公共图书馆与亚马逊之争

    亚马逊（Amazon）在数字图书领域的霸主地位一直在遭受谷歌（Google）和苹果（Apple）的猛烈攻击。现在，你可以为这份清单添加另一个威胁：公共图书馆。巴克莱银行（Barclays）的分析师在最近发布的一份研究报告中就是这么写的。如果消费者可以从图书馆免费借阅电子书，他们很可能就将尽量避免购买。

    巴克莱银行分析师安东尼•迪克莱门特声称：“随着电子阅读器用户更加熟悉图书馆系统的免费替代品，再加上图书馆减少了与借阅电子书相关的麻烦，我们相信，亚马逊数字内容收入的增长速度可能会放缓。”

    说的没错。但社区图书馆这样一个已有百年历史，以发霉的货架、高中补习课程，以及“嘘，请保持安静。”这样的提醒而著称的机构真的能对高科技零售巨头亚马逊构成威胁吗？答案没那么简单，它在相当程度上取决于图书馆和出版商能否消除分歧，从而使图书馆能提供更多可供借阅的电子书籍。

    话虽如此，但我们都知道，图书馆已经与实体书店和谐共处了多年。想阅读最新畅销书的读者往往会花钱购买，而不是去图书馆借阅。图书馆更多的是充当一个补充角色，特别是对于那些买不起新书的读者而言。为什么数字时代的情形就应该有所不同呢？

    为美国图书馆协会（American Library Association）处理数字图书和版权问题的嘉莉•罗素说：“我认为，亚马逊的强势还将延续一段时间。”亚马逊的消费者不仅可以购买电子书，还可以购买几乎任何商品，这个事实使得它的服务更加不可或缺。

    亚马逊拒绝就有可能与图书馆展开的竞争发表评论。

    从表面上看，图书馆似乎正在掌控数字图书。美国图书馆协会去年秋天进行的一项调查显示，超过四分之三的图书馆出借电子书。甚至那些没有电子阅读器的读者，也常常从当地图书馆借阅电子书。这项调查发现，近40%的图书馆让顾客借用 Kindles、Nook或其他类似设备。

    下载图书馆电子书的方便性值得商榷。许多图书馆允许人们在家中下载。还有一些则要求必须亲自光顾图书馆分支机构。对于一些顾客来说，真实的下载过程或许有点复杂，因为图书馆有时提供多种电子书目录。

    但图书馆所面临的最严峻挑战是，大多数图书馆可供读者选择的电子书相对较少。比如，弗吉尼亚州的亚历山大图书馆（The Alexandria Library）拥有3.5万种电子书，45万种印刷版图书。缺乏购买最新电子书的资金当然是一大障碍，但还有一些其他因素在发挥作用。

    出版商担心，向图书馆销售电子书将伤害面向公众的图书销量，所以就设置了不少障碍。相较于公开售价，一些大出版商有意抬高图书馆购买电子书的价格。而其他出版商只提供少量书目，有些图书直至向公众发行数周后才向图书馆发售，或者要求图书馆在把某本电子书借出26次后必须再购买一本。

    诸如此类的政策其实在最近已经有所改善。直至今年早些时候，一些大出版商还一直拒绝向图书馆出售任何电子书。

    Amazon's dominance in digital books is under perpetual attack by Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL). Now you can add another threat to the list: the public library. That's what an analyst from Barclays suggested in a recent research report. Consumers will likely avoid buying e-books if they can borrow them from the library for free.

    "As e-reader users become more familiar with the library system's free alternative, and as libraries reduce the friction associated with borrowing e-books, we believe digital content revenue growth at Amazon may soften," said Anthony DiClemente, a Barclays analyst.

    OK, sure. But could Amazon (AMZN), tech's behemoth retailer, really be threatened by the neighborhood library -- a centuries-old institution known for musty shelves, high school cram sessions, and "Shhhhhh. Quiet please?" The answer is complex. Much hinges on whether libraries and publishers can iron out differences that have limited the selection of e-books available for lending.

    Having said that, libraries have coexisted just fine with physical bookstores over the years. People who wanted to read the latest bestsellers tended to buy them rather than checking them out. Libraries served more as a supplement, particularly for people who couldn't afford paying for new books. Why should the dynamics in the digital era be any different?

    "I think Amazon is going to be strong for a while," said Carrie Russell, who handles digital book and copyright issues for the American Library Association. The fact that Amazon's shoppers can load up on e-books, along with virtually anything else, makes its service that much more indispensable, she continued.

    Amazon declined to comment about any rivalry with libraries.

    Superficially, libraries seem to be on the ball with digital books. Just over three-quarters of libraries lend e-books, according to a survey last fall by the American Library Association. Even people who do not own an e-reader can often check them out from their local branch. Nearly 40% of libraries let patrons borrow Kindles, Nooks, or other similar devices, the survey found.

    The convenience of downloading library e-books is debatable. Many libraries let people do it from home. Some others require visiting the library branch in person. The actual mechanics can be a bit complicated for some patrons because libraries sometimes have multiple e-book catalogues.

    But the most serious challenge facing libraries is that most have relatively few e-books to chose from. The Alexandria Library, in Virginia, has 35,000 digital titles vs. 450,000 in print, for example. A lack of money for buying new digital books is a big hurdle, for sure. But there are other factors at play.

    Publishers, fearful that selling to libraries will hurt sales to the general public, have thrown up roadblocks. Some major publishers jack up the price libraries pay for e-books compared to what they charge the public. Others make only a small number of titles available, delay their availability until weeks after the general release, or require libraries to buy another copy after lending it 26 times.

    Such policies actually mark an improvement over the recent past. Until earlier this year, some major publishers refused to sell to libraries at all.