Libraries could provide an unlimited number of digital copies, but publishers don't allow that unless they buy additional copies. So it's just part of the contract. If publishers allowed unlimited checkouts, then very small libraries that only have one or two copies checked out at the same time would be paying the same price as much larger libraries that may have 50 copies checked out at the same time.

If the publisher still wants to make the same amount of money even though everyone is paying the same price, small libraries would have to pay much more, and large libraries would pay much less.

If you show content to more than i think 10 people at the same time you are publicly broadcasting the content and need to pay the copyright holders a fee.

Netflix pays the owners a fee to stream the content to as many folk as they want.

The library probably has a limited licence, so they can only have so many copies distributed at the same time.If they exceed this, they can be libel for copyright infringement and will be sued to high heaven.

The short answer is that copyright holders want to make money off of the books they own the rights to, and because of that they sell the license to their digital books to libraries under strict terms.

The longer answer involves explanation that not only are libraries limited in the amount of simultaneous copies that can be checked out, but they are also limited in the number of times those copies can be checked out before the library has to renew the license.

The whole issue is very complicated, trying to balance the rights of authors and publishers, with the public interest, and many misconceptions about copyright and economics on all sides.

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Authors and publishers are trying to make money and have the head start on schools and public libraries.

Education systems are typically geographically fragmented including schools, libraries, museums etc. This reduces the scope for scale discounts, but publishers do have deals including physical book discounts and ebook license discounts for bulk usage. After all a library system is just another customer and they are still trying to make money.

Some countries do have a National Library system where certain libraries can demand a few copies of any published books for free. This is the exception, not the rule, though.

Money.

Authors and Publishers actively limit the licensing to libraries, schools and other structures to maximize profits.

If anyone could borrow a book from a public library in the first weeks of availability, that book won't sell many copies. In this way, someone will actually borrow it, but the majority of people will buy it.

Publishers sell books to libraries. A book can be checked out about 20 times before normal wear and tear makes it unsuitable for circulation, and a new book is purchased. Also, they'd buy multiple copies of popular books so multiple people can read them at once. Once those books have been read, they don't often get checked out again. Imagine Oprah recommends a book for everyone to read. High checkouts one month, low checkouts the next month.

For eBooks, the same sales paradigm as physical books has been replicated. Libraries purchase bundles of X number of checkouts, with a certain number of checkouts at a time.

You're right in that you absolutely could do as you say, technically speaking. But that would infringe on copyright. The rights holders have the right to sell them as they wish.

What makes eBooks different is that each time you lend an eBook, you are not actually "lending" anything. You make a new copy on your device. Even if you are prevented from accessing the original copy, it's just promising not to use it while someone else makes an illegal copy. This would invalidate copyright. That's why eBooks are treated more like software than books. Physically, they are.

Because in theory, every person watching that movie has paid Netflix to use it.

Your library bought that digital book. One book. One person can borrow it. Two books. Two people can borrow them. Tax money has already paid for those books.

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Money, and contracts requiring us to repurchase the title after a contracted number of checkouts.

Library Nerd for 20 years here.

Physical books we typically keep between 25 to 50 checkouts. After that, we figure the taxpayers got their value out of it, and if it becomes lost or damaged, we typically write it off.

Digital content come with Digital Rights Management and contracts. That same Stephen King physical book might check out 40 times before we decide to replace it. Some of our digital content becomes inactive after 17 checkouts, and we have to "buy" a new copy to keep up with demand. It's irritating. And each vendor has their own metrics, complicating the problem.

We have our own calculations and metrics to decided how many to buy on release (X number of requests means we need Y number of copies to fulfill in Z amount of time), but digital copies are a blessing and a curse and a money suck.

Edit: That being said, nothing is stopping you from checking out books on CD, and ripping them while you browse Reddit.

What you do with the material purchased with taxpayer dollars, in your own house, is your own business as long as you do not deny access to the material to other members of th community.

Many libraries do not require that you live in the area to get a library card and allow you to renew them online. You can get library cards from all over and increase your odds of being able to get the books you want. Source: I might know someone that has a few dozen library cards :)

Because the provider doesn't allow it in the contract? Their purpose is to make money, after all. It's a balancing act between how much to charge people vs how much stuff to make available for free, to farm goodwill and gain attention/accessibility

Libraries still have to pay licenses per copy, because that's how ebooks work. Even if publishers offered unlimited licenses, the costs would likely be out of reach for a local library to pay vs. a per unit license.

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Publishers are the money grubbers .They charge exorbitant rates for public libraries to buy popular fiction. Or they insist the libraries take lousy Ebooks off their hands for a reduced cost. Our local library has a glut of lousy Ebooks that crowd the online Ebook sites. Going digital has improved the access one has to reading material 24/7 without leaving home. The good Ebooks are always in use. At Christmas I wanted to take out a bunch of Christmas festive books as I had extra time off this year. All of the Christmas stuff was borrowed. Now that it is February all of the holiday reading is available. Which is no help at all.

I've been trying to find an online library that lends Ebooks for a nominal fee , they don't exist. I really miss the old libraries.