DCL Ebook Report, June 2015

By Robert C. Maier | June 4, 2015

The Douglas County Libraries Pricing Comparison for June (PDF file) is based on the Top 20 best sellers at Amazon, not the New York Times bestsellers.

In the world according to Amazon, adult coloring books take four of the top 20 spots! Most readers of this blog are probably way ahead of me in the world of adult coloring, but I have to admit that my mind wandered a bit. Just how adult are these coloring books? If your mind is now wandering you can relax—these books are about stress relief and the zen-like state coloring can induce. You might wonder what the ebook version might be, but again just relax, take a deep breath—there are no adult coloring books in the ebook format. Yet.

Now we know the secret of Amazon’s success: Everyone takes a coloring break to reduce tension and improve productivity. So if you are feeling even more aggravated than ever about ebook prices, circulation limits, time limits, vendor platforms, or the lack of integration that frustrates library patrons, just get a couple of these adult coloring books and color your way to relaxation. But please, stay within the lines!

Another exciting feature of this month’s list is the opportunity to license the forthcoming John Grisham best seller Rogue Lawyer, due for release on October 20 for $95 from OverDrive (a bargain from 3M at $85), which is almost eight times the consumer price.

This blog is maintaining a chart comparing the price a library pays OverDrive to the consumer ebook price from Amazon as a ratio. For example, in February libraries paid six times the consumer price for ebooks on the USA Today bestseller list. The ratio this month is 3.1, due to the generally lower price of the ebooks on the Amazon Top 20.

January 2015, New York Times, a ratio of 5.7
February 2015, USA Today, a ratio of 6.0
March 2015, New York Times, a ratio of 5.0
April 2015, Digital Book World, a ratio of 5.3
May 2015, New York Times, a ratio of 4.6
June 2015, Amazon Top 20, a ratio of 3.1

ROBERT C. MAIER is a member of the ALA Digital Content Working Group.

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DCL Ebook Report, June 2015

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