General Matters

Justin Tomlinson Excerpts

Tuesday 17th July 2012 Commons Chamber

[Justin Tomlinson (North Swindon) (Con)]

As the Minister with responsibility for culture, communications and creative industries, my hon. Friend the Member for Wantage (Mr Vaizey) is set to review the future provision of e-books in libraries, now is a very apt time to highlight the options, challenges and opportunities of e-book lending for libraries, and by default for the publishers and the authors, who control the rights to e-books, focusing in particular on how we can make e-book provision widely available in a manner that supports and sustains our excellent community library network and credits the creative industries.

My research has brought to light some interesting statistics. E-book sales in 2011 were up a staggering 366%, making up some 8% of the market and worth £92 million. Physical book sales in the first half of 2011 fell to a 10-year low, and e-book production overtook hardback output for the first time ever. In researching this issue and preparing this speech, I have been very grateful for the feedback from and views of various library campaign groups, experts, publishers, booksellers and professional librarians. I can tell the House that not everybody agreed with my initial thoughts, which I am about to set out, but it is important that we put those on the table as part of this review and try to make some progress.

My view is that, in principle, e-books should be widely available throughout the library network. Currently, 94 local authorities offer some form of e-book provision, but the available stock is at best poor, predominantly because the big six publishers are not willing to release their stock. They will not do so, first, because the private label rights arrangement whereby publishers and authors get 6p every time a physical book is lent out does not apply to e-books. In the business world, authors and publishers need some form of incentive. There is also a worry that the balance between physical sales and library usage would be altered, resulting in fewer physical sales.

At the moment, the balance between paperback and hardback book sales, and library usage, works. It is often more convenient physically to buy a book than to borrow one from a library: for example, some supermarkets that offer books open 24 hours a day, whereas libraries have limited opening times. Some people choose not to use a library because they do not like the idea of a second-hand book that somebody may have spilt their tea and biscuits on. A significant number of people who purchase books do so to display them on their shelves. I do not envisage people being told on visiting someone’s house in the future, “Please browse my hard drive to look at what I have been purchasing.”

It is therefore clear that for publishers to release their e-books, they will have to be paid for, and there are two options. First, a Government—of whichever colour—will have to write a very large cheque, probably considerably bigger than the one they already write for the PLR arrangement, to release those books. Presuming that we do not have a Government of a particular colour who wish to dash to the rescue, I propose a second option that is worth considering: a small charge for e-books. As somebody who inherently does not like paying for things, that does not come easy to me; however, because we are currently not prepared to pay the publishers, the books are simply not being released.

I propose that the money generated from such a charge be ring-fenced and shared between the publishers and authors, and the physical community library, with the money generated for the latter being spent on enhancing provision and service, be that events, book stock—staggeringly, that accounts for only 7% of library expenditure—extending opening hours, outreach work and so on. The publishers, in return for getting financial compensation for their books being borrowed, would be encouraged to release some of their stock for free access. I have met a number of publishers, and they see that as an opportunity to promote upcoming authors and educational books.

I also propose—again, this is controversial—that e-books be borrowed through a physical visit to the library, thus protecting footfall. That seems like madness in a digital world, but my fear is that if we make things too easy—I go back to the point about convenience—why would anybody buy an e-book or visit a library? Local authorities across the country would soon start cutting huge swathes of community libraries, which are very important, particularly for people getting their first opportunity to enjoy reading, such as younger people, and those who cannot afford e-readers.

I also advise the Government to look to provide a uniform e-book service. Lots of local authorities have been signing up to the models currently available—at great expense—from the book stock fund. I fear that a number of authorities, through no fault of their own, will end up investing heavily in a “Betamax” option. Underlining all this, we should keep traditional books: paperbacks and hardbacks should always remain free, because they are the cornerstones of libraries.

If we do nothing and do not convince the publishers to release their stock, library usage will continue to fall as people drift to e-readers and e-book provision in libraries remains insufficient. Local authorities will continue to invest in the wrong forms of technology, and we will miss out on the potential of e-books to attract new generations of readers.

These are just ideas to start the debate, and I am delighted the Minister has agreed to carry out a review. I hope to secure a 30-minute debate in Westminster Hall, which will provide a great opportunity to discuss some of the points that have been made to me.