Subject: Interlibrary loan economics From: "Joseph J. Esposito" <espositoj@xxxxxxx> Date: Thu, 13 Jun 2002 09:38:55 -0700 |
In an interesting discussion this week, a prominent academic librarian made a point that was entirely new to me, and I am hopeful that subscribers to this list may be able to provide some additional background. The (casual) topic was the resistance on the part of many publishers to interlibrary loans for digital works, resistance that is often codified in the licenses that govern the use of the intellectual property. I made the point that in the hardcopy world, many publishers have a grin-and-bear-it attitude to interlibrary loan: it is legal (controlled by the "first sale" doctrine) and is probably of minor economic significance, since it is expensive for libraries to administer such loans, which discourages widespread use; and some publishers may feel that interlibrary loan provides an indirect mareketing benefit, as a book is brought to the attention of new readers (and the librarians who administer the loan). To this my informative librarian noted that it is also costly for a library to administer interlibrary loans for *digital* works and that if publishers understood the economics of interlibrary loans better, they would be less concerned about them--and presumably be more willing to insist on highly restrictive licenses. Can anyone share information on the economics of interlibrary loans, both for hardcopy and digital works? What are the costs? How are they calculated? Thank you. Joe Joseph J. Esposito Portable CEO 613 Spring St. Santa Cruz, CA 95060 espositoj@xxxxxxx (831) 425-1143 (831) 254-0306 mobile
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