Economics of Libby

October 23, 2023 1:31 PM

I listen to tons of audiobooks and I have cards with three different library systems, all of which are added to my libby account. Two of these are larger library systems, one is my smaller local one. How do these libraries’ contracts with Libby work? If I get a book from my local library instead of one of the bigger ones, does that cost them money? Does it show that my local library is a valued resource that needs funding?

Not that this really matters but I would like to understand the impact of this choice I make multiple times/week! I am most interested in what will be best for my small-state library buuuuut they only give 7 days per book as opposed to the 14 the others offer.

posted by Summers to Law & Government (7 answers total)

Best answer: Libby is pay per license (we pay to buy a license, one person can use it at a time, usually for infinite uses in the license period but not always). They already bought the license, so it does not cost extra. Hoopla is a different service that offers more stuff, but we pay per use of each item (the pricing is tiered and borrows per person are limited.) This is how it works where I am anyway.

Using Libby items at all is good-- using the service proves people want and like the service so it gets more funding. Potentially your smaller library gets more funding when they make the case that people are using it. Ask them-- someone in admin knows the answer to exactly this and would love to hear from you.

Also just to check-- when they forced everyone over to Libby instead of Overdrive they made the checkout limit automatically shorter, but you can change it in your settings. Are you able to change it or did they actually limit you to 7 days?
posted by blnkfrnk at 2:53 PM on October 23, 2023 [6 favorites]

Best answer: You may find this article written by a public librarian informative, I did.
posted by TimHare at 7:58 PM on October 23, 2023 [5 favorites]

Seconding blnkfrnk. The terms of use for each individual ebook/eaudiobook vary between publishers - I won't bore you with all the lending models but the upshot is that each title available in your library's collection has already been paid for, so borrowing it is exactly how to ensure that the library gets return on that investment.

Your smaller local library may have less budget to play with than some larger libraries, so showing that their collection is well-used can help the library's collection manager make an argument for more funding to grow the collection and/or increase loan times. If nothing else, it is good for their loan statistics, which is often one of the main ways libraries demonstrate their value for the community and thus the value of libraries continuing to exist and offer services.

It is definitely worth asking staff about the loan period. Short loan times could be in response to high demand as a way of managing the wait time. Even if the titles you're borrowing aren't the hottest trend in eaudiobooks, it's not possible to set different loan periods at an individual title basis - it's one loan period for the whole collection. However if you are not borrowing titles that are in high demand, then you can just renew them!
posted by Athanassiel at 10:39 PM on October 23, 2023 [2 favorites]

Thank you for asking this - I've low-key wondered for the last year when I've become a heavy audiobook renter. I also have 3 cards and have avoided borrowing from my local (the smallest) in the hopes of saving them $.

I might be single-handedly destroying their ILL numbers though :( (heavy user for years)
posted by esoteric things at 9:25 PM on October 24, 2023

Response by poster: Thanks everyone, this has been really helpful!
posted by Summers at 8:25 AM on October 26, 2023

A related question a couple years ago mostly got the consensus answer that you should just use the library in good faith and return materials when you're done with them, and you shouldn't concern yourself with the pricing model. Several librarians participated, including some who actually acquire digital assets and know more about how the licensing works.
posted by fedward at 1:01 PM on October 26, 2023

FWIW, both blnkfrnk and I are librarians. I manage the collections at my library service, including the digital ones.
posted by Athanassiel at 8:13 PM on October 30, 2023