Do libraries benefit from a lot of people checking out books digitally and online?

Submitted by Isatis_tinctoria t3_1200z5f in books

As someone who loves to read, I've noticed that many libraries are now offering digital books through apps like Libby, OverDrive, and Kindle. I'm curious to know whether libraries benefit from a lot of people checking out books digitally and online.

Does anyone know what libraries do with statistics of people checking out books digitally, both audio and on Kindle through Libby and such apps? Are these statistics used to improve the library's collection or to inform purchasing decisions?

Additionally, I'm curious to hear from librarians or library staff on how digital checkouts compare to physical ones. Are there any advantages or disadvantages to offering digital books?

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notabot-i-promise t1_jdfbe3q wrote

This is a good blog post by a librarian on this topic.

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2D617 t1_jdgjgio wrote

Thanks for posting this. It's an eye-opener.

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Laura9624 t1_jdj0cvx wrote

Interesting. But a few things not mentioned. Some physical books stay on the shelves for years but likely just one copy after a time. Physical books get damaged so there are likely limited checkouts, especially on very popular books. How long? It depends. The quality of binding which can also mean more expensive I'd guess. It could be one checkout or 20. Most people are likely careful with library books but there are certainly those who are not. Those have to be taken out of circulation. Most very popular books have a shorter life. So there are advantages to ebooks. They never get damaged. And it can be decided they don't need 6 licenses anymore. And the budget as many have said. My library encourages ebooks and Libby. People are reading.

Also don't think publishers hate libraries. I think its difficult to figure out fair use. Its still very new.

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metromesa t1_jdfk3ub wrote

I believe so. In the Fort Worth Library system, they surpassed one million checkouts for the past three years because of digital media. They've received a much bigger budget as a result, which helps them build a few more branches and buy more books.

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Isatis_tinctoria OP t1_jdfpfae wrote

Is this why certain branches such as Broward Count Library and Las Vegas public library have cards available to anyone? That it allows them to have higher check out rates?

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metromesa t1_jdfr9vh wrote

I think so. As someone else already mentioned, if the library system of a particular area is in frequent use, its budget will probably expand as a result. More budget more supplies, maybe more branches, serving more of the community.

The Los Angeles system is one of the largest in the country with 72 branches. Their budget is huge at nearly $134M. They've reached over 10 million checkouts servicing LA County last year alone.

Here's a link for the systems that had high checkputs last year: https://company.overdrive.com/2023/01/11/129-libraries-surpass-one-million-checkouts-in-2022/

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Isatis_tinctoria OP t1_jdhbytm wrote

I wonder what the statistics fro Broward County and Las Vegas are - because those have at least up to now - been open to anyone - I think even outside of the United States. You just need to sign up.

Do you know if there are statistics for the most checked-out libraries and books in the US and the world?

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metromesa t1_jdhdki7 wrote

Not sure, honestly.

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Isatis_tinctoria OP t1_jdhholc wrote

I would be curious to see what their numbers of check outs are in 2023 - because Las Vegas is closing their open access to only area residents.

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HammerOvGrendel t1_jdfv79t wrote

It's actually my job to sit and crunch the circulation numbers all day. I work at an academic library that has almost no physical holdings left other than art/design books. What I'm generally doing is providing data that goes to the budget planners to inform the decision to either renew or cancel a journal subscription, and to take that data into the negotiations with vendors. Key metrics are cost-per-use, use-by-faculty, use by subject area, year on year trends, failed access attempts and so on. Before this, my last gig was working for a vendor doing much the same thing but with a sales support focus.

The advantages of Ebooks for us are that they don't take up any physical space, they don't get lost or damaged and we can control the loan settings to prevent circulation "logjams" on popular titles. By this I mean that I can set individual titles to only by available for short term loans, or to only be "checked out" as long as you have it open in a browser. I can set the system to automatically buy a second copy if someone tries to access a book that's already checked out, and to send me daily/weekly/monthly reports on access failures.

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Isatis_tinctoria OP t1_jdhcxwy wrote

That's kind of sad that the academic library does not have physical books. Why doesn't it have physical books? Is it just a matter of budget?

This is a fascinating insight into what you do with those numbers.

So, if we check out more books, the libraries have the data to show that there is a need and desire for such books, then you can take those numbers and request even more money?

