经济学人233:图书馆和电子书 文学劳动力已借出

 　　Business

　　商业报道

　　Libraries and e-books

　　图书馆和电子书

　　Literary labours lent

　　文学劳动力已借出

　　The uncertain economics of lending virtual books

　　难以预料的实体书借阅经济

　　I hear Muggles make books disapparate

　　我听说麻瓜能让书籍幻影移形

　　LIKE a tired marriage, the relationship between libraries and publishers has long been reassuringly¹ dull.

　　就像是一个令人疲惫的婚姻，图书馆和出版商之间长期存在着无聊的关系。

　　E-books, however, are causing heartache.

　　然而，电子书的出现引起了它们的心痛。

　　Libraries know they need digital wares² if they are to remain relevant,

　　图书馆知道，如果它们想保持自己存在的价值，就需要数字化的设备，

　　but many publishers are too wary³ of piracy⁴ and lost sales to co-operate.

　　但对于许多出版商而言，由于在盗版和失去销量问题上太过谨慎的态度，而不予合作。

　　Among the big six, only Random⁵ House and HarperCollins license⁶ e-books with most libraries.

　　在最大的六家出版商中，只有兰登书屋和哈珀·柯林斯出版社授予了绝大多数图书馆电子书的许可。

　　The others have either denied requests or are reluctantly experimenting.

　　其它出版社或是拒绝了这项要求，或是在勉强进行试用。

　　In August, for example, Penguin⁷ will start a pilot with public libraries in New York.

　　例如，在八月份，企鹅出版社将在纽约的公共图书馆开始试验。

　　Publishers are wise to be nervous.

　　出版商感到紧张是明智的。

　　Owners of e-readers are exactly the customers they need:

　　电子阅读器的所有者们恰恰是他们需要的顾客：

　　book-lovers with money.

　　有钱的爱书人。

　　If these wonderful people switch to borrowing e-books instead of buying them, what then?

　　如果这些了不起的人们由借阅电子书而变为购买电子书，将会怎样呢？

　　Electronic borrowing is awfully⁸ convenient.

　　电子借阅非常方便。

　　Unlike printed books,

　　与印刷版书籍不同，

　　which must be checked out and returned to a physical library miles from where you live, book files can be downloaded at home.

　　电子书籍文件在家就可以下载，而不需要去离家几英里外的实体图书馆借阅和还书。

　　Digital library catalogues are often browsed⁹ at night, from a comfy sofa.

　　人们常在晚上在舒适的沙发里浏览数字图书馆目录。

　　The files disappear from the device when they are due.

　　当文件到期时，它们将自动从设备上消失。

　　Awkwardly for publishers,

　　这对出版商而言却很尴尬。

　　buying an e-book costs more than renting one but offers little extra value.

　　购买一本电子书比租用一本的花费更多，然而带来的收益增加却相当微小。

　　You cannot resell it, lend it to a friend or burn it to stay warm.

　　你不能把电子书二次售出或是借给朋友，甚至不能将它烧了以取暖。

　　Owning a book is useful if you want to savour it repeatedly, but who reads Fifty Shades of Grey twice?

　　如果你想重复品味一本书，那么拥有一本书是非常好的，但谁愿意读第二遍《格雷的50道阴影》？

　　E-lending is not simple, however.

　　然而电子借阅并不简单。

　　There are lots of different and often incompatible¹⁰ e-book formats¹², devices and licences.

　　电子书的格式、设备和许可证之间有极大不同，并常常不能互相兼容。

　　Most libraries use a company called OverDrive, a global distributor that secures rights from publishers and provides e-books and audio files in every format¹¹.

　　大多数图书馆所采用的是OverDrive公司提供的电子书，这家全球性经销商确保了来自出版商的版权，并提供所有格式的电子书和音频文件。

　　Some 35m titles were checked out through OverDrive in 2011, and the company now sends useful data on borrowing behaviour to participating publishers.

　　2011年，高达三亿五千万的条目通过OverDrive公司借出，这家公司现在正通过输出借阅行为相关的有用数据参与到出版商中来。

　　Yet publishers and libraries are worried by OverDrive's market dominance, as the company can increasingly dictate¹³ fees and conditions.

　　OverDrive的市场占有率让出版商和图书馆担忧，因为这家公司可以提高授权费用和条件。

　　Publishers were miffed when OverDrive teamed up with Amazon, the world's biggest online bookseller, last year.

　　去年，当OverDrive公司与世界上最大的在线图书销售商—亚马逊合作之后，出版商们有点恼火。

　　Owners of Amazon's Kindle¹⁴ e-reader who want to borrow e-books from libraries are now redirected to Amazon's website,

　　亚马逊Kindle阅读器的所有者们现在如果想从图书馆借阅电子书，就将被带入到亚马逊的网站上，

　　where they must use their Amazon account to secure a loan.

　　在那里，他们必须使用他们的亚马逊账户来为他们的借阅提供担保。

　　Amazon then follows up with library patrons directly, letting them know they can Buy this book when the loan falls due.

　　亚马逊还进一步与图书馆的老主顾们直接交涉，告诉他们若是借阅过期，则他们可以直接购买这本书。

　　This arrangement nudged Penguin to end its deal with OverDrive earlier this year.

　　这一约定迫使企鹅出版社在今年早些时候终止了它和OverDrive的合约。

　　The publisher's new pilot involves 3M, a rival distributor that does not yet support the Kindle.

　　这家出版商的新合作者包括3M公司，OverDrive的竞争对手之一，一家尚未支持Kindle的经销商。

　　Ultimately Amazon wants to control the library business, says Mike Shatzkin, a publishing consultant¹⁵.

