The UCLA Library has nearly one million electronic books catalogued and wants that number to grow.
But as the university works to expand its collection, librarians are running into licensing problems with publishers, said Sharon Farb, associate university librarian.
Earlier this year, Farb and her associates contacted Random House, Inc., the publishers for UCLA’s new Common Book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” by Rebecca Skloot.
UCLA requires all incoming students to read a specific book each year, and the university hoped to purchase the rights to e-book copies for students who cannot attend summer orientation, Farb said.
In response, Random House, Inc. referred the library to OverDrive, a digital rights manager and e-book distributor.
The company said the e-books would be available after the purchase of a $5,000 website and additional payments of $5 per download and 15 cents per digital rights management, Farb said.
With this in mind, she said it would have been more economical for the university to just buy 500 consumer copies.
“Lending a physical book was never an issue. Lending an e-book has become a very controversial issue in the digital realm,” said Ivy Anderson, director of collections for the California Digital Library.
The California Digital Library is a UC-wide system, founded in 1997, that allows students and faculty to access books and academic materials online.
While libraries are concerned with access to information for education over the long term, Anderson said publishers care more about how to optimize revenue. These motives are not always well aligned, she added.
In March, publisher HarperCollins announced a 26 e-book loan limit for libraries that requires them to repurchase licenses in response to high demand.
“Our prior e-book policy for libraries dates back almost 10 years to a time when the number of e-readers was too small to measure,” HarperCollins said in a statement.
“We are looking to balance the mission and needs of libraries and their patrons with those of authors and booksellers, so the library channel can thrive alongside the growing e-book retail channel.”
The UCLA Library wants visitors to have the freedom to use its online resources as though they were print books, Farb said. She also said the university wants publishers to limit licensing restrictions.
Publishers like University of California Press and Springer Science Business Media allow perpetual access in their e-book packages.
This gives patrons the freedom to access, manipulate and share the files indefinitely, Farb said.
“Libraries have to be principled about the standards by which they make information available,” Anderson said.
Anderson expressed hope that publishers will feel pressured to comply with the UCLA Library and California Digital Library because they want their works to be available to major institutions.
Despite the present challenges, Farb said she foresees an evolution with respect to licensing.
As far as the digital library itself goes, students like Michael Wartenbe said accessibility outweighs tradition.
“The serendipity of searching the book stacks is not possible with digital, but it makes sense to make those materials as accessible as possible,” said Wartenbe, a graduate student in information studies.