OITP (Office of Information Technology Policy) is receiving an update this morning from BilBary founder Tim Coates on the upcoming ebook service. In brief, the service will create an international marketplace for ebooks with some twists. Coates wants to lend books in addition to selling them.
And BilBary wants to include public libraries as well. In addition to customers being able to pay for borrowing books directly, Coates envisions libraries subsidizing loans for their patrons. This is not, he explained, about acquisitions. BilBary would provide library patrons with the full collection from a publisher to make it available for lending.
A concern I have is that this model could threaten the physical manifestation of the public library. When an external company steps in to provide ebooks outside of the library, there is a risk of local funding sources bypassing the library and library costs to pay directly to the ebook provider. The library isn’t technically a part of this transaction.
Coates responded to these concerns with a strong statement about his support for public libraries. He has been, he told the group, one of the strongest supporters of the UK Public Library Service.
This is a model that I believe has some merit. I like the openness of the collection, but I still think a hybrid model of purchasing and then paying for additional access (but being able to fall back on the “owned” copy) could work better in the long run.