Publishing in Scotland
and e-lending
Marion Sinclair
Publishing Scotland
Vital Stats
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100+ active companies in
Scotland, producing 3000 titles
p.a.
Most are small or medium-size
companies
£350m turnover (similar to
salmon farming & cashmere)
Employs 1600 people directly
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No such thing as a typical
Scottish publisher, but…
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4-12 staff & turnover between £100k and £2m
Skills profile - any degree
Diverse range of titles, non-fiction is 70% of total
Uses overseas distributors, printers, reps
Embracing digital publishing
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Canongate, Edinburgh
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B & W, Edinburgh
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Birlinn, Edinburgh
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Saraband, Glasgow
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Waverley/Gresham, Glasgow
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Sandstone, Highlands
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Freight, Glasgow
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The literature scene
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The Edinburgh International Book Festival –
largest in the world
Strong literary heritage
Publishing in all 3 languages: English, Gaelic
and Scots
A robust public funding system
Large number of literature organisations
Culture devolved to the Scottish Government
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What is the market reality?
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Huge discounting
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Amazon 60%
Wholesalers 55%
Library supply 55%
The strength of
London publishing
Marketing spend still
problematic – not
enough to have good
books
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They are more nimble
and niche
Scottish books have a
defined
market/Scottish
writing currently very
strong
Niche players can
reach their audiences
more easily
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Threats
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Abundance of (often free) content
Power of mega corporations
Fewer High St retailers
Dilution of reading habit
Digital publishing is complicated…
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Opportunities
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New formats for content
Consumer expectations constantly
changing
Devices get more sophisticated
Cheaper distribution costs
Publishing in English language –
global reach
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Publishing Scotland
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Set up in 1974 by 12 publishers
Funded by Creative Scotland, member
subscriptions and activities
Two types of membership:
 Publisher
 Network: supply services to industry
64 publishers & 44 network members
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Collective infrastructure…
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The winds of change…
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Amazon selling more Kindle ebooks than
print books
The UK's biggest book retailer Amazon now
sells more ebooks than hardbacks and
paperbacks combined, the company has
said.
For every 100 print books sold through the
site, Amazon said it sold 114 titles for its
Kindle e-reader device.
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E-lending - the view from the
publishers
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Publishers want libraries to be successful
in digital lending but not so successful that
they significantly inhibit the purchase of
the publishers’ titles.
Writers and publishers need fair
compensation for their efforts.
Support for lending but still have major
concerns around technological,
operational and financial challenges.
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E-lending – the library view
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“Denying libraries unfettered access to ebooks
threatens the library mission”
Cost is a major issue – more expensive to
purchase for libraries than for general public
“The overriding eBook issues for libraries
continue to be the withholding of content and the
imposition of problematic and differing licence
terms and conditions by major trade publishers.”
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The Sieghart Review (UK, 2013)
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As far as is possible, the digital loan of a book should
emulate its printed counterpart
Library members should be able to borrow digital books
from their libraries remotely
Each copy of a digital book should only be loaned to one
reader at a time, just as with a physical book
Digital copies of books should be deemed to deteriorate,
ensuring their repurchase after a certain number of loans
The extension of the Public Lending Right (PLR) to cover
digital, audio and e-audio books
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Models across the world Denmark
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Libraries provide their cardholders with
downloadable ebooks
Service set up by government in 2011
Payment to rights-holders on a per use basis
Majority of large publishers pulled out after a
year
Set up their own system – shut down due to
low use
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The Netherlands
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Access is provided to 5,000 Dutch eBook
titles and payment to publishers is on a per
loan basis with the amount declining for older
books.
Dutch residents pay an annual charge to use
the public library so the notion of “user pay”
for eBooks is not a foreign concept
The Dutch government established
centralised budget for purchasing ebooks for
libraries
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Quebec
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eBooks purchased through the BIBLIOPRESTO.CA
licence have a maximum loan limit of 55 with no annual
limit.
On site reading in libraries is permitted and falls outside
the loan limit. Individual libraries set their circulation
policies including the number of eBooks which can be
borrowed at one time, the length of the loan period etc.
Providing library users the option to purchase the eBook
from a Quebec bookseller can be implemented at the
discretion of the library.
eBooks are sold to libraries at the same price they are
offered to the general public.
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Australia – the 8 principles
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Importance of libraries role in promoting a reading
culture
Models for the supply should be as consistent and
transparent as possible
Increase availability of ebooks through libraries
Continuity of access even if distributor ceases business
Fair remuneration for writers and publishers
Fair pricing
Protecting copyright and other rights
Device neutral ebooks
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Scotland
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Two ways to approach this:
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neutral – any book will do – doesn’t matter where
it’s from
New scheme for Scottish books
20% of books on Overdrive system are
Scottish
Desirability of setting up scheme for 20% as
opposed to 80%?
An indie solution? A pilot with a curated list of
books? (Meets need to support cultural
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Final word…
“There is the appetite for collaboration between
publishers and libraries in Scotland. We need to
think about the implications for copyright, for
what’s happening elsewhere in the UK, for
exclusive deals that the publishers and librarians
may have worked out elsewhere, for not being
seen to be operating as a cartel, and for a host of
other considerations that need to be discussed,
not least solutions that focus on the medium to
long term.”
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Publishing in Scotland
Further info on world e-lending issues and
models –
http://www.ifla.org/files/assets/hq/topics/elending/documents/2014_ifla_elending_background_
paper.pdf
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