　　亚马逊最终想控制图书馆事务。出版业咨询师麦克·肖特金说。

　　Library users—nearly 60% of Americans aged¹⁶ 16 and older, according to Pew, an opinion researcher—are a perfect market for Amazon.

　　根据民意调查研究机构皮尤的数据，16岁以上并占美国人口数近60%的图书馆使用者，是亚马逊最好的市场。

　　It woos them by making loans on the Kindle uniquely easy. Late last year Amazon also unveiled its Kindle Owners' Lending Library,

　　它通过在Kindle上极其便利的借阅程序，从而取悦了他们。去年晚些时候，亚马逊还推出了Kindle所有者的借阅图书馆，

　　which lets its best customers borrow free one of thousands of popular books each month.

　　这个图书馆允许亚马逊最好的客户每月在上千本畅销书中免费借阅一本。

　　Library boosters argue that book borrowers are also book buyers,

　　图书馆的支持者认为，借阅图书者也就是购买图书者，

　　and that libraries are vital spaces for readers to discover new work.

　　而图书馆则是这些读者发现新作品的重要根据地。

　　Many were cheered by a recent Pew survey, which found that more than half of Americans with library cards say they prefer to buy their e-books.

　　许多人为皮尤研究机构最近的调查而感到欢欣鼓舞，这项调查发现，超过一半拥有图书馆卡的美国人说，他们更喜欢购买他们的电子书。

　　But the report also noted¹⁷ that few people know that e-books are available at most libraries,

　　但是这项报告也指出，几乎没有人知道电子书在大多数图书馆都是可借阅的，

　　and that popular titles often involve long waiting lists, which may be what inspires people to buy.

　　而那些畅销书籍常常有着很长的等候借阅名单，这也许将促进人们的购买行为。

　　So publishers keep tweaking their lending arrangements in search of the right balance.

　　因此出版商在不断微调他们的借阅合约以找到最恰当的平衡点。

　　Random House raised its licensing¹⁸ prices earlier this year, and HarperCollins limits libraries to lending its titles 26 times.

　　兰登书屋在今年早些时候提高了授权价格，哈珀·柯林斯出版社限制图书馆借阅条目的次数为26次。

　　Penguin plans to keep new releases out of libraries for at least six months, and each book will expire after a year.

　　在企鹅出版社的计划中，新书从出版后到进入图书馆，至少要等六个月的时间，且一年后就到期。

　　Hachette is engaged in some secret experiments, and the others are watching with bated breath.

　　阿歇特出版社正在进行一些秘密实验，而其它出版社则在屏息观望。

　　In Britain the government will soon announce a review of the matter.

　　在英国，政府不久将宣布一份这一事项的报告。

　　The story of the library e-book is a nail-biter.

　　电子图书馆的故事实在是一个令人高度紧张的故事。

　　1.virtual a.实质上的，事实上的

　　Hidden from public view, manipur has become a virtual police-state.

　　淡出了公众的视线，曼尼普尔已成为一个虚拟的警察国家。

　　2.relationship n.关系；联系

　　That relationship benefits both parties.

　　这种关系对双方都有益。

　　3.piracy n.海上抢劫；盗版行为，非法复制

　　Lawmakers try to stop online piracy and jihadist propaganda.

　　立法者试图停止网上盗版和圣战宣传。

　　4.reluctant a.不情愿的，勉强的；顽抗的

　　Television companies were at first reluctant to tell them.

　　电视公司起初同样不愿以实相告。

　　5.customer n.顾客，客户；主顾

　　Professionals identify and satisfy their customer's needs.

　　专业人士发现并满足顾客的需求。

1 reassuringly   

ad.安心，可靠

参考例句：

• He patted her knee reassuringly. 他轻拍她的膝盖让她放心。
• The doctor smiled reassuringly. 医生笑了笑，让人心里很踏实。

2 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

3 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

4 piracy   

n.海盗行为，剽窃，著作权侵害

参考例句：

• The government has already adopted effective measures against piracy.政府已采取有效措施惩治盗版行为。
• They made the place a notorious centre of piracy.他们把这地方变成了臭名昭著的海盗中心。

5 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

6 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

7 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

8 awfully   

adv.可怕地，非常地，极端地

参考例句：

• Agriculture was awfully neglected in the past.过去农业遭到严重忽视。
• I've been feeling awfully bad about it.对这我一直感到很难受。

9 browsed   

v.吃草( browse的过去式和过去分词 )；随意翻阅；（在商店里）随便看看；（在计算机上）浏览信息

参考例句：

• I browsed through some magazines while I waited. 我边等边浏览几本杂志。 来自辞典例句
• I browsed through the book, looking at page after page. 我翻开了一下全书，一页又一页。 来自互联网

10 incompatible   

adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的

参考例句：

• His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。
• Speed and safety are not necessarily incompatible.速度和安全未必不相容。

11 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

12 formats   

n.（出版物的）版式( format的名词复数 )；[电视]电视节目的总安排（或计划）

参考例句：

• They are producing books in all kinds of different formats. 他们出版各种不同开本的书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A true GUI includes standard formats for representing text and graphics. 真正的图形用户界面包括表示文字和图形的标准格式。 来自互联网

13 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

14 kindle   

v.点燃，着火

参考例句：

• This wood is too wet to kindle.这木柴太湿点不着。
• A small spark was enough to kindle Lily's imagination.一星光花足以点燃莉丽的全部想象力。

15 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

16 aged   

adj.年老的，陈年的

参考例句：

• He had put on weight and aged a little.他胖了，也老点了。
• He is aged,but his memory is still good.他已年老，然而记忆力还好。

17 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

18 licensing   

v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• A large part of state regulation consists of occupational licensing. 大部分州的管理涉及行业的特许批准。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• That licensing procedures for projects would move faster. 这样的工程批准程序一定会加快。 来自辞典例句