View source for Out of print

{{short description|Status of a book title at a publishing house}}
{{For|the album|Out of Print (The Forgotten album)}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2023}}
[[File:Ad Encyclopaedia-Britannica 05-1913.jpg|thumb|Advertisement for the [[Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition|''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Eleventh Edition]] (1910–1911), now out of print and out of copyright.]]

An '''out-of-print''' ('''OOP''') or '''out-of-commerce''' item or work is something that is no longer being [[Publishing|published]]. The term applies to all types of printed matter, visual media,  [[Sound recording and reproduction|sound recording]]s, and [[video]] recordings.<ref>{{Cite press release | url= http://www.eblida.org/News/newsitem_4_2011.pdf| author = European Bureau of Library, Information and Documentation Associations | title = Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Key Principles on the Digitisation and Making Available of Out-of-Commerce Works – Frequently Asked Questions | date = September 20, 2011 | access-date = April 6, 2019}}</ref> An '''out-of-print book''' is a book that is no longer being published. The term can apply to specific editions of more popular works, which may then go in and out of print repeatedly, or to the sole printed edition of a work, which is not picked up again by any future publishers for reprint.

== Description ==

Most works that have ever been published are out of print at any given time, while certain highly popular books, such as the [[Bible]], are always "in print". Less popular out-of-print books are often rare and may be difficult to acquire unless scanned or [[e-book|electronic copies]] of the books are available. With the advent of [[book scanning]], and [[print-on-demand]] technology, fewer and fewer works are now considered truly out of print.

=== Contracts ===
[[File:Rage (1977) front cover, first edition.jpg|thumb|The notorious [[Rage (King novel)|''Rage'' novel]], written by [[Stephen King]] as pen name [[Richard Bachman]], was pulled out-of-print due to its subject matter being associated with real [[school shootings]].<ref>{{cite web|author=King, Stephen|url=http://www.horrorking.com/interview7.html|title=Stephen King's Keynote Address, Vermont Library Conference, VEMA Annual Meeting|date=May 26, 1999|website=horrorking.com|access-date=August 6, 2020|archive-date=June 26, 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050626070625/http://horrorking.com/interview7.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The book cover of the first edition.]]

A publisher creates a [[print run]] of a fixed number of copies of a new book. Print runs for most modern books number in the thousands. These books can be ordered in [[Bulk purchasing|bulk]] by [[bookseller]]s, and when all the bookseller's copies are sold, the bookseller has the option to order additional copies. If the initial print run sells out and demand still exists, the publisher will have more copies printed, if possible. When the book is no longer selling either at a rate fast enough to pay for the inventory or stock costs, or to justify another print run, the publisher will cease to print additional copies, and may [[Remaindered book|remainder]] or [[Pulping|pulp]] the remaining unsold copies. When all of the books in a print run have been sold to booksellers, the book is said to be "out of print", meaning that a bookseller cannot get any further copies from the publisher. If a book sells out unexpectedly quickly, it may be considered out of print briefly when its initial print run is exhausted, but is usually soon reprinted.

Publishers will often let a book go out of stock for long periods, then [[reprint]] the book, usually with a new cover and formatting, to catch the presumably built up demand for the book. The author or their [[Estate (law)|estate]] may have copyright reverted to them once the publisher has declared it out of print.

Most publishing contracts contain reversion clauses allowing authors to regain the [[copyright]] to their books.<ref name=":0">Cabrera, N., Ostroff, J., Schofield, B., & Samuelson Law, Technology, and Public Policy Clinic. (2015). ''Understanding rights reversion - author’s alliance''. Author’s Alliance. https://authorsalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/Documents/Guides/Authors%20Alliance%20-%20Understanding%20Rights%20Reversion.pdf  </ref> One of the triggering conditions for this is an out-of-print clause which makes a book eligible for reversion to the author when a [[Publishing|publisher]] no longer keeps a book in print.<ref name=":0" /> Often, rights do not automatically revert to the author. Instead, the author must first request the book be put back in-print and, if the publisher declines, demand their rights back.

