WILL UNWOUND #664: “Christmas Toy Story”
January 24, 2012In 1945 the big toy for Christmas was the Slinky.
In 1952 it was Mr. Potato Head.
In 1955 it was the Hula Hoop.
In 1970 it was the Nerf ball.
In 1980 it was the Rubik Cube.
In 1996 it was Tickle Me Elmo.
In 2011 it was the eReader, and now librarians everywhere are paying the price:
- · “I got this thing for Christmas and my daughter said that it would change my life because I can make the print bigger. But she didn’t show me how it works and now she’s gone back to Milwaukee. She suggested I come to the library.”
- · “I got this eReader for Christmas and the man at the bookstore said that if I wanted to get free ebooks I should come to the library. So…where are all the free ebooks? What do they look like?”
- · “I got this e Reader for Christmas. My son, who lives in Oregon, wrote to me and said it would come in handy for my business trips. Where are the discs that you put into the reader to get the books on the screen?”
- · “I got this eReader for Christmas from my son in law who was nice enough to download several books into it for me to get me started. Unfortunately I hate reading text on a screen. How can I print out the stories he downloaded?”
- · “I got this eReader for Christmaas from my grandson who said that I could do a lot more on this gadget than read books. I think he said I could watch movies on it. Do you have dvds for eReaders?”
- · “I got this eReader for Christmas from my wife who said I could download free books into it from the library’s website, but I had to get on a reserve list for the ebook I want. I don’t get why I should have to wait. Isn’t the beauty of an ebook that anyone can download it at any time? Why doesn’t your library keep up with the times?”
- · “I got this eReader for Christmas from my granddaughter. It says in the instructions that I should press any key on the touch screen to get started, but I can’t find the “any key.” Do you know where it is?
- · “I got this eReader for Christmas from my great grandson. He says you use it like a regular book, but I can’t figure out how to open it. It doesn’t seem to have any hinges.”
- · “I got this eReader for Christmas from my son. I love to read in the bath tub. If I accidentally drop it in the tub will it electrocute me?”
- · “I got this eReader for Christmas, and I love to read to my grandchildren. Can you show me where the 3-D button is for pop-up books?”
Take heart librarians. This madness can’t last can it? How many Christmas toys endure the test of time? When’s the last time you’ve seen anyone play with a Slinky, put together a Mr. Potato Head, swivel a hula hoop, scream at a Rubik Cube, shoot a Nerf ball, or tickle an Elmo doll?
Maybe you’d better not answer that question.
Advertisement
In December our state library’s contract with Overdrive ended & the new system still isn’t fully functional–which adds to the frustration of all the new e-reader owners (& librarians). Not to mention that the majority of them got Kindles, which aren’t yet compatible with our (free) e-book system & trust me, these people don’t want to buy any downloads.
I just smile, hand them one of the brochures on using digital books we came up with, & say sweetly, “we still have a lot of the old technology on our shelves…and they’re free.”
Love it! Thanks, Carol Ann.
I tell those patrons that Amazon has made the decision not to allow non-Amazon material on Kindles. It helps to let the patron know where the problem with Kindles begins–and it’s not libraries!
We thought last year’s holiday season showed the big influx of e-readers, but this year was even more so. Our library has started a program to give patrons one-on-one assistance and we’re about to start a users group.
But just to show you that books are still number one, our shelves are busting at the seams for room. Now we’ve also started a major weeding project just to keep up.
Cathi, are people not checking out glue and paper books?
They are – especially fiction. So much so that to make room for more, we’re actually weeding out the nonfiction that circulates much less.
Oh, okay. I get it. Thanks.
Pretty slick, what Amazon and Barnes & Noble have pulled off here. They make a zillion Kindles and Nooks, sell ‘em, and then offload the technical support to public libraries, who are, as usual, willing to work for free.
Excellent point, Joe.
This is what you call a hot button topic for me!
First of all I agree that the number of patrons coming to the library to request assistance with ereader has risen dramatically in the last two months.
And here’s a link to a January 23 Pew article that shows stats that show an increase in adult ownership of ereader from 18% in December to 29% in January:
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/2176/tablet-computers-ebook-readers
I would also note that not everyone dislikes the reading technology and honestly, that those of you like Will that seem to think ereaders and e-books are simply going to be a trend and will eventually fade away instead of becoming the new dominant reading format – well, I’ll just say I disagree with you.
