Amazon seems to be early in the planning stages so who knows if it will actually happen, but I'm not exactly sure what the point is or whether it's a viable idea. Don't most public libraries now offer digital collections to card holders for free?
I also think it's interesting that some publications are referring to this possible new Amazon service as "Netflix for Books." Hmmm ,where have I heard that before? BookSwim, another book rental service, has been touting itself as a Netflix-style book rental service for years. I tried BookSwim not once, but twice, while I lived in an area that did not have a good public library system, and my conclusion was that other than the fact that their product arrived (eventually) via mail, they were nothing like Netflix. Their selection wasn't great, their queuing system was screwed up, shipping took forever, and their pricing plans were significantly higher than Netflix plans.
The combination of these factors meant that I could more cost effectively buy the books I wanted to read. In the case of BookSwim, some of these shortcomings are necessary: it's a lot more expensive to ship books than DVDs, for example. This would be a nonissue with electronic books. But the selection is a sticking point for me, and that could be just as much of a problem with renting ebooks from Amazon is with renting paper books from BookSwim. So my reaction to Amazon being described as "Netflix for books" is, "I'll believe it when I see it."
I read a lot of books that are not available electronically, or that are way too expensive to buy in an electronic format. The subscription fee would negate the price-per-book issue, but would publishers who insist on putting price points of $18+ on ebooks agree to giving customers unlimited access to their content for a mere $79/year? Which ALSO includes shipping and streaming video? Just how much would readers be willing to pay for an electronic book subscription service if they have access to a decent public library?
Here are a couple selections from the blog post:
Though Amazon’s digital library is still in its very early stages, and though it’s yet to be seen if the idea hits roadblock getting publishers to cooperate, it’s time to speculate about the future of libraries. In 10 years, what will be the closest thing to a library? Will the image the word evokes change from the one we all once had–a person sitting quietly rapt at a table, poring over a book (either for research or pleasure) while surrounded by shelves and shelves of more books–to an image of a person, never leaving his or her house, pressing a series of buttons on a high-res Amazon tablet screen to check out a lent book, scanning the lines using the device’s backlight instead of the low ceiling lights of a library?NOOOOOO! The specter of trading my beautiful public library in for a tablet screen will encourage me to keep donating whatever I can to my public library. But there's a big caveat in this paragraph: Amazon is just in talks with publishers and as far as I've seen, none have signed on yet. That's a huge obstacle in the way before this idea can become in any way viable.
But can local branches, many already running dry, survive if Amazon gives Prime, which is becoming more and more of a deal at $79 as it decorates its price tag with feature after feature, and its users the capability to access any book a library could provide, without having to leave one’s home? Publishers, reportedly worried that Amazon’s digital library will devalue books in the eyes of consumers, obviously have the rights to the books and can put the brakes on the plan. But once one publisher signs, and assuming it finds success, expect a flood of others to follow. And really, it’s hard to imagine a feature that puts books right in front of your nose and charges you no additional cost not taking off.Yes, Prime is a good deal now and would be an even better deal with digital book rentals thrown in--IF that price point sticks. I think it's unlikely that the Big 6 publishing companies would sign off without a huge payout, and Amazon would have to come up with that cash somehow. Probably by raising the Prime subscription price.
Maybe I'm in denial because the idea of libraries failing makes me shudder. The amount of weight Amazon decides to throw around to get this done, combined with the level of desperation within the major publishing companies could make this project viable. I just think it's unlikely that this service would be the end of public libraries or paper books.
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