=== Print-on-demand ===
With the development of [[Print on demand|print-on-demand]] services and [[Ebook|electronic formats]] of books, there has been much contention between publishers and authors as to what deems a book out-of-print.<ref name=":1">{{Cite news |last=Rich |first=Motoko |date=2007-05-18 |title=Publisher and Authors Parse a Term: Out of Print |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/18/books/18books.html |access-date=2023-07-02 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Publishers have begun to explicitly state which book formats qualify as in print, and typically include print-on-demand and [[Ebook|electronic copies]]. 

At least one [[Publishing|publishing company]] has adjusted their contracts to account for this change in publishing options by removing the lower limit for book sales, meaning that no matter how few copies of a book sells, if it is available through a print-on-demand vendor or electronically, it is still considered in-print.<ref name=":1" />

=== Republication ===

The longer a book has been out of print, the more difficult it may be to obtain a copy. If there is enough demand for an out-of-print book, and all [[copyright]] issues can be resolved, another publisher may republish the book in the same manner as the original publisher might have reprinted it. In some cases, an out-of-print book, even one that sold very poorly, may be republished if the author becomes popular again.

A reader who wishes to purchase an out-of-print book must either find a bookseller who still has a copy, wait for another print run, or find someone who will sell their own copy as a [[used book]]. The advent of the Internet has made this process much easier, as many websites sell used books offered by bookstores and individuals.

Some publishers intentionally limit the print run of some or all titles to fewer copies than the anticipated demand, in creating [[Special edition|limited edition]]s marketed to [[Book collecting|collectors]]. In these cases, there is an implicit or explicit promise to collectors that the book will not be reprinted, at least in the same form as originally published. For instance, [[Madonna]]'s book ''[[Sex (book)|Sex]]'', with a limited edition print run, was the most requested out-of-print book from 2011 to 2015 in [[BookFinder.com]]<ref name="Aussie">
{{cite web|url=https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/books-magazines/books/madonnas-sex-remains-the-most-wanted-out-of-print-book/news-story/792405cfef5ab7ecd591d4edab5717a7|title=Madonna's Sex remains the most wanted out of print book|date=September 25, 2015|access-date=January 20, 2021|work=[[News.com.au]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108172421/https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/books-magazines/books/madonnas-sex-remains-the-most-wanted-out-of-print-book/news-story/792405cfef5ab7ecd591d4edab5717a7|archive-date=November 8, 2020}}</ref> and remains as one of the most in-demand out-of-print publications of all time according to Barry Walters from ''[[Rolling Stone]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/madonnas-erotica-sex-why-musical-masterpiece-defiant-book-still-matter-200685/|title=Madonna's Sex remains the most wanted out of print book|date=October 19, 2017|access-date=January 20, 2021|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418222809/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/madonnas-erotica-sex-why-musical-masterpiece-defiant-book-still-matter-200685/|archive-date=April 18, 2020|first=Barry|last=Walters}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Abandonware]]
*[[Cut-out (recording industry)]]
*[[Deletion (music industry)]] of records
*[[List of publishers]]
*[[Orphan work]]
*[[Old Earth Books]]
*[[Self-publishing]]

==References==
<references />

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite news|newspaper=[[The Atlantic]]|author=Rebecca J. Rosen|title=The Hole in Our Collective Memory: How Copyright Made Mid-Century Books Vanish|date=2013-07-30|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/07/the-hole-in-our-collective-memory-how-copyright-made-mid-century-books-vanish/278209/}}
* [http://www.bookfinder.com/ Book Finder]

==External links==
{{wiktionary}}
*[http://www.criterion.com/asp/browse.asp Criterion DVDs (Out of Print titles indicated in red)], The Criterion Collection website
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070527103302/http://www.criterion.com/asp/laserdisc_browse.asp Out of print Criterion Laserdiscs], The Criterion Collection website (archived 27 May 2007)

[[Category:Publishing]]
[[Category:Past]]