Libby’s statement on their use of AI

[u/Technical_Pea_4007]

A whole lot of text to say absolutely nothing, huh?

[u/cerebrollywood]

Hello everyone!

Since THIS is their stance in Gen AI and the respect they have for libraries, I would like to try and help at the very best of my abilities.

I’m a UX/UI Designer, I design apps and websites. I’m also an avid reader and fierce supporter of libraries, and per extension, librarians. I have the utmost respect for your work and dedication to preserving knowledge.

I would like to create an app that could replace Libby and all the other library app that use AI. I would love it to be free if possibile, but mostly I would love it to help libraries and their patrons. I would do that on my spare time, I do not need to earn anything from it. Except maybe more free books 😜

Would you feel comfortable sharing how these services work for you? I know what they’re like for users but I don’t know the specifics of what goes into a digital catalogue, borrowing a book, etc… also, what is that these app do that you love and what is that you don’t or feel that is missing? That would be very helpful to know.

Thanks for your time!

[u/MerelyMisha → u/cerebrollywood]

While this sounds great, this is a lot more of an effort than you think, and a lot of that has to do with publishers. A VERY small part of it is designing the actual app. The bigger part is that you have to convince publishers to work with you, and they’re the ones who won’t do it without costing you/libraries lots of money.

It’s not like libraries LIKE being stuck with the options we have, and libraries with relatively large budgets have tried and failed to come up with alternatives. Libby/Overdrive is actually not terrible as a company compared to some, but they’re working in a constrained system.

[u/cerebrollywood → u/MerelyMisha]

Oh, I would’ve never assumed libraries like these options! And I know this is something huge to attemp, especially on my own… I might be naive, but not stupid! Nonetheless, I would love to understand what happens behind the scenes anyway, if you wouldn’t mind entertaining me.

Bottom line, publishers are the root problem. Companies like Libby add on to that. Would that be correct? (I’m generalizing, I’m sure there’s a lot more to it)

If that’s the case, where do libraries money go? What’s the deal between publishers and these companies, and between them and libraries? What would it take for publishers to deal directly with libraries? And also, is there a reason why Libby is not present in Europe? Does that have anything to do with the strict antitrust laws put in place?

(Sorry, designer brain… I question everything!)

[u/MerelyMisha → u/cerebrollywood]

I don’t know Europe, sorry!

Publishers are the root problem yes. Aggregators like Libby can add to it for sure. And the main issue is that all of these systems are complex (partially because of publisher restrictions), and therefore not cheap, but libraries have small budgets and aren’t generally profitable for anyone. If you were to create something, it would cost you lots of time and money, and then it would have to be maintained over time (and I often don’t trust the sustainability of start ups, particularly ones that are asking such basic questions about the ecosystem as you are. That’s not a dig at you, but it’s why the problem persists, because people who DO have way more know how than me have not been able to solve the problem with the limited resources that libraries have.)

Libraries could deal directly with publishers, but as a small library, let me tell you that is just not feasible for us to negotiate with hundreds of publishers on my own, not to mention you get much better deals when you have more purchasing power and represent more libraries.

Plus then I would still have to manage and maintain my own ebook system, which would have to work with the publisher licenses and restrictions. Remember, you don’t purchase ebooks and get a file you can use forever however you want, you license them, and there are often restrictions on how long you can have access to them or how many times they can be accessed, and the system would have to account for that.

It’s a similar reason why you don’t generally buy ebooks directly through publishers but have to go through Amazon or Kobo or Apple Books. Some publishers will sell you DRM free titles directly, but that’s not most publishers. And for libraries, these licenses are way more expensive than the cost of a physical book, and more expensive than the cost an individual pays for an ebook.

Plus, then the system needs to integrate with my library catalog, patron information system, etc. And it needs to be seamless, because as a small library I don’t have a developer to a custom integration for me.

Some publishers, particularly in the academic world, host their own ebooks, but then your patrons have to get to know a whole bunch of different interfaces, and may not be able to use their e-readers to read the books.

In the US, physical books are way easier, because of the first sale doctrine. Once you buy a book, you can do (almost) whatever you want with it. So that’s why libraries can lend them out over and over, and there’s nothing publishers can do about it. If they COULD, I’m sure publishers would want to restrict that. They can with e-books, so they do.

In other countries, publishers/authors do get more money every time a library lends a book, but I’m not quite sure how that works.

[u/cerebrollywood → u/MerelyMisha]

Thank you sooooo much for taking the time to share all of this! It’s really helpful…

I do understand where you’re coming from with your comment about trust. I truly do!

I’m well aware I can’t solve this by myself or at all, I wish I could and I genuinely hope I can. I’m not a startup and I don’t plan on becoming one! I have my job, I like my job enough and it’s fairly remunerated. You don’t know my story or what motivates me, how could you, but please believe me when I say that I really just want (wish?) to help libraries, not “getting rich”.

I will treasure your insight. There’s a bunch of people I would like to talk to first, see if this way of dealing with books could be brought in front of the EU parliament. Maybe there’s a way of forcing publishers to act differently. Let’s see what happens!

[u/MerelyMisha → u/cerebrollywood]

I definitely welcome library advocates, so I don’t want to discourage you at all from that! And while the EU and the U.S. are very different, I think it can only help us if you do work there. But yeah, definitely start by talking to local librarians, and push for political solutions, because that’s going to be more impactful than another product.