In my opinion we’re entering a new era where content is going to be digital – books, music and film are all formats that are going to go digital. Now I’m sure there will be special edition printed copies of certain titles of books – collectors items; but in the next 20 years I except to see publishers stop making paper books, as a general rule, as more people demand digital content that they can access on portable devices from almost anywhere. And you may love paper books but if, as I expect, they go the way of VHS tapes and they aren’t made anymore… Well then, are you going to not read that new novel by your favorite author because you can only buy an eBook version of it?
I already see in the collection work I do at my library that some titles both books and movies – are no longer made in both physical and paper formats – you can only obtain digital versions of them – and that is right now in 2012 – just wait 10 years – so thinking the format is going to simply go away because it is not your cup of tea…I just don’t see that happening…
In relation, I also would note, that at my library we go out of our way to assist patrons with technology. We have computer classes, iPad classes, eBook workshops and one on one tutor sessions for patrons to come in and learn about whatever new device they just bought or even the old Windows XP laptop that someone’s relative just gave them. And believe it or not many patrons are tech savvy enough so if they ask you about library eBooks and you tell them about the Overdrive App available for iPad and Android tablets – then they can figure it how to use it on their own – they don’t need to ask the relative that went back to Minnesota after Christmas or the library staff how to use the tablet, smart phone or even ereader they own.
Libraries are being reshaped by the high tech revolution just like every other facet of society and if we don’t adapt we may not survive as relevant and viable institutions.
And in further relation, I would further suggest for consideration by all those currently working in libraries, particularly in public libraries, that if you don’t like the technology and you think you can bury your head in the sand and say “Oh well, here’s some literature on the subject of downloading library eBooks but I can’t help you with the process. But we do have print books on our shelves! You’re welcome to check out any of those titles…” That is not an action making your library relevant or useful to its patrons.
And apologizes in advance for anyone I have offended.
And I’ll get off my soap box in just a minute; but honestly, this is an important issue for libraries today! And, you can’t ignore the way technology and the greater and greater access to more and more digital content is reshaping libraries and world societies – and I think if you are trying to equate all the eBook readers and tablets sold at the end of last year with trendy items sold during Christmas seasons of past – like Cabbage Patch Kids – with the expectation that people will turn away from digital content soon and go back to traditional books just like they did with that last trendy item they got for Christmas 20 years ago– then I’d say you are ignoring the ongoing high tech revolution and the changes it is brining to the world.
linda, all I can say is that I think you misread my intent. My granddaughter loves Mr. Potato Head.
Could be. I’m an only child and don’t have children myself and I personally never played with Mr. Potato Head so I have no idea if he’s popular or not!
If that was your intent, you missed the point yourself. Your granddaughter will not be playing with Mr. Potato Head in 20 years, but she will be using an ebook of some sort. ebooks are not a fad, Will. They are an emerrging trend that will accelerate. Big difference.
Mick, I agree.
At first, I thought this was the magnificent Walt Crawford posting!
And here it the key quote of the day (maybe, all time!): “Libraries are being reshaped by the high tech revolution just like every other facet of society and if we don’t adapt we may not survive as relevant and viable institutions.”
Why Walt Crawford? Please explain.
Part of libraries’ survival depends on publishers’ willingness to share the electronic goods. Paying for a license to read instead of paying for ownership of a physical object is a game-changer.
Downloading as we know it today may just be a waypoint on the long digital trail. I suspect that books, music, and shows will end up residing in the cloud, and the various iThingies and eThingies will merely be portals to stream the content found there.
There may even be (gasp!) platform independence! You’ll pay for the privilege of accessing intellectual and cultural works in the cloud, but you won’t ever own a copy of any of them. Neither will the library. Publishers will want us to stream, not own. They want complete control over the distribution channel and are disinclined to allow the continuation of free channels.
My biggest question: Will the library even be allowed a place at the table? What is libraries’ role, if any, in a world of licensed rather than owned content?
Joe, thanks for getting the point of the post. The eReader industry is relying on libraries everywhere to train the purchases of eReaders. As far as your larger point is concerned, I have one word: iTunes.
iTunes engendered a music-distribution revolution, to be sure, but you still purchase a song and download it to a device.
