At a recent talk, I was asked, “Why do we need libraries when we can just download books for free?” Simply put, libraries don’t get books for free; they lend them to their users for free. It gets even more complicated from there.
To bring us up to speed, an e-book is a digital version of the book that can be read on a device. A digital audiobook is a book that can be listened to and also streamed to a device, usually your phone. Once borrowed, e-books and digital audiobooks are available on a device for a limited time. After three weeks, the customer loses access to the digital book. The loan period for the books can be extended just like a print book if there is no waiting list.
Contrary to popular belief, the library must pay licensing fees to offer a digital version to our users. Each copy of the e-book or digital audiobook costs the library. Publishers control the fees for downloaded e-books or audiobooks. There is no standard price; each publisher licenses their content differently.
For example, in March 2005, the library purchased a print copy of Alice Hoffman’s Frozen for $24. It was checked out 40 times and cost 60 cents per checkout. The e-book version costs $65 for two years. The library purchased the e-book edition in 2012 and has so far cost $325 to make this title available digitally. The e-book was downloaded 72 times and cost $4.50 per download.
Collection Services staff try to solve this huge puzzle every week. When a new book comes out, how many digital and print copies should be ordered? When should one stop paying for a digital version? The library wants to keep wait times reasonable, so it tries to balance what’s best for users and what fits the budget. In 2023, the library spent more on electronic resources than on print items.
Your library is pleased to continue to offer our patrons e-books and digital audiobooks as well as print books, great programs, summer reading programs, book reviews and much more.
Access to these materials is another reason to love libraries.
Vickie Hicks is director of public relations for the Springfield-Greene County Library District. You can reach her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared in the Springfield News-Leader: Do libraries pay for e-books? Yes – and it’s complicated
