Primer / TED talk on ebooks/Open Access/OER: "Why is knowledge getting so expensive?"

Open science practices
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Apologies, I wasn’t quite sure if this would fit in here or in the Reading Corner … just thought I’d share this for those interested in books …

Jeff Edmunds (Penn State University Library) has just recently given a good TED talk, with an apt representation of the ebooks/Open Access/OER landscape, and with a short explainer on licensing.

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Really great talk, highly recommended!

One key idea: “The distinction between buying and owning outright a print book versus paying for a license to access an ebook.”

And the consequences:

  • At Penn State University Libraries, most books are now online, and subject to licensing. Because they don’t actually own these ebooks, thousands disappear from the catalogue every month when licenses expire or publishers revoke access. He uses a great metaphor: it’s like a van pulling up to the library every month and hauling thousands of books away.
  • If libraries don’t own the ebooks, who does? A handful of large publishers. At Penn State, this creates a near-oligopoly of four to five publishers.
  • Licensing costs are artificially high: it now costs more to license an ebook than to buy a print book, and ebook prices have risen faster than the rate of inflation.
  • The use of NDA clauses: we can’t talk about pricing. And if we can’t compare, we can’t tell what a fair price is.

For context: the Penn State University Library spent 13 million dollars last year on ebooks and electronic resources alone.

So what if we treated knowledge as a public good?

  • Say goodbye to this publishers. Remember that they need us, because we do the all the work, we don’t need them (and he even cites our own EDCH co-coordinator here, @johanrooryck :wink: ): open educational resources
  • Fundamental role of libraries: they identify, locate and make discoverable resources that are not controlled by publishers and free to read. They are currenlty 1.2 million free to read resources in the Penn State University Library.

The only thing missing, in my opinion, is a discussion of the usual question: sustainability. I don’t think he actually addresses it :thinking: He mentions free to read, for example, but doesn’t address what happens behind the scenes. Are we talking about book processing charges? Or something else?

Still, a very strong and thought-provoking 15-minute presentation!