[Lswtalk] Amazon Kindle loan

Tue Jan 17 08:48:34 CST 2012

Yes, I've been following this and the ongoing tug of war between authors, distributors, publishers, and to a much lesser degree, libraries.  I recommend signing up for Publishers Weekly email newsletters to get an idea about the crazy see saw going on in the trade.

In library literature there is a lot being written but it (in my opinion) is written by librarians who don't have experience with collection budgets, collection management and circulation issues. A lot of the librarians who write about these issues take positions that make no sense economically in the real world marketplace or even meet the mission of public libraries to provide access to content.  They often confuse the functioning of the physical collection with the digital collection.  These are 2 very different animals.

It took a lot of reading and thinking about the current publishing situation, copyright, etc. but I have come to the conclusion that pay per use will be a good thing for public library digital collections especially if we can negotiate " lower library pricing."

Sorry to rant, but digital lending is yet another of those topics that public libraries need to get practical about.  I have a list. :)

Loretta Gharst
Associate Librarian
Collection & Computing Services
Calcasieu Parish Public Library
ph. 337 721-7150
fax 337 475-8806
cell 337 515-9724

From: lswtalk-bounces at beau.org [mailto:lswtalk-bounces at beau.org] On Behalf Of Howard Coy
Sent: Monday, January 16, 2012 6:29 PM
To: Libtaries Southwest
Subject: [Lswtalk] Amazon Kindle loan

Thought you might be interested in the following, especially nortice the $1.70 for authors per borrow.

Suprise! People like free stuff, Amazon's lending library a success
http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/16/Amazons-lending-library-a-success/

Howard

Surprise! People like free stuff, Amazon's lending library a success
By Terrence O'Brien<http://www.engadget.com/editor/terrence-obrien> [http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/writer_rss.gif] <http://www.engadget.com/editor/terrence-obrien/rss.xml> posted Jan 16th 2012 4:51PM
[http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.engadget.com/media/post_icon_pr.gif]
[http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/11/kindlelendinglibrary.jpg]<http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/16/Amazons-lending-library-a-success/>
You can always count on people's desire to avoid paying for stuff. That's why it shouldn't come as any surprise that Amazon's Lending Library<http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/02/amazon-prime-adds-new-reading-option-with-kindle-owners-lending/> is such a success. The free perk available to Prime customers who also happen to be Kindle owners launched in November with just 5,000 books available. Since then the library has expanded to over 75,000 titles with over 295,000 people borrowing an independently published KDP<http://www.engadget.com/2011/06/21/self-published-kindle-author-breaks-one-million-in-sales-legs-m/> e-tome in December alone. To celebrate Amazon is adding another $200,000 to the pool available to Direct Publishing authors, pushing the grand total to $700,000. To read the entire self-congratulatory PR continue on after the break.
Show full PR text
Customers Love Kindle Owners' Lending Library - KDP Authors and Publishers Benefit

Kindle Owners' Lending Library now over 75,000 books

KDP Select books were borrowed 295,000 times in December

Due to strong customer adoption, Amazon adds $200,000 bonus to January fund - an increase from $500,000 to $700,000

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 12, 2012-- (NASDAQ: AMZN)-The Kindle Owners' Lending Library is off to a strong start: customers borrowed 295,000 KDP Select titles in December alone, and KDP Select has helped grow total library selection to over 75,000 books. With the $500,000 December fund, KDP authors have earned $1.70 per borrow. In response to strong customer adoption of the Kindle Owners' Lending Library (as well as seasonal, post-holiday use of new Kindles), Amazon.com, Inc. has added a $200,000 bonus to the January KDP Select fund, raising the total pool from $500,000 to $700,000.

Paid KDP sales grew rapidly in December - and results show that paid sales of titles participating in KDP Select are growing even faster than other KDP titles. On top of this growth in paid sales, KDP Select authors and publishers on average are receiving an incremental 26% in December as a result of their participation in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.

"KDP Select appears to be earning authors more money in two ways. We knew customers would love having KDP Select titles in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library. But we've been surprised by how much paid sales of those same titles increased, even relative to the rest of KDP," said Russ Grandinetti, Vice President of Kindle Content. "Due to this early success and a seasonally strong January, we're adding a $200,000 bonus to January's KDP Select fund, growing this month's total pool to $700,000."

The top ten KDP Select authors earned over $70,000 in the month of December from their participation in the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, a 30% increase on top of the royalties they earned from their paid sales on the same titles in the same period. In total (paid sales plus their share of the loan fund), these authors saw their royalties grow an astonishing 449% month-over-month from November to December. The list of top 10 KDP Select authors includes Carolyn McCray, Rachel Yu, the Grabarchuk family and Amber Scott.

Carolyn McCray, a writer of paranormal romance novels, historical thrillers and mysteries, earned $8,250 from the KDP Select fund in December. "KDP Select truly is a career altering program," said McCray. "I couldn't be happier with the tools, support and exposure it has given me. To say the trade-off of exclusivity on Amazon for the Kindle Owners' Lending Library has been a profitable one would be a gross understatement. Participating in KDP Select has quadrupled my royalties."

Rachel Yu is a 16-year-old author of children's books, and she earned $6,200 from the KDP Select fund in the month of December. "It's so cool to be part of the success of KDP Select," said Yu. "It's just like a library but with easier access. There's truly no other opportunity like Amazon for self-publishing."

The Grabarchuk family earned $6,300 from the KDP Select fund in December from their puzzle books. "After only a month KDP Select has dramatically changed things - finally indie publishers are playing as equals with the big publishing houses in the world's biggest eBook marketplace," said Serhiy Grabarchuk, Co-Founder of the Grabarchuk Puzzles company.

Amber Scott is a romance writer and earned $7,650 from the KDP Select fund in December. "Enrolling in KDP Select utterly transformed my career," said Scott. "I've experienced not only a surge in royalties but a surge in readership thanks to the increased exposure. I love the chance to earn new readers through the innovation of the Kindle Owners' Lending Library. What an exciting time to be an author!"

Since launching Kindle Owners' Lending Library on November 2, Prime members with Kindles can now choose from over 75,000 books to borrow for free-including over 100 current and former New York Times Bestsellers-as frequently as a book a month, with no due dates.

For more information about the Kindle Owners' Lending Library, please visit http://www.amazon.com/kindleownerslendinglibrary. Independent authors and publishers can enroll their books in KDP Select at http://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/KDPSelect. To learn about all of the additional benefits included with Amazon Prime, or to start an Amazon Prime free trial visit www.amazon.com/prime.

Howard L. Coy Jr., Director
Vernon Parish Library
1401 Nolan Trace @ Abe Allen Drive
Leesville, LA 71446
1-800-737-2231 FAX 337-238-0666 hcoy at state.lib.la.us<mailto:hcoy at state.lib.la.us>
www.vernon.lib.la.us<http://www.vernon.lib.la.us/>
BLOG: http://vernonlibrary.blogspot.com
PHOTOS: www.flickr.com/photos/vernonparish/<http://www.flickr.com/photos/vernonparish/>
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