Hold On: Wait Times in Libby, Part 1

We often hear the question, “What’s the deal with eBooks? Why is my wait so long?”  

Because I’m so passionate about this topic, it’s hard for me not to write the world's longest article on the subject. Since I don’t want to overwhelm you, I hope to break this up into a series of posts. The first will cover basic background information. Future posts will break down the costs and wait time for some of the currently popular titles.  

For now, we’ll start with the short answer to the question: publishers charge libraries many times the cost of what a consumer is charged to purchase access to the very same eBook. 

You might be thinking, “Well, of course, libraries should be charged more for a digital copy because it’s not going to wear out like a physical copy, and it will last forever." Or, as my brother rightly points out, “Publishers need to make a profit too so they can afford to continue publishing books for us to enjoy.” Or, maybe you're thinking, “Can’t you just buy one copy, and everybody who wants to read it can check it out at the same time?”. The short answers to those questions are “not always," “yes, of course," and “in most cases, no."  

Physical Books

First, let’s take a quick look at physical book prices. We are given a discount when purchasing physical copies of books for our collection, but then we have the added costs of processing that item – adding the labels, stamps, and all of the other things that identify it as a library book and allow us to track it through its time in our collection. Over time, books wear out, go missing, or get damaged and need to be removed from our collection. When that happens, if there’s still demand, the title is still available for purchase through our vendors, and if the budget allows, we purchase more copies.  

eBook Licenses

When we purchase eBooks and audiobooks for our collection, we’re actually purchasing a license. The terms of this license vary based on what the publisher decides they want to charge and how long they want the license to be valid. There are two main types of licenses that libraries have access to for purchasing eBooks & audiobooks: 

• One Copy/One User (OC/OU): We pay for “perpetual” use of that copy of the title. As long as we continue to use the vendor through which we purchased that title, we keep access. If the publisher discontinues that edition, we can keep what we purchased, but we cannot add more copies.   
• Metered Access (MA): We pay for the use of that copy of the title within a set time frame (usually 12 or 24 months) or a set number of checkouts. After the time frame is up or the checkouts are used up, we have to evaluate whether the circulation, cost, and other factors justify renewing the license.  

Our purchasing decisions are limited to the models and prices that each publisher chooses to offer libraries, and those models and prices change, usually not in libraries' favor. I’d love to see a publisher offer us ALL the options: OC/OU and MA under various prices and types because while we do want an OC/OU copy of the latest Diary of a Wimpy Kid, it doesn't make sense to renew MA licenses to keep things like outdated travel guides in our collection.

Why we don't have that eBook or audiobook.

There are also titles that we can’t add in digital format because the publisher has not made them available for purchase to libraries. Some examples of those would be titles published by any of Amazon’s publishing imprints, including the titles they publish in audiobook format through Brilliance and make available exclusively through Audible. So, if you’ve been wondering why we don’t have the audiobook for John Scalzi’s Starter Villain or Born a Crime by Trevor Noah, it's because Amazon won't sell them to libraries.

In addition to that, self-published authors must choose to make their titles available for purchase through Overdrive, and if they’ve decided to enroll them in Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program, they can’t make them available for purchase elsewhere. So, I’m really sorry we can’t help out with your Lucy Score addiction! 

Next time...

That’s probably enough information for now, so keep an eye out for my next post, which will break down the costs and wait time for a popular title that’s sold under one of the metered access licenses. Which book? You’ll have to wait and see!