Let's Discuss: Public Libraries Digital Collections

The 2024 Discussion Challenge hosted by Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @ It Starts at Midnight.

On and off I keep seeing things mainly, on Tik Tok about libraries and their digital collections. While I can scroll, heart, and share with the best of them, I cringe when I think about recording myself so this blog is all I've got and we're about to dive in to public libraries e books and e audiobooks. 

If I were talking to a library user and said something about library e-reading, the first platform to jump to a lot of brains is probably going to be Libby. I love that for you, Libby is cool. The second thought a lot of people have is, I like Hoopla better you don't have to wait for the books. 

Well let's chat about that. Many people don't know this, but when a public library purchases an e book or an e audiobook for their digital collection, it cost a shocking amount more than if a personal reader bough it. An audiobook might cost $20-$25 when you buy it though Amazon, but for the same title, a public library might pay $60-$75. In addition to that, when a library buys that audiobook, they're not buying it forever, the same way a person might on Audible or Libfo.fm (an audiobook platform that supports local bookstores. Referral link), it's typically a license that expires after a certain amount of time. For example, with libraries there may be a newest James Patterson and it will be a single use license (only one person can have it at a time) that expires after 24 checkouts, or expires after 18 months. When that license expires, the book disappears and if the library thinks people still want to read it, they have to purchase it again for another $60-$75 with the same license. In libraries, we know that books circulates the most in the first 3-5 years that it's in a library collection soooooo, think about the math. 

Typically because of the single use which then causes waiting list, those with access typically prefer Hoolpa. What is that you ask? Hoopla is a platform (that in some cases has movies, shows, and other fun items) where there are no waiting list because the platform allows for multiuse check outs. The people who I hear from who talk about Hoopla the most are folks from school systems with one to one devices (we got so many of these calls during Covid and online learning). If the whole class is reading The Outsiders (as they so often do) and it's available on Hoopla, the whole class can check out the book at the same time, and read it together. When people get upset, is that a library will have a system where a person can only check out 5 or 10 items on Hoopla per month. The reason libraries have a limited number of checkouts for their patrons is because they pay for every single checkout for every single titles. If 300 community members, check out their allotted 15 items, that library is paying for 4,500 checkouts. If those checkouts cost the library $2-$3, (the price of each title is decided by the publisher) a library could be paying over $13,000 just for those items if not more. Libraries have had to lower their Hoopla checkouts often because they can no longer afford the current checkout limit, or their budget has been cut and changes have to be made. It's a wild wild system but for anyone who has ever wondered, there is a very good reason that all of these rules exist and we're as cranky about most of them as the next person. 

Now, when I see people have these conversations on Tik Tok and I go to the comments I often see people who feel guilt about letting titles expire and then checking them out again or other things that they think may be costing the library money. DON'T DO THAT. I mean I understand the feelings of guilt but if I had a dollar for every book I checked out and didn't read... I think it's fine to adjust the decisions that we make once we have more information, but what would be great is helping libraries. Those checkout and renewal statistics are collected and sometimes libraries are able to use them to ask for more money to meet community need. Personal letters of appreciation are often used when it's budget season. A nice email from someone saying how much they value the public libraries digital collection is great because we're able to share words directly from the community and no one thinks we're making it up or anything.

I hope a better understanding of public libraries digital collection doesn't stop people or make people nervous about using them. We don't share this information to chastise people, only to inform them about something that's not common news. Honestly your checkouts aren't great. They're proof that people still use libraries even if some of them use them in a new way AKA digitally. 

If you're a library reader, particularly a digital library reader, say hi in the chat. I'd love to hear from you!