PLEASE READ THIS FIRST:
This post is over 7 years old and does not reflect the current state of affairs of e-lending in European public libraries. It remains accessible online for historical and web-archival reasons.
Source: http://www.bibliotheek.nl/ebooks
The text below was prepared for the Danish Ministry of Culture’s Book and Literature Panel. On 3 May 2016, I was invited to Copenhagen to give a presentation about the state of e-book lending through public libraries in the Netherlands. After the meeting I wrote the text with some updated information. The text was finalized on 26 August 2016 and has been translated into Danish for a publication of the Danish Ministry of Culture. The original English and Danish language versions of the publication in which it was included can be downloaded from this site.
1. The public library landscape in the Netherlands
Since the turn of the millennium, the number of public library organizations in the Netherlands has declined considerably, from 544 in 1999 to 156 in 2015 (Statistics Netherlands, 2016). A policy program called Library Renewal (‘Bibliotheekvernieuwing’, 2000-2008) succeeded in arriving at a limited number of larger organizations through mergers of local libraries. Library organizations are providing public library services in multiple municipalities. The 156 organizations are currently operating
- 782 branches with a minimum of 15 opening hours per week
- 215 service points, opened 4-15 hours per week
- 55 mini service points, opened less than 4 hours per week
- 67 delivery points
- 11 self-service libraries without staff
- 10 book mobiles with 141 stops
(Netherlands Public Library Association, 2016).
Public library membership in the Netherlands is a paid membership, at least for adults. Most library organizations offer free memberships for children and youngsters, but for those aged 16-17 it is common they have to pay a fee. From the age of 18 (19 in Amsterdam), a full membership fee is due, the height of which varies between library organizations and is also dependent on the service level. Typically, libraries offer a choice between three membership options: a regular membership, a cheaper reduced version for incidental borrowers, and a more expensive top version for library aficionados. As an example, in the public library of Amsterdam the corresponding rates are € 35 (€ 25 for 19-22 years and over 65s), € 20, and € 55 (€ 45 for 19-22 and over 65s). What is included in each of the membership versions is dependent on local conditions.
Only one in every eight euros of the total public library budget is paid by registered members.
It is important, however, to stress that the Dutch public library system, as elsewhere, is financed largely by the local, regional and national governments. In 2015, subsidies constituted over 82 per cent of the total budget of public libraries (519.4 million euros), whereas 12 per cent derived from membership fees (the remainder of the budget coming from provinces, other grants and contributions, and on-charged costs; the budget for the national e-book portal is not included in this sum). In other words, only one in every eight euros is paid by registered members.
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Posted by Frank Huysmans on 27 oktober 2016 | Posted in beleid, English, onderzoek, vakpublicaties, WareKennis | Tagged cannibalization, e-books, e-lending, English, kannibalisering, Nederland, Netherlands, openbare bibliotheken, public libraries
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Bron: Brooklyn Public Library (http://www.bklynlibrary.org)
Support under scrutiny
There is certainly a case to be made that with their balanced collections of non-fiction as well as fiction books open to all who walk in, public libraries provide ample resources for those engaged in self-education, be it out of leisure pursuits or for professional purposes.
Yet it seems to me that since the turn of the century European public libraries have shifted away from special programs geared at lifelong learners. True, in many communities across Europe adults can follow courses in their libraries, with a focus on computer, Internet and social media skills. Also, second language learners are welcomed and introduced to collections of easy reading materials.
But amidst doubts about their continued relevance in the digital era, many libraries have had to bow their heads for pressure from local authorities to focus on what most policy makers now see as the library’s core business: lending out as many books as possible, and supporting primary and (to a lesser extent) secondary schools in language and reading development. One gets the impression that lifelong learning has been falling off both the educational and social policy agenda in the last decade, and hence off the library agenda as well.
Volksbibliotheken and beyond
It has not always been like that. Pioneers of the idea of a public library in the 19th century criticised the then prominent ‘people’s libraries’ (‘Volksbibliotheken’ in German and Dutch). These libraries, in the words of one proponent, erect a fatal schism between ’the people’ and ’the more developed’, forcing the former on a ‘barren island’ of popular reading material and hindering them in taking note of what else there is to learn.
Librarians are more than willing to support people of all ages, but they need support from policy makers. Perhaps they even deserve it.
Public libraries, in contrast, would offer books and periodicals for self-study and self-development to those who did not find themselves in a financial position to access these otherwise. The struggle lasted roughly from the 1830s to World War II before public libraries had at last been firmly established and secured sufficient and structural public funding.
Shifting away from lifelong learning
After the war, the focus of public libraries gradually shifted away from self-learning and personal development. With the establishment of the human rights, public libraries were seen as guarantors of fundamental information rights: freedom of access, freedom of expression and protection of the private sphere.
