Big 5 License Terms as of July 2023

Michael Kozlowski from Good e-Reader has published a list of the license terms the Big 5 publishers offer to libraries through OverDrive.

The list is comprehensive and welcome, and we are glad for it.

There are, however, some misleading statements—not deliberate but notable—and quite a few devils hiding in the details

First, the Big 5 do not SELL ebooks to libraries. Not one. Libraries do not own title one from the Big 5. We license them. And that makes all the difference in the world for cost, depth and breadth of collection, and preservation. Nobody should ever use the word “sell” in a sentence combining “Big 5” and “library ebooks.” This is not nit-picking. It is the essence of the problem.

Second, while the data comes from OverDrive and hence OverDrive features large in the article, other vendors offer the same terms and at least one, Palace, has worked far more deals for different models, including as many as 5 options at once per title, than OverDrive ever has. A focus on a vendor so large that it is essentially a monopoly is no favor to libraries.

This variety of licenses is welcome—it allows libraries to make best use of their limited funds. Not even a very well funded system like Toronto, as Mr. Kozlowski mentions, can meet ebook demand. The minimum options from every publisher—assuming we set aside for now the option to purchase, which only federal mandate would get us from the Big 5—should be dual: a perpetual access license and a metered access license at a lower cost. We could get a few for long-term access, so we didn’t have to get them again and again and %$#! again, and use metered to better meet high initial demand. Only this will change the current unsustainable situation. Well, things would be better if fair prices were charged. Then license models wouldn’t matter . . . well, except that we can guarantee that libraries will lose license access once a book loses market value to the publishers, so perpetual or CDL must be an option. But fair prices are an impossible dream unless we get some government action. Of the Big 5, only Penguin Random House, and only in one format (audiobooks) offer a one-year license and a perpetual one copy-one user. Thank you, PRH—genuinely! It really is helpful. Um, ever thought of it for ebooks too?

But wait, it might be objected, we are ignoring all the pay-per-use options. Aren’t they helpful? More devils hiding: they are often only for backlists and can be budget busters. Eleven uses of a PRH audiobook, for example, is more expensive than a perpetual license. Some details about costs would give the public a better understanding of what’s going on.

The focus on only Big 5 titles is unfortunate. Medium and smaller publishers are often offering better deals on quality reads. It is also unfortunate that to many librarians, instead of offering variety, load up based on patron demand instead of curating and explaining that high-demand titles will involve a long wait. It’s their choice, of course; however, without rewarding the publishers giving us fair prices and withholding from those that do not, we will see only the Big 5 feasting at the public trough.

Just one more of the many devils hiding. From print jobbers, libraries often get great discounts on, say, hardcovers. 40 to 42% off are common. What standard discount does OverDrive offer? License at publisher wholesale and license back to libraries is a great business model. Great for business, that is, but not for libraries. More feasting at the trough.

Yep, there are the Big 5 license terms for 2023. Read ‘em and weep.

If your state doesn’t have an ebook bill in place or planned, working to have a start on laws that will make a difference, why not? Aren’t you tired of the corporate feast on public funds . . . and of the rip-off on digital costs?