Hello
I have never liked the Amazon comparison although I think there are a few things to be learned from it, and one that is especially pertinent for public libraries: the LoveFilm offer. With Amazon, you can buy the film or rent it through LoveFilm (see http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/subs/rentals/list-page/list.html). There are a number of subscription deals as well as certain rules to ensure (as best they can) the return of the material. Interestingly enough, no late fees. So why not with books? Buy it new, buy it used, or check it out from your nearest public library? If libraries are really serious about being part of the digital environment and can acknowledge that there is quite a bit of competition for like services out there, they will have to change their business and service model--collectively, not one at a time.
How could libraries offer something like this? Not by being Amazon, with the warehouse model (although we did talk about that a bit while Co-East was something of a force in the East of England), but by adopting the Interflora franchising model of service delivery. In other words, put in your request through Amazon to check the book out, and the request gets routed to the nearest library. Subsciption services on line can be structured for sustainability and perhaps some income generation; local users coming through library doors still check the books out without charge.
Jo John and I even came up with a name and a slogan: Don't be a plonker, PLinc it! (as in Public Libraries Inc) I have gone into it in a bit more detail in my book "Do You Web 2.0?" (ruthless self-promotion, I know. Please don't hold it against me). By the way, Co-East also came up with a concept for a somewhat related service, an e-books commons, and we were working on user interaction as well as a collaborative e-book offer with Overdrive. Unfortunately, according to some people at the time, an idea before its time.
Risks are enormous, but judging from this spirited discussion so are the stakes.
Linda Berube
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