Last week the American Library Association announced that Penguin Group USA would no longer be providing new titles in the form of eBooks or audio books to the association's Overdrive service, which provides a way for public library members to get eBooks online.

Molly Raphael, president of the ALA delivered the bad news in a statement. "Yesterday, Penguin Group USA called to alert us that they will no longer offer any e-books or audiobooks to libraries through OverDrive. While libraries are expected to have continued access to Penguin e-books already included in their catalogs, the effect today is that readers will have less access to Penguin titles through their local libraries..." Raphael stated.

According to an article written by Raphael on the association's magazine website last week, the problem is that publishers appear to be threatened by the lending model. "Borrowing a print book from a library involves a nontrivial amount of personal work that often involves two trips--one to pick up the book and one to return it. The online availability of ebooks alters this friction calculation, and publishers are concerned that the ready download-ability of library ebooks could have an adverse effect on sales," Raphael wrote.

But Penguin's fear is probably unfounded. In fact, a preliminary study by Amazon found that when Amazon began its free lending program, it actually increased sales--as any content marketing professional could tell you. (Of course, it's worth noting that Amazon has a dog in this fight because it hopes to attract more publishers to the free lending program.)

While publishers may be frightened about stealing digital books, this has nothing to do with what the libraries are doing in lending these books in a legitimate channel and it's just another case of the entrenched old media running away from technology instead of embracing it.

One company that sees it differently is PlayTales, an interactive multi-platform bookstore aimed at children. PlayTales announced it was making its 90 interactive children's titles in 7 languages, available for free to libraries, for download by library patrons on library-owned devices.

Anna Belle Abraham, U.S. manager of multilingual and multicultural marketing and communications for Genera Interactive, the Spain-based company that owns PlayTales understands Penguin's concerns, but her company sees the digital market as an opportunity, rather than a threat. 

"That ease of lending with eBooks has publishers worried about the impact on sales. Will library lending impact sales in the short run? Possibly. However, we feel that library lending can both create awareness of books and help drive book sales," Abraham explained.

Penguin public relations did not respond to a request for comment on this story.

For more information:
- see the ALA official statement

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