What I see is a purchase of a license to access content stored in the cloud. It’s a different animal. You won’t own a song, book, or movie nor will it reside in your device. Your payment will merely allow you to stream it. I expect that there will be one-time licenses and perpetual licenses, and perhaps licenses in-between — a payment plan for every taste and need. There will be content contracts just as there now are cell phone contracts.
Everything will be wireless and every device will be within range of a hotspot. Your reader/player/viewer will be “on the internet” and so will your car, your fridge, and your clothes. It’s a brave new world. Both ownership and privacy will be quaint notions.
How does the public library fit into this picture?
The way it works now. As a place where people who cannot participate individually in your cloud will access cloud resources.
What if those who control distribution (streaming) decline to do business with libraries?
Public pressure would be too great. Look at what happened to SOPA.
Well we hope public pressure will be too great. There will be a segment of angry taxpayers who will question why the public has to foot the bill for someone else’s access to streaming media.
Apropos to our discussion…
“The leaders of the American Library Association will meet at the end of this month with top executives from [the] Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, and Penguin publishing houses, which all do not allow libraries to circulate their ebooks (in Penguin’s case the prohibition is on new releases only).”
–From the lead story in the current online issue of Library Journal.
Oh, very scary…ALA is on the way!
It’s still an article worth reading. Between the lines I read a sense of impotence among those affiliated with the ALA. Am I right? Also, it is interesting to entertain the idea that there is a publishers’ perspective. To paraphrase, publishers are in a low-margin industry and are terrified of the changes in distribution technology has wrought.
Ack. Having to deal with cell phone-type contracts just to get my reading material. You’re probably right, Joe, but it sounds horrible. I have a prepaid phone without a contract partly because I always feel like I am getting ripped off or tricked when I look at contract language. (I also spend less than $100 a year on cell bills through a prepaid phone!) I can live without a phone, but life would be much worse without books, magazines & movies.
Wow, what a great conversation! See what I miss when I don’t stop in the tavern again until a late afternoon break.
I’m with Joe as far as access goes –publishers having the ultimate control over whether or not libraries can obtain eBooks…that is very scary — because we “hope” that the publishers will eventually play nicely with public libraries and allow us to obtain digital content for our patrons — but so far I can’t say that the signs are all that positive.
I think this is an issue were advocacy is really crucial as we have to make the public and our legislators aware of the issue before there will be any major amount of pressure on publishers and digital content providers to play nicely with public libraries.
We started doing classes for eReader use last year and they’ve been moderately popular. We all had training on how to help customers with our Overdrive subscription last fall. Books, however, still circulate in large numbers.
I have a Kindle but I’d just as soon read older items on my PC. I really welcome Project Gutenberg and its ilk. I read a lot of arcane things and thanks to free books online our interlibrary loan librarian no longer hates me.
Actually, I think there’s another conversation in this. For all of the talk of the disappearance of the book, it’s a centuries-old culture which will die hard if it dies. The DVD is another question. All sorts of people are predicting its demise. In our library the biggest chunk of our circulation is DVDs. Our director is beginning to wonder what we’ll do when that demand gives out.
Beth O…I wonder when DVDs will stop being manufactured. Streaming will take over the movie industry just as it took over the music industry.
Streaming is great if you have a fast internet connection and no limit on your bandwidth. With the limited 5GB accounts that are mainstream right now streaming isn’t such a great thing….especially for movies…unless you want to pay dearly for more bandwidth.
Rural…that’s an excellent point.
I think you’re right that DVDs are beginning to be replaced by digital video. I’m taking a quick break today; however, I’ve been working on my library’s media order for the next month and in do so each month; I have noticed that the listing of new videos consists more and more of digital videos than DVDs. And DVDs too are currently really popular at our library.
And much like eBooks that we, meaning libraries, cannot simply purchase from any vendor — we won’t, at least not in the near future, be able to offer our patrons new videos if they are only available to be “purchased” in a digital stream-able format.
I remember in the recent past looking through the new video releases on the Amazon website and seeing page after page of new upcoming release to pre-order – into the thousands – you don’t see that anymore the titles are fewer. And the listing of popular titles no longer contains just DVDs but a mixture of DVDs and popular digital videos of both current seasons of television shows and newly issued movies and older TV show episodes.
