Ebook readers - are you using your library more frequently?

May 19, 2023 10:13 AM

I am curious, and would like to hear from other MeFites on this topic. Ebook prices have risen in recent years, and I have questions about whether that has increased the use of libraries for ebooks.

Ebook prices are now in many cases equal to or more than paperback prices. Ebook overhead costs are much much less than that of paperbacks, given that generally there are only a few digital copies stored on the sites that sell them, there are no printing, transporting, or stocking costs, and no handling of returned or unsold items. When I realized this, I started using my library's Libby/Overdrive system to check out ebooks much more than I had in the past. I'm wondering if others are doing the same? Is this driving ebook sales downward?

A separate issue, which I have no data on, is whether the authors or the publishers are reaping the increased ebook profit - my bet, of course , is on the publishers.

posted by TimHare to Shopping (20 answers total)

Yes and no. I use ebooks way more than print books, but my library generally doesn't have the ebook that I want because it's rather niche, or I have to wait like 3 months to read it because everyone else wants it too. I actually work in a library, and it's the only reason I still read print books-- because they're literally in my hands all day. Other than graphic novels, art books, and some cookbooks, print is dead to me.

Library ebooks are wildly, extravagantly expensive because publishers are taking advantage of their position, basically, so the library can't buy more copies or buy more ebooks. I tend to just buy what I want. Publishers are the ones making the money, with some exceptions. This is a good write up of the situation.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:22 AM on May 19, 2023 [5 favorites]

I used to mostly use my kindle for both living and travel abroad to have easier access to English language materials. I had a large file from a friend of out of copyright books and then had bought some more. This was also very useful on the 3g network.

I got a new kindle to replace my 8+ year old one in December 2019 and outside of 1 or 2 purchases have used it exclusively for library borrows. I have 3 library accounts on there so it’s rare that have to wait too long or a book is inaccessible (though it does happen). I probably borrow 10-20 books a month. I have borrowed a physical library book since before COVID I think, though I’ve purchased a couple
posted by raccoon409 at 10:25 AM on May 19, 2023

Also, not to abuse the edit function, children's publishing is a very different beast. Kids mostly can't use devices in schools, or parents don't want them on devices, or they can't afford a phone for each kid, or they are too little to read on their own, so ebook adoption with kids is way different than with adults. Plus there are whole ecosystems that children often have access to through school, like Epic, that are entirely ebooks, that they often have to use for school. So that is a wrinkle in this that you may want to consider.
posted by blnkfrnk at 10:25 AM on May 19, 2023 [2 favorites]

I don't find ebook prices have risen enough to affect my habits one way or another. I don't think about ebook prices in comparison to print prices since I basically never buy print books.

For ebooks, I still buy the ones I think I'm going to want to read as soon as they come out, or where I know I'll reread them or where I particularly want to support the author with my pre-order. Anything else I request from one or more of the several libraries I pay non-resident fees to in order to have access to their ebook collections. Usually one or more of those libraries has enough of the ebooks I want available that I'm perfectly happy to languish on waitlists for the rest.
posted by Stacey at 10:53 AM on May 19, 2023

I have always used the library for ebooks almost exclusively (that is, I almost never purchase them). I've bought a couple very cheap ebooks, so I guess that would support your hypothesis about price being a factor. It's really more that if I'm going to pay for a book, though, I'd like to have a physical copy.
posted by lapis at 10:53 AM on May 19, 2023 [5 favorites]

I will tell you that library ebook usage skyrocketed during the pandemic, and has remained at that level. Print book circulation has not returned to pre-pandemic levels.

(And just to answer your question: I was already an avid library ebook reader, because I am a digital resources librarian. The only ebooks I purchase are the ones that tend to be inexpensive, because they're niche queer romance, etc.)
posted by missrachael at 11:18 AM on May 19, 2023 [8 favorites]

I buy hot new books from authors I already love (like the new Garth Nix) so I don't have to wait but for most books I go to the library for ebooks and only for print books if the ebook isn't available. The library does encourage my ebook buying habit because I have been known to finish in-print books I borrowed and didn't get to before I had to turn them in by paying for the ebook.

