#e-lending

A stress test awaits e-lending firms as bounce rate triples

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MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Bounce rates at fintech lenders have nearly tripled in April, in an early indication of financial stress among consumers and small businesses.

The trend is worrying at a time when job losses and disruptions to cash flow are likely to set off defaults, shrink demand for credit and sober valuations for most fintech players. It also comes amid concerns over capital raising…

The first UK e-lending trial involving major UK publishers has been positive, according toSociety of Chief Librarians (SCL) president Janene Cox, because “people who loan books, buy books”.

A government-commissioned report has allayed fears that digital lending could damage the book industry.

Photo Credit: goXunuReviews (Cretive Commons)

Library, Publisher and Book, three old school friends, know their tricks, strengths and weaknesses. Needless to say much, a glance is enough between them. One day, a 'new kid' comes to school. Ebook sits in the front desk and literally changes the relationship.

Publisher and Book are clearly threatened. Library still have a chance to make friends with Ebook.

For the reader who wants to borrow a book, the virtues of the ‘new kid’ seem obvious. Clearly it is not the same to borrow an ebook through a virtual library -comfortably seated on a couch at home with an e-reader in hand, than if you have to go to the library to borrow a book and then have to return it after a few days. A better alternative, although more expensive, would be going to a bookstore and buy the book so you can keep it at home after reading it; you could even resell it later if the book does not justify a place in your home library.

But when you want to lend the ebook to a friend, Book still leads. E-lending is not easy yet due to formats incompatibilities. Yet….

And what happens with an ebook? Why should I prefer to buy it instead of borrowing from a virtual library? How many copies of each ebook should be lent? 

According to The Economist, “owners of e-readers are exactly the customers they need: book-lovers with money (neither the devices nor broadband connections come cheap). If these wonderful people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them, what then?”

What then?

Then… marketing! If you liked the ebook, you will surely buy another ebook of the same author. If the ebook is on the waiting list at the library, you will surely prefer to buy it. If you liked it, you will certainly recommend it to a friend who will probably buy it.

Virtual libraries are beginning to take shape. Amazon created the Owners’ Lending Library for its Prime members, and teamed up with OverDrive, global leader in digital distribution. A Kindle reader who wants to borrow ebooks from libraries, must use their Amazon account. What for? To be advised that he can buy that book when the loan is ended? Of course Penguin terminated its deal with OverDrive , but it will try a pilot with public libraries.

Smashwords announced Library Direct to allow libraries to acquire their ebook collection. Up to now, it is “available to libraries that host and manage their own ebook checkout systems and that are capable of acquiring a large opening collection”, as they said.

Unglue.it is not a library but has introduced a new concept in the landing universe. “unglue (v. t.) 1. To pay an author or publisher in full, up front, for publishing a Creative Commons ebook.” To resume, they promote a ‘crowdfunding’ to acquire the rights of an ebook to give it to the world. “We work with rights holders to decide on fair compensation for releasing a free, legal edition of their already-published books, under Creative Commons licensing. Then everyone pledges toward that sum.” And just like Kickstarter (a great inspiration for them), only if the goal is reached they collect the pledged funds and pay the right holder. Since then, everyone is free to read and share a legal edition of the ebook, on any device, worldwide.

Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal | Library Renewal