Why is knowledge getting so expensive? | Jeffrey Edmunds | TEDxPSU

Summary

In this thought-provoking talk, Jeff Edmonds from Penn State Libraries highlights the unsettling reality faced by libraries as they lose access to ebooks. Unlike physical books, libraries don’t own digital content but instead lease it through expensive licenses controlled by a handful of powerful publishers. This system is unsustainable, with high prices, restricted access, and unfair bundling. Edmonds advocates for a shift to Open Access, where knowledge is treated as a public good, freely available to all, just as roads and clean water are. Libraries, he argues, are key to democracy, and access to information must be equitable and open.

Takeaways

• 😀 Libraries don't own eBooks; they only license access to them, leading to the removal of thousands of eBooks from library collections every month.
• 📚 The transition from physical books to eBooks has altered how libraries manage their collections, with the majority of materials now being digital.
• 💡 When you 'purchase' an eBook, you are actually buying a license to access it, not owning the book itself. This is a crucial distinction driven by copyright law.
• 💰 eBooks are often more expensive to license than physical books, and their prices rise much faster than inflation, placing a financial burden on libraries.
• 🔒 Publishers enforce non-disclosure agreements, preventing libraries from comparing prices with other institutions, making it difficult to determine fair market pricing.
• 📦 Publishers bundle eBooks together, forcing libraries to buy large collections of books they may not want or need, similar to being required to buy multiple cereals at the store.
• 📊 The creation of scholarly content (manuscripts, research) is funded by universities and taxpayers, but publishers profit from licensing this content back to institutions at high costs.
• 💸 Penn State spent over $13 million on electronic resources and eBooks in just one year, reflecting the financial strain on higher education institutions.
• 🛠️ The current publishing ecosystem is described as broken, with libraries being stuck in a costly, unfair relationship with publishers that doesn't make sense economically.
• 🌍 Open Access publishing, like the example of Glossa journal, provides free access to scholarly works, bypassing traditional publishers and making knowledge freely available to the public.
• 📖 Open Educational Resources (OER), such as the Open Textbook Library, offer free textbooks that can be adapted by faculty, reducing the financial burden on students and providing sustainable educational resources.
• 📈 Penn State’s efforts to identify freely available resources that are not controlled by publishers have resulted in over 1.2 million resources that are accessible to everyone, regardless of institutional affiliation.

Q & A

Why does the speaker compare ebook removal to a van taking books from a library?

He uses this analogy to illustrate how libraries lose access to thousands of ebooks each month due to licensing agreements, similar to books physically being taken away without their control.

Why does the speaker claim that consumers do not actually 'buy' ebooks?

Because ebook transactions are licenses, not sales; users purchase permission to access the content, not ownership of the digital file.

What is the key legal difference between owning a print book and accessing an ebook?

A print book is personal property that can be resold or transferred, while an ebook is licensed, cannot be resold, and can be revoked by the publisher at any time.

How does the shift to ebooks affect large academic libraries like Penn State’s?

It results in massive ebook collections that are not owned outright and can be removed unexpectedly due to licensing terms, compromising the stability of the library’s holdings.

Why do publishers avoid selling ebooks outright?

They fear that if consumers could resell ebooks easily, it would undermine profitability because digital copies can be duplicated and distributed effortlessly.

What market structure exists among scholarly publishers, according to the speaker?

He describes it as an oligopoly dominated by five major publishers who exert strong control over pricing and licensing terms.

What practices by publishers contribute to rising costs for academic libraries?

Practices include high ebook prices, increases outpacing inflation, nondisclosure clauses preventing price comparisons, and forcing libraries to buy large bundled collections they do not want.

Why does the speaker argue the current scholarly publishing system is economically illogical?

Because universities fund the research, writing, peer review, and editorial work, yet must pay large sums to license the resulting content from publishers who did not create it.

What example does the speaker provide to show an alternative model to commercial scholarly publishing?

The journal Lingua’s editorial board left its publisher and created Glossa, an open-access journal with the same editors and quality but free to read.

How do open educational resources (OER) address the problem of costly textbooks?

OER textbooks are free to access, adaptable by instructors, and remove the financial barrier that causes many students to avoid buying required course materials or even skip courses.

What broader principle does the speaker believe should guide the handling of knowledge?

He argues that knowledge created and funded collectively should be treated as a public good—like roads or clean water—not as a commodity controlled by third-party publishers.

How are libraries taking steps to support open access according to the talk?

They are actively identifying and promoting over 1.2 million freely available, non-publisher-controlled online resources accessible to anyone without paywalls or authentication.