Part of the answer will depend on where the person gets their library books. I used to live in Austin and its Overdrive (and Hoopla and Kanopy) was just significantly better than what I get in Dallas now. Dallas doesn't even have Kanopy (a movie service, so not directly relevant, but I'm sure in smaller cities the financial issue is worse for Overdrive/Hoopla).

Buying ebooks and getting them from the library has significantly dropped my spending on physical books. I still buy some hardbacks and get them as gifts, but I basically don't buy paperbacks any more. Library reads and ebook purchases have replaced paperbacks for me.

I've been thinking about my physical/ebook borrowing from the library because in Dallas the physical book borrow/return is shut down right now by a ransomware attack on city computer systems. Overdrive and Hoopla don't run through the city's computers (we just have to have our library card number, which was registered before the ransomware attack started) so they're still lending and accepting returns of ebooks.
posted by gentlyepigrams at 11:23 AM on May 19, 2023

I have always used my library for ebooks, almost exclusively. (I am privileged in that I live in NYS and therefore have access to not only my local library's catalog but also the New York Public Library's catalog, so that helps tremendously.) I only buy ebooks if they're things I've ready via the library and know I will want to re-read a lot, or new releases from authors I've loved previously and know I will end up buying anyway.
posted by okayokayigive at 11:29 AM on May 19, 2023

I was under the mistaken impression that it would be difficult or tricksy to get library books on my Kindle, so I held off for a very long time. During Covid I thought it would be a project I could tackle...and then of course I discovered that it took me like 60 seconds to figure out. Which is all my way of saying that I then went nuts borrowing ebooks from my library, and that has continued to this day.

I've also made the lovely discovery that if you borrow a bunch of books and then turn on airplane mode, you can keep reading them long after the return-by date. And if it so happens that you've waited a good long time to turn off the airplane mode, you may just find yourself with books that are now permanently yours. Somehow the system forgets that they're borrowed. I have a few that have been sitting on my reader for multiple years, and I think they're just mine now.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:36 AM on May 19, 2023 [3 favorites]

I live in an area with a excellent public libraries, for access to both print and digital media. So with a few exceptions I've rarely purchased print books or ebooks.

During the pandemic I stopped going into my local libraries and exclusively borrowed ebooks. Only within the past few months have I started checking out print books again and that's usually been because they were hard to find as ebooks.

My local library systems use Libby/Overdrive and I also have access to Hoopla via one of my library card numbers.

I have been taking a look at Google Play Books to see what ebooks they're offering for free. Usually it's not much and the free offerings tend to be on the "you get what you pay for" scale of quality.

I also use BookBub to find free ebooks which are available from Amazon. (BookBub has been great for helping me discover good writers who aren't generally on the top of the best seller lists.)

Open Library is mostly a last resort option for me because I rarely find what I want on their site. (It's part of Internet Archive but I'm unsure if it was included in the publishers' lawsuit against IA.) In my experience, if they do have the book I want either there's no ebook version or there's a long waiting list, and the ebook format may or may not work with the reader software I use on my Android tablet.
posted by fuse theorem at 11:50 AM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

I can count on one hand the number of ebooks I have purchased over the last 10 years of owning an e-reader. In other words, I borrow books from the library basically exclusively. (This parallels my behaviour with print books, too, just to a more extreme degree--I have accumulated many books over the years and do generally buy books for book clubs used, as it's often not possible to get a library copy quickly enough/at all.)
posted by hoyland at 11:51 AM on May 19, 2023

I'm wondering if others are doing the same? Is this driving ebook sales downward?

I've toyed with it a bit but it seems like every time I want to read something there's a long wait list -- and if I sign up for the wait list, it inevitably becomes available while I'm in the middle of another book. I did try out a few books I wouldn't have ordinarily picked up (e.g., "Double Dead" by Chuck Wendig) which was nice.

This New Yorker piece talks about the rental model for libraries, but doesn't really touch on the royalties going to authors. I assume that the bulk of the money is staying with the publishers. Like the RIAA, the publishers make a big stink about the business models of libraries or "piracy" harming authors, but when the checks are cut - I'm pretty sure the authors are the last to see any benefits.
posted by jzb at 11:59 AM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

Simliar to BlahLaLa, I was late to the library ebook party.
When I got a new ereader I noticed the overdrive connection and tried it ONCE before realizing that it was the best. Now I always have books on hold there!

