Essay // Libraries, E-Books, and Self-Publishing

This short assignment was written for LIS 2000 as part of a discussion about the role of libraries in the era of e-books, self-publishing, and digital information.

In the past, libraries were traditionally focused on print resources, but the ever-growing number of digital resources available today has caused a significant shift in libraries’ roles. E-books and other digital resources take up a lot less physical space in libraries than print resources, which can leave room for libraries to take on new roles and house new resources like computer labs, meeting rooms, and maker-spaces. However, digital resources also often take up greater portions of libraries budgets than their print counterparts due to bundling and licensing costs, which can make it difficult to provide the same level of access under existing budget structures (Koehn & Hawamdeh 2010). Licensing terms and conditions are renegotiated often with publishers, and since libraries don’t actually own the digital content they purchase access to, this access could be much more restricted than with print resources. For example, HarperCollins Publishing Co. has a policy where you can buy access to a title, but you only get 1,000 uses (Neary 2011). While these challenges can put a strain on libraries’ current budgets, e-books and other digital resources are a great way for libraries to meet users where they are, so to say; instead of people having to physically go to the library to get the information they need, they can take advantage of those resources from home or their desk at work.

On the other hand, self-publishing is a unique issue as it has grown sharply over the last several years – Bowker (2013) found that between 2011 and 2012 alone, the number of self-published books rose by up to 60%. However, not many of these titles find their way into libraries for various reasons, be it the stigma of self-publishing as a “vain” endeavor, a lack of large-scale demand for the books, or a distrust of potentially un-reviewed content (and lack of fact-checking). However, Andrew Hart (2017) argues that self-publishing fits in well with the extremely popular maker movement – by providing access to self-publishing technologies and keeping a self-published/independent literature section in the library could be a great way for libraries to truly represent and give voice to the communities they serve. It fits well with the idea of public libraries as one of the last truly democratic institutions, and having self-published content in the library is not unheard of: even the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has a self-published “zine” collection.

Bowker. “Self-Publishing Movement Continues Strong Growth in US, Bowker Says.” Bowker. October 9, 2013. http://www.bowker.com/news/2013/Self-Publishing-Movement-Continues-Strong-Growth-in-US-Says-Bowker.html.

Hart, Andrew. “Self-Publishing, Indie Authors, and Libraries.” Public Libraries Online. July 10, 2017.

Koehn, Shona L., and Suliman Hawamdeh. “The Acquisition and Management of Electronic Resources: Can Use Justify Cost?” The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy 80, no. 2: 2010 (161-174).

Neary, Lynn. “The Future of Libraries in the E-Book Age.” NPR. April 4, 2011. http://www.npr.org/2011/04/04/135117829/the-future-of-libraries-in-the-e-book-age.