Why can't I get this eBook from ECRL?

Why isn’t the eBook I want available for check out from ECRL? 

Here are just a few of the many authors whose eBooks ECRL wants to offer you but can’t: 

·         Suzanne Collins  (Hunger Games trilogy)

·         Vince Flynn

·         William Kent Krueger

·         Mary Higgins Clark

ECRL very much wants to offer these popular authors to you in the eBook platform; however, when it comes to purchasing eBooks, libraries do have a limited market to select from. 

Why are popular titles unavailable as eBooks?

First, not every book that gets published is published as an eBook.  For example, it wasn’t until March of this year (2012) that the Harry Potter series was published as eBooks.  Time Traveler’s Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger, a popular Book Club selection is another example of a title not legally published as an eBook.  Authors and publishers make this decision for each individual title.

But I see them on Amazon.com (or the B&N Nook Book Store)? 

Not every eBook that is published is available for library lending.  Unlike a regular person, a library cannot purchase an eBook from Amazon or Barnes & Noble and then lend it out to our patrons.  Libraries can buy a print book from publishers, place it on the shelf, and lend it out.  But digital content is being treated differently by the publishers and the companies who manage digital content licensing.   Instead, publishers sell their content to OverDrive, our eBook vendor, who then allows libraries to license titles from them. 

eBooks are still relatively new, and publishers are trying to determine how they affect publishing. Currently, several major publishers do not support a public library lending model for eBooks.  Others have made prices so high or have implemented such severe restrictions, that it restricts our ability to select them.  OverDrive, our eBook vendor, works with publishers so that libraries have selections available but this is continually a work in progress.  

Why is there a waiting list for eBooks? 

A common misconception is that eBooks are always available, that an infinite number of people can check out the same eBook at the same time.  This is not accurate.  eBooks are just like physical books in that libraries have to purchase the rights to each copy in our collection, and that only 1 person can borrow 1 copy at a time.  As our collection is relatively new, ECRL starts out with 1 copy of the titles we purchase, though we may add additional titles as waiting lists grow. 

Why is the eBook available in EPUB format but not Kindle format?  Or, why is it available in Kindle format but not EPUB format?

Right now, there are two main filetypes being used to describe eBook files: the Amazon eBook standard, or .amz file, and the ePub file (.epub) that is used by just about every other eBook vendor.   In other words, they are two different computer languages.  In order to create an eBook in both formats, publishers must make the choice to code the books and sell them to Amazon and Barnes and Noble (or some other EPUB distributor).  The cost of creating eBooks in the two formats, the percentage of net profits, and control over pricing are all reasons why authors and publishers may choose one, the other, or both formats for distributing their eBooks. 

ECRL has now offered eBooks for 6 months, and will continue to grow the collection.  A final reminder: If you would like to request that ECRL purchase a specific eBook title, you may make suggestions by sending an email with the title and author to ecregion@ecrlib.org.   All suggested items will not be purchased, since suggestions will be considered with regard to collection development plans and budget available. 
__________________________________________________________________________________

Publisher Name	Do they sell their eBooks to Libraries?	Restrictions	Examples of authors/series they publish
Hachette Book Group	NO	n/a	Nicholas Sparks, James Patterson, Karen Kingsbury
HarperCollins Publishers	YES	Allow 26 circulations per copy before expiring. Libraries then must purchase an additional license if they wish to retain the title.	Daniel Silva, Susan Wiggs, Debbie Macomber
Macmillan	NO	n/a	Iris Johansen, Lisa Scottoline, Janet Evanovich
Penguin Group	NO	As of November 2011, Penguin no longer sells eBooks to libraries. Penguin eBooks purchased prior to that date remain available. However, they can only be downloaded via USB cable (including Kindle).	Lisa Gardner, Clive Cussler, Nora Roberts
Random House, Inc.	YES	New inflated prices; libraries are charged 300%  the price Random House charges consumers.	John Grisham, Danielle Steel, Lee Child
Scholastic	NO	n/a	Captain Underpants, 39 Clues, Goosebumps
Simon & Schuster	NO	n/a	Jodi Picoult, Sandra Brown, Stephen King

*Not intended to be a comprehensive list of publishers, but rather an indicator what libraries are facing from the major publishing houses.  In addition, major publishing houses have multiple divisions and subsidiary companies, which are subject to the lending models of their parent company.  (i.e. Atria Books is an imprint of Simon and Schuster and so does also not lend eBooks to libraries.)

Sarah Biro, Branch Librarian, Chisago Lakes Area Library

Resident eBook guru and selector

It All Started in Minnesota

Summer reading has been around for a long time at East Central Regional Library. Vickie Sorn, our Youth and Community Services Librarian, has a list of ECRL’s summer reading themes going back to 1978*. Bionic Readout was the theme that year—must have been the year of the Six Million Dollar Man. The early themes, prizes and bookmarks were originated at the local level. In 1987, ten Minnesota regional library systems developed a summer library program for children, choosing a theme, creating artwork and selecting incentives that public libraries in the regions could purchase and use. This was the beginning of what’s known as the national Collaborative Summer Library Program and membership has grown to include libraries from all 50 states.

Paws to Read was the first Collaborative Summer Library Program.  According to Vickie, in the early years a graphic artist was hired. Librarians later agreed to choose an illustrator to do the thematic art. For example, Lane Smith, illustrator of The Stinky Cheese Man and The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs, did the art work for Wolfin’ down Books in 2001. Vickie has said that economics drives part of the program—what vendor can get the best prices and of course bringing in more libraries brings prices down.

