A Seat at the (Digital Round)table
As #hcod continues to develop, it’s been refreshing to see additional voices come out of the woodwork. While there is still a great deal of concern about publishers and librarians taking an antagonistic role toward one another, other voices have emerged from the woodwork showing that both sides have a vested stake in talking to one another.
I’ve worn myself out saying it over and over again, but it continues to bear repeating: libraries and publishers have a common interest: getting as many books in the hands of as many people as possible. We take different paths to get there, and those paths may converge and separate several times in the steps taken from author to reader. But there’s a definite symbiosis here, and one that libraries need to hammer home.
I’ve been invited to participate in Digital Book World’s online roundtable discussion tomorrow, and I hope to do all I can to advocate from the library’s side of the issue. To that end, I’m looking for additional examples of ways libraries have collaborated with publishers to market their wares. What examples are you able to share? Do you have any data regarding how libraries can influence sales?
As I attempt to collect data, I have a similar question for publishers (welcome, if you’re reading this!): What data do you have demonstrating library activity as lost sales? Where are your numbers that show patron checkouts coming at the expense of book purchases?
As I work to put more of this information together, I’m hoping to share more with Library Renewal. They’ve graciously extended an invitation to contribute to their blog, and I don’t plan on letting them down.