I’m curious about that too- our library system serves a lot of people on the “wrong” side of the digital divide, and a number of our patrons are still upset that new movies aren’t coming out on VHS anymore. I can’t imagine how they’ll feel when they suddenly have to buy internet access and a Roku or tablet just to watch a darn movie.
And that is not to mention the fact that public libraries will need more bandwidth because if patrons cannot afford Internet at home they’ll be coming to the library with their portable devices to stream and watch movies there…
Actually, hula hooping is big right now. I mean really, really big. Like hoop gatherings and $35 custom-made hoops and women hooping to music at street dances and bars. Our YMCA offers hoop classes 2x weekly.
Someone made one for me, and it’s a hoot. (Family member — not $35, just cost of materials). I was never able to keep one going when I was a kid, but have learned to do it now.
I really wants me a slinky, too. There’s a commercial that used about ten thousand of them, and every time I see it, I want one again.
Hooping is very big right now. That’s my point! Thanks, ksol.
Will, If you haven’t seen this, it may add to the discussion. You may have to copy/paste to view it.
http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&ved=0CDIQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fldaofmichigan.wikispaces.com%2Ffile%2Fview%2FDigital%2Bliteracy%2Bin%2B21st%2Bcentury%2BLDA%2BMich%2BNov%2B2009-ken.ppt&ei=TvYeT9qiKJT4tgfmnri2BA&usg=AFQjCNEueh5MsVeWg95-zv3qCp_qVjJi7Q&sig2=047gsVBQMhVb1XMOqmv7WQ
And, while things are changing and will continue to change, it will come slowly and hard for some.My spouse tried to give me a kindle fire for Christmas and i was really turned off by it. We returned it. Later, I purchased something I had had time to experiment with at a workshop — and found would be really useful for me — a Livescribe smart pen. I am secretary for several groups and it is so helpful….
Susie, this link is excellent. I hope others click it on and read it. thanks.
That is a cool PowerPoint – thanks for sharing!
Our fifteen-year-old granddaughter was fooling with a new slinky three weekends ago but the novelty wore off.
Yes there is a “learn to use the device” hurdle with e-readers (Some remind me of stories about old farmers’ first encounters with Model T Fords a century ago, or our own first encounters with personal computers.)
I looked at Nebraska OverDrive availability this morning when showing downloadable E-book & audio at a service club. 173 of 2,9xx e-book fiction titles in the collection were “currently available.” On the other hand, what’s the odds of finding a new Danielle Steel on an open library shelf any time during the first six months after its release?
I find downloadable audiobooks fit my lifestyle better & I can listen to fiction while working at all sorts of household chores, etc. — especially the OverDrive audios that will download onto an itty-bitty MP3 player. Now if I could only get the blasted audio files to work on a NOOK color! Or my new Sony WiFi E-Reader! — the one with the built-in link to OverDrive.
I was looking into Walt Crawford’s new book – Librarian’s Guide to Micropublishing — if I get myself a copy it is apt to be an e-book (pdf) version rather than print.
If the tax folks can convert all their forms into pdf & shift the cost of making paper copies off onto taxpayers, why can’t libraries do the same thing with books?
Our library has six Lawrence Block Bernie Rhodenbarr mysteries (Burglar who … ) on the shelves which I don’t have time to read. From our OneClick downloadable audio subscription, I’ve listened to the first five books the last 10 days & at this rate will be on to another author / series before Valentines Day. The history book “1864″ from OverDrive ran 21 hours & I finished it over a three-day period — learned a lot about electoral politics.
So e-book fever gives us an opportunity to talk about the other options.
Stan, I applaud hour ability to multitask. I cannot do a chore and listen to an audiobook at the same time. Glad someone of our gender can!
“I’m afraid we’re not seeing the forest for the eTrees.”
That’s a quote from one of my most-viewed posts. http://bit.ly/sXuvAD
I hear what you’re saying, and I agree that digital is the future and that right now libraries may be playing an important role in that future. However, I think the technology will move too fast for us to keep up and that in order to remain on solid footing we have to shift focus from our collections–both physical and digital–to something else. What that something else is, I do not know. But I worry that in our enthusiasm for everything ebook, we may miss other important opportunities to shine.
How about publicly supported coffee houses with free wifi, a magazine rack, and some old antiques called books? Sounds cozy to me. Actually, byn, if you want to know how I really feel…I see an apocalypse coming…the breakdown of basic technological systems…then we will be what is happening. I’m serious. Tough times are ahead and we are in the middle of societal labor pains.
