Perlego, a Friend or Foe? E-textbook Streaming Service

Abstract

Considering the success of Spotify and Netflix, it was inevitable that an e-textbook subscription-based streaming service become available on the market. Perlego, a personal all-you-can-read digital e-textbook subscription provider, launched in 2017 under a motto of accessibility and affordability for all.  They targeted individual students directly and slowly gained popularity. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic, Perlego turned its business model around by offering a free subscription to meet the outcry for online resources during the first few months of lockdown and by working together with librarians to offer institutional subscription licences. Since then, this new way of providing e-resources has become mainstream. Also, with development of useful built-in study tools, such as a reading list management called Workspace, one-click referencing, and Notebook, it has risen above being simply an e-textbook streaming service to an educational learning platform. Librarians must think hard about what effect this will bring to the future.