Libraries are lending out more and more page-turners that don’t actually have pages.
Driving the news: The Vancouver Public Library said the loans of ebooks and other digital material exceeded borrowing of physical content for the first time ever last year. The new data shows that e-borrowing jumped by 16% from 2023, while physical loans fell by 3.5%.
- E-borrowing took off, as you might imagine, during the pandemic, when libraries were closed. The desire for ebooks has stuck around for accessibility and convenience.
- And it’s been a global uptick, with digital lending company OverDrive reporting a record 739 million digital checkouts from libraries using its apps in 2024.
Why it matters: This boom might not be sustainable. E-copies are more expensive than physical copies, up to five times as pricey. Plus, e-copies aren’t one-time purchases, as publishers rent out access, either for a set time limit (usually two years) or number of downloads.
- In 2019, urban libraries already spent up to 30% of materials budgets on digital items, per the Canadian Federation of Library Associations. Imagine what that is now.
Big picture: The economics of publishing make it so big publishers rely heavily on just a handful of bestselling titles. The rise of e-borrowing has granted publishers a way to exert more control of these precious commodities over a major customer base.
Bottom line: This trend makes it harder for libraries to build up collections of newer titles, but as demand for e-copies continues to grow, they have no choice but to play ball.—QH