The Digital Shift has a comprehensive overview of the library lending policies of the major publishers. Bookmark it for future reference. Here’s a snippet:
The ebook library lending policies of the Big Six publishers garner most of the attention, because public libraries regard access to best-selling titles as a critical service.
However, it may help to scan the landscape not only for the “Big Six” trade publishers but also for the “fairly large” and the “not so big” and the “further afield” in order to get a fuller sense of publishers’ participation in the overall library marketplace.
The list is meant to be a helpful, not comprehensive, resource. The focus is whether or not publishers are in the library ebook marketplace. It is not meant to be a listing of all possible ways to acquire ebooks for a library collection. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Contact Michael Kelley atmkelley@mediasourceinc.com.
The Big Seven
Random House Inc.
Background Acquired by Bertelsmann AG in 1998, Random House’s publishing groups include the Crown Publishing Group, the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Random House Children’s Books, and the Random House Publishing Group. Random House operates its eponymous imprint and some 200 others such as Alfred A. Knopf, Ballantine, Bantam, Dell, Pantheon, and Doubleday. Its roster includes many best-selling authors, such as Stieg Larsson, Dan Brown, Elmore Leonard, and John Grisham. The company is headquartered in New York, and is the world’s largest trade book publisher, according to Hoovers.
On ebooks and audio Random House’s commitment to the ebook library market has been consistent, with its complete frontlist and backlist available for library lending as well as digital audio titles. However, the company recently announced that it will be raising the prices it charges distributors.
See also Random House Reaffirms Commitment to Library Ebook Lending While Raising Prices to Wholesalers