Sometimes it acts up and I can't download the book to it directly. I don't know why, and have even gone so far as a complete reset of the device, but the workaround (open the hold link on my phone, close it, open up the ebook and it's there somehow??) works well enough that it's still amazing to me that anyone would bother buying books (that are available this way, of course).
posted by Acari at 2:28 PM on May 19, 2023

Count me on Team Library. I sometimes buy a book if it’s by a favorite author, but I generally keep a list (on Amazon ) of books I’m interested in and periodically check the library website to see if I can put them on hold.

Maybe if the books were (much) less expensive, I’d impulse buy, But for the price, I wait.
posted by AMyNameIs at 5:09 PM on May 19, 2023 [1 favorite]

I will very, very occasionally borrow an ebook from the library, but I'm usually too anxious to read the book right now and dislike waiting for holds. Also, I tend to re-read a lot. Libraries are great, don't get me wrong, but since I don't buy paper books either, ebook prices don't mean a lot to me.
posted by lhauser at 6:06 PM on May 19, 2023

Once Overdrive got usable and I got a phone big enough to read on, I started relying almost exclusively on my library for ebooks. There are a few authors I like that my library doesn't carry and I buy those books, but otherwise, library all the way. The changing price of ebooks had little to do with it. Purey a matter of when technology started well working for me.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:33 PM on May 19, 2023

Response by poster: I don't have Overdrive on my Kindle, so those of you who use Overdrive on the phones are maybe one up on me (I can't read books on the phone, it's just not the right format for me) but I do use the Libby/Overdrive app through the library's website and get the ebook sent to my Kindle. I assume people with tablets also would have access to the Overdrive app.

These are all interesting answers, and I thank those of you who answered so far. There can be no 'best' answer to a question like this, of course.
posted by TimHare at 9:16 PM on May 19, 2023

Maybe I misunderstand, but Overdrive is just the service/app to get books and is not actually on your kindle. I personally use the Libby App, which is either owned by or a replacement for Overdrive and find it really easy to use once you figure out the interface. I borrow books with that, click “read with kindle” which takes me to Amazon within the app to download — pretty seamless once you get it.

I love using the library for books, always have. After being resistant to ebooks I’ve fully embraced them since I travel so much. I’ve never been one to buy novels because I don’t often read them twice so it works great for me. I also utilize the download a lot of books then turn on airplane mode trick. That works great if you have a lot of books that come available at once and can’t read them in time or if you’re traveling and don’t want to connect to strange wifi. Another feature of Libby is if your book comes available after waiting and you’re not ready you can put it on hold to be delivered in X days and stay at the front of the line. Right now I’m waiting for a book and started out as number 1,000+ waiting but a quickly down to #300 or so. If my library sees a long waitlist it buys more books (and Libby tells you this which is cool).

Prices don’t affect me much because I don’t buy novels unless I’ve borrowed it from the library more than once. If I love it that much then I like to support the authors and buy it. I will admit that I often put them on an Amazon list and wait for them to go on sale. Every once in a while it’s not available on Overdrive/Libby I will look on Hoopla. If not there I look at prices to purchases and only sometimes buy if I really want it and it’s under $12.
posted by Bunglegirl at 7:39 AM on May 20, 2023 [1 favorite]

My ratio these days is about 85% library ebooks (borrowed for my kindle through Libby/Overdrive), 10% purchased ebooks, 5% actual paper books.

My 9 year old reads about 80% physical library books, 10% library audio books, 5% library ebooks, 5% purchased physical books.
posted by Kriesa at 11:27 AM on May 20, 2023

I too was using the airplane mode trick to keep my library loans from expiring, and then the Kindle I was using just up and died one night when I tried to put it to sleep (it crashed and then got stuck in a reboot loop from which it never recovered). Now I let Calibre and some plugins do my time-shifting for me so if my current Kindle also chooses to die I won't lose whatever book happen to be reading at the time.

At this point I'm not only using the library more frequently, but (as I've said in other threads here) I'm up to five library cards through the reciprocal agreement between DC Public Library and a bunch of libraries in the suburbs. I've pleased a couple librarians by showing up at their branches to get a card or validate the one I applied for online.
posted by fedward at 1:19 PM on May 20, 2023