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Mollet: 'serious implications' of library e-lending

26.09.12 | Joshua Farrington

Richard Mollet, the c.e.o. of the Publishers Association, has told Channel 4 News that library e-lending has "serious implications" for authors, booksellers and publishers.

Speaking to the news channel last night (25th September) as culture minister Ed Vaizey launched his library e-lending review, Mollet said: "Publishers work very closely with libraries and have done for decades. I think the nub of the problem with e-lending is that we have to be sure publishers can have a sustainable business model because when it is as easy to buy a book as to click a button and borrow one, a lot more people are going to take the borrowing option and that has serious implications for authors and their royalties, for booksellers and as well for publishers."

Vaizey reiterated his view that the public library service is "thriving". He told Channel 4 News: "The death of the library has been hugely exaggerated and we still have a massively thriving public library service . . . Clearly there's a debate about library closures, some libraries have closed but of course people who put library closures at the forefront fail to mention that actually lots of libraries are also opening. Next year, for example,
Birmingham is going to open the biggest library in Europe."

His comments came as the Department for Culture, Media and Sport opened a review into e-book lending in public libraries, with a panel including founder of Forward Publishing, William Sieghart, Faber c.e.o. Stephen Page and author Joanna Trollope. The review will examine the benefits of e-lending for public libraries, and the possible consequences it could have for publishers.

 

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