Well, I wasn’t expecting that response! Fascinating…and scary as hell!
Exactly. Scary as Hell!
As I’ve mentioned in previous discussions I disagree with your assessment that an apocalypse is coming. I’m sure people have thought that every time there has been a major shift in the way people live and we are certainly undergoing such a shift now.
However, I’ll admit I can’t follow your reasoning and I’m curious…
So at the risk of opening a major league can of worms perhaps you can enlighten me.
What is it that makes you think the electricity is going to fail and all technology will cease to work al la S.M. Stirling’s The Change series? I don’t see that at all by looking at my personal crystal ball…
I see that things will continue to change as they always have in this century. And granted, the technology is likely to change how we live more than technological advancements in previous centuries. However, I can’t see the connection between that change and the imminent arrival of an apocalypse.
Free WiFi with comfortable seating & a table to spread out paper work is popular with or without coffee. Got to have some place with high-speed WiFi to download those ebooks. Facilitating book discussion groups (compare the experience of X as read off the page / read off the screen and as an audiobook could be part of the discussion format ) seems to work well for lots of libraries.
Here’s a real world collection development question — donations for the book sale included a 1990 2nd edition of “Great Books of the Western World” in 60 volumes – vols. 55-60 are 20th Century additions to the original canon. Our old 1954 set had a couple of volumes missing, so I deep sixed the rest, with the intention of replacing the whole thing with the newer edition. Some vols of the old set had never gone out; a few had gone out as many as a dozen times in 17 years. The only cost to add the replacement set is time + cataloging & processing. Is it worth it?
I think we might focus more on teaching — we could ease into that with teaching patrons how to use technology and how to use it to find information. I know I do more of that while working at the Reference Desk than anything else. Just a thought…
In answer to your above question: global warming.
Ah, thank you. That I can understand.
Humanity will adjust to a hotter earth. In some societies in some places the adaptation to changes in climate will be wrenching. But we will adjust. We always do.
There’s a more immediate apocalypse brewing for Americans — runaway inflation. Our level of deficit spending became unsustainable some time ago, and our economic fabric simply isn’t strong enough to hold against the triple whammy of debt service, public pension obligations, and entitlements. The solution of last resort may have to be employed — running the printing presses to devalue the currency. In short, a big pile of fiat money will cover the obligations.
But one morning Mr. and Mrs. Middle America may wake up and discover that the $500,000 nest egg they’ve spent a lifetime accumulating will buy a stick of oleo.
The customary thing to do in a commentary like this is to invoke the ruinous 1923 inflation in Germany and its consequences, but I won’t. Too trite and too pat. The response of our middle class to its financial ruination will be a uniquely American one, though it is hard to see exactly what form it will take. We like guns. And many of us are very angry.
Whatever form our response to hyperinflation does take, I have a feeling continued funding for public amenities may not be a part of it.
Forget global warming and errant comets. A financial meltdown is the most immediate, and likely, of the apocalypses.
Joe, I think you are on to something but don’t underestimate the potential havoc of rising seas.
Thank you for the link and for finally making me look up the word e-book in the OED to see how it is official spelled. Microsoft Office wants to spell it eBook but according to the OED it is “e-book” no capital letters anywhere! And I’m going to take that spelling and use it as I too find it frustrating every time I type that word to try to figure out how to spell it!
It isn’t just a button that is hot, it is “smokin’. ”
Were you eavesdropping on some of our patrons? We ARE getting a lot of ereader questions. I think that these downloadable media devices are not just the Christmas toy of the year. All of our other materials, paper and ink, CD, DVD… still very popular. But the newer technology isn’t going to just “go away.” It is the future and it is just getting started, I think.
I always liked the slinky… kind of a zen thing.
And what about the pogo stick… wasn’t that somewhere between Mr. Potato Head and the hulu hoop?
Susan, the pogo stick must have been banned by the federal government for child safety reasons.
There is still a digital divide. In fact, there are several of them: between people who or do not have computers; between people who do or do not have Internet access; between people who do or do not have decent bandwidth available at an affordable price; between people who do or do not have smart phones; between people who are tuned in to technology and those who are not; between people who can afford to download books, music, etc. and those who cannot — and the list goes on. Book buying has always been primarily for the affluent. Libraries serve the rest. Once publishers wake up to this reality, they will be looking for a business model that includes libraries.
