eBook "windowing" might only hurt publishers

In the ALA's E-content blog, Christopher Harris writes about some publishers' plans to withhold the availability of eBooks to libraries for months after the print release date ("windowing") in order to avoid cannibalization of eBook sales. He refers to a column written by O'Reilly Media's Joe Wikert, in which Wikert said that windowing might work for bestsellers, but not otherwise. Harris argues that most serious readers are so overwhelmed by the choices already available, and often have such a big backlog of already-purchased eBooks, that delaying availability of most titles will only cause readers to substitute other titles--and they might never get around to reading the windowed eBooks. As Harris writes, "...if a publisher wants to delay my access to a book, what they really better be hoping is that I will still want it when they finally say it is okay for me to have it."