Onleihe: legal framework on the test

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On behalf of the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels eV , GfK Entertainment conducted a study on on-line lending in public libraries. The survey is intended to provide approaches for sustainable regulations that should serve as a basis for the Federal Government's assessment of the legal framework for e-book lending by public libraries ("onleihe"), the interests of users, authors, libraries and publishers alike to reconcile. In particular, the services of publishers and authors should be duly rewarded.

The Onleihe: Regardless of opening hours and location

Since 2007, the divibib GmbH from Reutlingen has been offering a service for online lending of digital media under the brand name Onleihe . It is attended by individual as well as joint libraries from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Denmark, Belgium and France, as well as the international Goethe-Instituts. Users of a participating library can borrow the provided digital media through their library's website with their library card. With the eLibrary App alike are E-Books , E-Magazines, E-paper, e-audios and e-Music provided.

Publishers and authors demand a fair framework

Against the background that publishers and authors demand a fair framework for the on-line loan, a comprehensive study on the use of on-loan should serve as the basis for a political dialogue for possibly necessary, targeted measures for changes. The study was under the question: " Who lends what in libraries and especially online " and offers a 360 ° view of the on-line loan. The study results were presented yesterday by the Börsenverein des Deutschen Buchhandels together with GfK Entertainment in Berlin.

Study result: Onleihe reduces willingness to buy

In a key statement, the study comes to the conclusion that the on-line loan reduces the willingness to buy book affine and purchasing power strong target groups in the book market. Here are the main study results at a glance:

"A total of 2.6 million people borrow books and other media in Germany via the online loan. A total of 1.9 million lend e-books.
Two-thirds of the on-line users are under 50 years old. They are thus above average compared to the total population. In addition, they are well-off and educated.
Although on-line users are among the most active buyers in the book market. But just under half buy less or no books since they use the offer of the on-line loan. That's 45 percent for printed books and 46 percent for e-books.
The majority of on-line users are satisfied with the scope and timeliness of the on-line offer."

Demands are made for fairer license arrangements

Nadja Kneissler, chairman of the Publishers Committee of the Börsenverein, demands fairer license regulations based on the study statements:

"The study results clearly show that on-line use has a direct impact on the book market. In order to be able to continue providing a wide range of books and e-books in Germany, we need fair licensing regulations. The exceptions demanded by libraries for copyright on the on-line loan, the so-called barrier regulations, offer no fair remuneration for the services of publishers and authors and are therefore not a viable option for us. Instead, we demand that libraries be equipped in the future so that they can offer e-books for all involved under fair conditions. "

Lena Falkenhagen, Federal Chairman of the Association of German Writers in ver.di, sees authors at a disadvantage, while financially strong mid-agers profit from the system:

"One of the most important tasks of public libraries is the promotion of reading for children and adolescents. In particular city libraries play for theEschbach Book & E-BookReading promotion a central role. In order to be able to fulfill this task with the help of digital books, above all, a strategy geared to digital reading promotion is needed. As long as it is a matter of merely expanding the digital library offering, it is unbelievable that the rights of authors are being curtailed, especially if they benefit mostly financially strong, educated mid-agers. "