Let's move forward together for the good of readers inside and outside libraries.

Meanwhile, we in libraries need to come to a greater consensus on what models we would most like to see and advocate for those models with all publishers. What do we want? Or, since no one model works in every case, what flexibility of models do we want? Let's stop reacting to what we are offered by publishers and advocate for what we need to use our money to best effect. Our ability to offer digital content well is improved by Macmillan’s change, but we still face challenges in creating broad and cost-effective digital collections to match our print collections. In a time when many libraries are closed because of COVID-19, the need has never been greater.

Macmillan Floats Three Potential Models

On Wednesday, Macmillan released three license models that might be considered for the future. They chose only a few libraries. The plan was to “open discussions on possible new library models.” My library as not one of them. Several librarians, however, who were uncomfortable about being asked on matters that effect the whole library community, have shared the models. I encourage the libraries originally approached to share their thoughts with Macmillan. I deem it best that the library community as whole have an opportunity at least to know the models. They could potentially affect us all. And why not seek feedback from many in our community and not just a select few? It is interesting for all of us to see what is being contemplated.

Macmillan was kind enough to share the models with the ALA’s reformed Joint Digital Content Working Group. I did not get my information on the models from that group or anyone in that group.

They may be seen here.

ReadersFirst is grateful that Macmillan is opening discussions but disappointed that none of the models we have often advocated for are represented.

A flexible model in which libraries could choose between a perpetual access one copy/one user (perhaps at a higher cost) and a circulation-based metered model (say 50 circs, with no time limit, at a lower cost than the perpetual model) at point of publication, or perhaps even choose some of both upfront, would allow us to use our limited funding to best advantage. If prices go down over time, so much the better. In all three models, Macmillan has at least forecast prices going down over time, and for that we are grateful. Macmillan is concerned about consumer sales in the period of highest demand:  8 weeks, they imply. They are a business. They need to make money for their authors, and others. We understand that, though we still think they underestimate libraries’ power to aid discovery (and even sales) of their authors.

Here are some quick thoughts, then:

Proposal 1: 80-60-50: Metered by circ period: The price is an increase of 33% ($80 up from $60) on titles for the first 8 weeks. But we understand why. This model is based on two-year licenses. Too many times we see licenses “explode,” not getting many circs before expiring. Best case for us in two years (at two weeks per) would be about 50 circs. Would you switch to a circ-based model (say 40 circs) and get rid of the time limit? Even with a time-based model, however, this option still seems the best of the three. And could you charge less for some titles? Not all are created equal—not every book is high-demand best-seller.

Proposal 2: Pay-per-use: I am assuming that the base cost we are working from is $14.99 (standard retail price?) but perhaps some costs would be lower? 70% in first 8 weeks is $10.49. That’s about what Macmillan what says they get from a consumer sale. 40% is $5.99 ($5.996 actually, or $6.00, but maybe they give us a penny). 20% is $2.99. Many librarians who order dislike pay-per-use. It is often a budget buster, with a few high demand titles eating up lots of the money. One must quickly cap circs per month per user, as many libraries have had to do with Hoopla. And at these prices--$10.50 a circ upfront? What library could afford it? Over time, the price is more attractive, but still high. This one would work if it were perhaps extended to some low-cost titles, perhaps the equivalent of mass market genre works, but not high-cost first run titles. Looks like embargo through price. Maybe offer on your backlist at $1.00 per circ or so?

Proposal 3: Metered per use and time: Two strikes here: Time-based expiration of circs (especially an 8-week expiration for the $7 price point) is troubling. Get rid of the time-based expiration and give us a metered cost-per-use model and maybe we’ll talk after 26 weeks at $2 per circ. But 10 circ bundles? Really? How often are we going to have to reorder bundles on best-sellers? At these prices, could I order, say, a 100 circ bundle if I want (not that many libraries could afford titles in the first 8 weeks, but again we get that you are looking to boost retail sales in the first 8 weeks), and not have the time expiration so I knew what I was getting for my money.

If I could only choose one model, Proposal # 1 is it. But how about a combination? On some titles, l want metered access, on a backlist I might like pay-per use at a reasonable cost, and on some select titles (by patron request?) I might like a small bundle. Throw in a perpetual access option—even one per library—and even with your up-front cost increases, I will be your friend.

RF salutes Macmillan for reaching out, but suggests that learning from your summer of 2019 experience (which made many librarians, even some of the few you spoke with, distrust you) would be a good idea. Maybe you meant to talk with a few libraries upfront and then planned to extend the conversation to more. Asking the opinion of a few, when we want to speak together as a community, is not ideal. You have at least started, though, and we hope you might consider a few reasonable tweaks, especially since I may not have interpreted every model correctly. Anything is better than an embargo of content to libraries.