In the second half of the 20th century, other functions gained in political prominence: securing and maintaining the (local) cultural heritage; the promotion of a ‘culture of reading’ and stimulating literary climate; and most recently stimulating cognitive development of preschoolers and learners in primary school. Especially this last function is currently in vogue since research has recommended that language and reading disadvantages be tackled as early as possible. In times of economical backlash, public money should be put where social benefits can be maximised, new public management reasons.
Bridging formal and informal learning
Nobody will doubt that giving kids a solid start in life is a good thing. However, we also know that what we learn in the first 15-25 years of our lives will all but outlast us. Both privately and professionally, we need to continue to learn and educate ourselves. Public libraries can be a bridge between formal education and more informal schooling and development after we have left the school system. In spite of a widespread misconception, public libraries have the potential to prosper in the digital era, provided that they succeed in making their physical and digital services complement each other.
Librarians are more than willing to support people of all ages, especially those in deprived social circumstances, in their learning efforts with specialized programs for e.g. low literate, employment seekers, immigrants, elderly people, and persons with visual or other impairments. But they also support reading circles, family historians and local heritage groups. But in supporting their communities, they in turn need support from policy makers. Perhaps they even deserve it.
This column was written for the European Commission’s Electronic Platform for Adult Learning in Europe (EPALE) and first appeared on its blog, 21 July 2015
Posted by Frank Huysmans on 11 juni 2016 | Posted in beleid, columns, English, opinie, vakpublicaties | Tagged adult learning, informal education, informeel leren, leven lang leren, lifelong learning, non-formal education, non-formeel leren, openbare bibliotheken, public libraries, volwasseneneducatie
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Hybrid animals: butterphant (http://www.boredpanda.com/animals-hybrids-photoshop/)
Since long, the university libraries (together with the Royal Library) have negotiated with scientific publishers on a national level in the so-called UKB consortium. Until recently a delegation of library directors went to the negotiation table. Dekker’s announcement triggered university rectors to declare the big deal negotiations Chefsache, as the former German Chancellor Schröder used to call it, and to take over the lead. The seat of the library consortium was taken over by university rectors representing the Association of Dutch Universities (VSNU). Library directors were still involved, functioning as linking pin between the negotiators and the needs of professors, researchers and students.
Four big deals
And not without success. Quite progressive deals were closed with Springer and SAGE. Scholars working in Dutch universities can now publish their work in gold open access in all journals of these publishers without extra costs. In these two deals, a solution was found for the pressing problem of the financial burden in the transition phase. After all, having to pay article processing charges (APCs) alongside licence fees to continuing access to the non-OA articles by researchers from outside the Netherlands wasn’t too appealing. Springer and SAGE agreed to open up their subscription journals and their open access platforms for scholars working at Dutch universities and research institutions. The latter can publish their papers in open access without paying additional APCs while the license fees for the – now hybrid – subscription journals remains roughly the same.
A somewhat less rosy picture emerged from the deal that VSNU and Elsevier announced in December 2015. Basically, the contours of the ‘agreement in principle’, the details of which are yet to be unveiled, are in the same vein as those of the Springer and SAGE deals. Publishing in open access will be without extra costs for researchers with a Dutch affiliation. However, Elsevier negotiated out a ceiling percentage of 30% open access articles in 2018 that are to be published in a selection of journals both parties still have to agree upon. Whether this will be hybrid journals only, or also open access journals (Elsevier has quite a list of such journals, as well as a megajournal open to all scientific disciplines called Heliyon) is still uncertain. Regardless, the agreement leaves it up to the universities to decide which papers of which scholars are eligible for publication in open access and which are not. (There are more pleasant tasks for university administrators.) In 2018, a reassessment of the situation will be made by both parties to see which further steps toward OA – if at all – will be taken.
What surprises most is that the agreement is completely at odds with NWO’s new open access policy.
A few weeks ago, another deal was announced, now with John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Compared with the Elsevier deal, the conditions of this one are more favourable from the universities’ point of view. From 2016-2019 – one year longer than with Elsevier – researchers at Dutch universities and affiliated research institutions will have continued access to all Wiley subscription content. Also, the deal enables publishing 100% of the Dutch papers in open access in Wiley’s hybrid journals, the number of which will increase to around 1,400 titles. But here’s the catch: in Wiley’s hybrid journals only. Wiley does have a portfolio of full OA titles. However, these are not included in the arrangement. If authors with a Dutch affiliation insist on publishing their work in one of these titles, they will have to pay APCs like everyone else. What surprises most is that this agreement is completely at odds with the new open access policy of NWO. This organization, the most important Dutch science funder, discourages hybrid open access by actually stating that this form of OA publishing will not be supported with its funds. As for VSNU itself, its web pages about its open access policy do not even mention the hybrid option.
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Posted by Frank Huysmans on 1 maart 2016 | Posted in beleid, English, essay, onderzoek, opinie, vakpublicaties, WareKennis | Tagged English, hybrid open access, open access, open science, piracy, piraterij, science policy, wetenschapsbeleid
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