Edit: What happens to books that are barely checked out but could be useful for research - such as academic books? In other words, perhaps Harry Potter is checked out constantly. But if there are niche subjects of academic topics. They could be useful to maybe one person a semester. Will those books survive?

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HammerOvGrendel t1_jdhoi7y wrote

Well, there are a few things to unpack from your comments. Australian academic libraries have had an E-preferred collection development focus for a long time now, and several of the companies working on the technology to make that happen were Aussie start-ups in the early 2000s. So it's been a big part of the ecosystem for a long time now. Our Universities are pretty much all publicly funded, and we do a lot in the distance-education space - my University does the whole "open university" online education thing, we deliver remote Vocational courses throughout Australia, and we have partner campuses in Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam. It's not at all like the American "college experience" of living on campus and living that whole lifestyle. In fact in many other countries we would be called an advanced research polytechnic instead.

Our collection policy follows from that - there's no point keeping outdated concrete engineering standards documentation on the shelf, or having user guides to Windows 95 taking up space.

"So, if we check out more books, the libraries have the data to show that there is a need and desire for such books, then you can take those numbers and request even more money?"

There isn't a "more money" tap that you can switch on sadly, or rather those discussions happen at the Dean and Vice-Chancellor level, far far above my pay grade. We get an allocated chunk of money for the year, then we have to try and guess what the foreign exchange rate will be at the end of the year, and then have to negotiate with the vendors about their price rises.

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newredpanda t1_jdfz929 wrote

Yes, it is how we ask for more funding. We would do physical counts of people in the library too. Ebooks are massively expensive, use them—libraries want you to be happy. Thanks for the consideration.

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TeaWithKermit t1_jdgjpbo wrote

Thanks for this info! I use the hell out of ebooks from the library (around 100 a year). The library is one of my favorite things in my life!

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Laura9624 t1_jdj0r67 wrote

I like this. I feel like ebooks at the library bring a new fairness to readers. Hope there's fairness to libraries too. I know there's lots of negotiation yet.

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Isatis_tinctoria OP t1_jdhd867 wrote

I love eBooks! I use them all the time! The audio versions are incredible for doing chores, exercising, taking the train, etc.

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thekeeper228 t1_jdf8b89 wrote

Most libraries are funded by local taxes, grants and donors. I don't know if circulation plays a part in funding decisions, but I'm sure that the various services, not confined to book lending effects the decisions made about the three main sources.

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RingtailRush t1_jdh7lu9 wrote

Yes! We track all of our item circulation or "circs," including ebooks and other digital media.

These circs are collected and used in many ways that usually with the goal of receiving more funding, either through our governing body or grant opportunities.

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Isatis_tinctoria OP t1_jdhguy8 wrote

More power to you!

I always loved libraries and librarians since I was a child! There was a big librarian character in the show Buffy the Vampire Slayer that I saw as a good role model!

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mind_the_umlaut t1_jdfvu51 wrote

I've found that in Libby, an artificial scarcity is imposed by limiting the number of people who can listen to an audiobook at the same time. Is this economically-driven, or a software issue? Some audiobooks have 20-week waits.

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eliminate1337 t1_jdfybo6 wrote

Nothing to do with software. It's an arbitrary restriction by the publishers who charge by number of copies.

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Isatis_tinctoria OP t1_jdhczw9 wrote

What happens to books that are barely checked out?

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Laura9624 t1_jdj1eas wrote

They don't renew the license. Some will keep one copy. Depends.

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Humble-Roll-8997 t1_jdh3fyt wrote

Our library system uses Cloud Library and it’s so antiquated. Updates just make it worse. I wish we could use Kindle or Libby. Useage probably affects library funding.

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Laura9624 t1_jdj1206 wrote

I've heard so many complaints about cloudlibrary in my book groups online.

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Humble-Roll-8997 t1_jdj7xz5 wrote

I believe it. I’ve been getting cheap or free books from Prime lately. It’s so annoying.

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Majestic-Rutabaga-28 t1_jdi83pb wrote

Libraries do not exist for benefits. Digital or physical copies are treated the same way by librarians

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alreadytaken334 t1_jdojul4 wrote

I'm on the board for my rural library. Digital books don't really benefit us, it does cost money when people use it, but we still want people to use it. We are never going to get our funding increased so it doesn't matter for that. We just want people to read.

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