Wayne…and some of us choose to read, listen, and view in traditional ways. Don’t forget that the digital revolution doesn’t appeal to everyone.
Wayne, the publishers are being squeezed. They were in a low-margin business to begin with, and now, although they face lower production and distribution costs, they also face a much lower price they can charge for each unit. And if famous authors who are a “brand,” such as John Grisham, decide to bypass them entirely, then what?
I think the person who said publishers are terrified hit the nail on the head. Licensing of content to libraries looks like this to the Macmillans, Simon & Schusters and Penguins: One digital copy “sold” and 25 more sales lost. Yes, when they sold the library a paper copy of a 24.99 James Patterson bestseller they may have lost additional sales too, but publishers are thinking that comparisons of digital to print are apples to oranges.
They may have realized only a few extra sales on the expensive hardback version of the Patterson if they had not sold to libraries, because most of the freeloading library patrons wouldn’t have shelled out 24.99 for it in any case, but they may be able to get a lot of extra sales on the digital version if that version is only 11.99. To publishers, the calculus of first sale and subsequent circulation of ebooks is quite different from what it is for paper editions. Observers such as the Annoyed Librarian have made cogent arguments that that is not the case, but this is the publishing industry’s mindset. They are terrified.
Will, you are a Jedi knight, whose noble way is passing out of the universe. The digital revolution may not appeal to (diminishing) numbers of you, but the market may simply not offer you a choice.
In Mesa, Arizona there is a wonderful shop specializing in reconditioned office typewriters. There you can see gleaming ranks of Royals, Underwoods, and the gold standard, the IBM Selectric. I’m sure there will be stores like this for books.
Joe, I do need a ribbon for my 1948 L.C. Smith portable.
We haven’t yet been impacted by the eReader wave over here in this corner of the Small, Liberal Arts College Library province of Biblioterra. My impression is that members of my community want eReaders for pleasure reading but that it doesn’t work as well for them with academic research or textbooks.
On the other hand, the novel I assigned to my freshmen writing class this semester – Who Censored Roger Rabbit – is only available as an overpriced used mass market paperback (the cheap ones are $20-ish) or as an ebook that costs $1.99. Nothing else worked as well for the topic (cartoons as a reflection of society) so I decided to try it.
Jessica, let us know how it went with the ebook.
Add to that list:
* My grandson got me this ereader for Christmas, but I go to your library website to download a book and it wil not accept my library card.” (Unfortunately, you reside out of our district and are unable to use our ebook collection. Please go to your rural library and see what they can do for you.)
The madness will not end. Our library system just invested $400,000 to build the ebook collection.
…and so it goes.
@Will & Joe’s conversation a ways down in the replies.
The current situation in regards to content licensing will change when the general public gets educated enough to apply political pressure to change the rules of copyright. The whole current structure is based on copyright law & copyright law is subject to revision by our elected representatives.
If our elected leadership heard from constituents about PIPA & SOPA , they can hear from constituents about arbitrary & capricious licensing stemming from the current unrealistic copyright legislation.
Maybe a groundswell of mass illegality analogous to the blatant nose thumbing after adoption of the 18th Amendment is what is needed. And to those who would complain about the disappearance of property rights, other property rights (including the right to own the body & labor of others) have disappeared from our country’s fabric in the past.
Somebody want to invite Cory Doctorow to this discussion?
Stan, I am in total agreement with you. Great comment.
Great comment, Stan. I hope it is true. I’m skittish about making any prediction that says the public will go to bat for us. When you read the comments appended to any online news story about public libraries, you see that the opinions expressed about us are a mixed bag. I’m always surprised by the level of anger and contempt, and console myself that I’m not seeing a scientifically chosen sample — Internet story-commenting draws a disproportionate number of angy and contempt-filled people.
I think publishers are setting the price point far too high. At 8.99 to 14.99, many people are still going to think that is a high price to pay for a swarm of electrons, for access to something they are not going to own as a physical object. At 1.99 to 3.99, I think the perception shifts. Ebooks that are that inexpensive may greatly reduce the need for a public-library alternative.
The publishing industry still hasn’t “gotten” the iTunes model — massive sales of inexpensively priced items.