Much of the work is done by multiple committees of librarians, of which Vickie has been a part of for many years. One committee puts together the big manual of ideas that librarians use as a resource throughout the summer. Other committees negotiate with the artist and still others work on the incentives. In recent years, Upstart has been the vendor that has worked with CSLP on the process of negotiation and offering incentives for the CSLP-selected nationwide theme. Since working with committees is a slow process, much advance planning is needed. That’s why librarians are buying summer reading prizes in December. Vickie said that the themes for summer reading have been chosen up to 2015!

This year author Brian Lies, is the illustrator for the theme, Dream Big Read. Look for graphics of stars and bats, cats, owls, beavers and alligators camping out and reading. Some of his books include Bats at the Beach, Bats at the Library and Bats at the Ballgame. ECRL Librarians have ordered hundreds of dollars’ worth of reading records, bookmarks, and incentive prizes, and have planned many activities and storytimes to keep children coming to the library over the summer.

Kathy Morrow, Branch Librarian
Mille Lacs Community Library in Isle

*Summer Reading Program Themes
contributed by Vickie Sorn, Youth and Community Services Librarian
1978 BIONIC READOUT
1979 QUEST TO DAER
1980 LIBRARY OLYMPICS
1981 RUNESTONE READING
1982 DRAGONSUMMER MAGIC
1983 COSMIC CAPERS
1984 FROGS, TREES, AND BUMBLEBEES (LEAF THROUGH A BOOK)
1985 CRACK THE CODE
1986 LIBERTY ENLIGHTENING THE WORLD
1987 PAWS AT YOUR LIBRARY
1988 DIVE INTO YOUR LIBRARY
1989 DINO-SOAR INTO SUMMER
1990 WHEELIN’ THRU SUMMER
1991 HATS OFF TO LIBRARIES
1992 LIBRARY ALL STARS
1993 HOOK A BOOK
1994 GO WILD FOR LIBRARIES
1995 THE SKY’S THE LIMIT
1996 GET IN THE GAME AT YOUR LIBRARY
1997 THRILLS AND CHILLS
1998 ROCK AND READ
1999 TREASURE YOUR LIBRARY
2000 COSMIC CONNECTIONS AT YOUR LIBRARY
2001 WOLFIN’ DOWN BOOKS @ YOUR LIBRARY
2002 DISCOVER A HOPPIN’ PLACE @ YOUR LIBRARY
2003 EXPLORE BRIGHT IDEAS @ YOUR LIBRARY
2004 TRACK IT DOWN AT YOUR LIBRARY
2005 WHAT’S BUZZIN’ AT YOUR LIBRARY
2006 CATCH THE BEAT AT YOUR LIBRARY
2007 GO BANANAS AT YOUR LIBRARY
2008 LOOK WHAT’S COOKIN’ AT YOUR LIBRARY
2009 GET CREATIVE @ YOUR LIBRARY
      Teens – EXPRESS YOURSELF @ YOUR LIBRARY
2010 MAKE A SPLASH – READ
      Teens – MAKE WAVES @ YOUR LIBRARY
20011 ONE WORLD, MANY STORIES
      Teens – You are Here
2012 DREAM BIG – READ
      Teens – OWN THE NIGHT

April 15, 1912 - TITANIC SINKS IN NORTH ATLANTIC!

It was the largest and most luxurious ocean liner of its time.  Captained by Edward J. Smith, the RMS Titanic left Southhampton, England, for New York City on April 10, 1912.  Four days later, at 11:40 pm on April 14th, the ship struck on iceberg in the North Atlantic, south of Newfoundland, Canada.  In the early morning hours of April 15th, the Titanic broke in two and sank to the ocean floor.

1517 people perished.

April 15, 2012, is the 100th anniversary of a maritime disaster that continues to fascinate people around the world. 

East Central Regional Library has a wide variety of materials on the Titanic in various formats that can be requested and borrowed from your local branch library.

If you enjoy fiction, consider these novels, all published in 2012:

“By the Light of the Silvery Moon” by Tricia Goyer

“The Company of the Dead” by David Kowalski
“The Dressmaker” by Kate Alcott
“Echoes of Titanic” by Mindy Starns Clark
“Hearts that Survive” by Yvonne Lehman
“Promise Me This” by Cathy Golke

For nonfiction readers, the following 2012 titles should prove interesting:

“Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage” by Hugh Brewster
“Shadow of the Titanic” by Andrew Wilson
“Titanic:  Last Night of a Small Town” by John Welshman
“Titanic in Photographs” by Daniel Klistorner
“Titanic Tragedy” by John Maxtone-Graham
“Voyagers of the Titanic” by Richard Davenport-Hines

For film buffs, the library offers both feature films and documentaries:

“Titanic” starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck (1953)

“A Night to Remember” starring Kenneth More and Jill Dixon (1958)
“Titanic” starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (1997)
“Titanic” starring Toby Jones and Linus Roache (2011)
“Titanic:  the Complete Story” (2011)
“Titanic:  100^th Anniversary Collection” (2012)
“Titanic:  the Definitive Documentary Collection” (2012)

 These are only a few of the items you'll find in the ECRL catalog.  For additional materials in various formats (for children, teens, and adults), access our homepage at www.ecrlib.org and click on "ECRL Catalog" on the upper left. 

And remember that library staff are always happy to assist with queries and suggestions!

Bob Gray
Reference and Interlibrary Loan Librarian