Libraries Struggle to Stock Virtual Shelves (Washington Post article)

[Ann in Arlington]

In today's Washington Post.  Found it interesting.  Probably not really 'news' to folks here, of course.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/as-demand-for-e-books-soars-libraries-struggle-to-stock-their-virtual-shelves/2012/01/13/gIQAkIOXzP_story.html?hpid=z3

[jbcohen]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/as-demand-for-e-books-soars-libraries-struggle-to-stock-their-virtual-shelves/2012/01/13/gIQAkIOXzP_story.html?hpid=z3
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/tablet-wars-intensify/2011/05/02/AFPKCmzF_gallery.html#photo=1
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-libraries-struggle-to-meet-the-demand-for-e-books/2012/01/14/gIQAkuLVzP_graphic.html

[laurie_lu]

Prior to my public library providing a Kindle version of an ebook, I could easily check out an ebook in another format like EPub.  Once and a while I may have to wait in line.  At the most, I'd be the 2nd or 3rd person waiting for a book.  But since my library is now offering the Kindle format, there are over a hundred people waiting in line for a popular book.   If the book is less popular, there are just under 50 people waiting for it.  My library has not increased the number of copies since adding the Kindle format.  It's not worth even browsing for a book since I don't want to be 132 in line waiting for it.

[mooshie78]

My library always had long waits, even before the Kindle edition.  I used the Overdrive app on iPad to read ePub library books prior to that.

I had already given up on it even before the Kindle edition as the long waits just weren't worth it.  I only read one book at a time, and it just doesn't work to randomly have library books come off of hold when I'm in the middle of something else and only have 4 days to pick up the library ebook (and only 14 to read it) from my library.

So I've gone back to just buying all my e-books and just skipping those I think are priced too high.  I occasionally check the library site if I'm interested in something a tad obscure to see if they happen to have the e-book available to checkout, but I've yet to find anything they had that I was interested in with fewer than 20 people waiting.

[CNDudley]

The wait isn't too long at my library (King County Library System in western WA), and if romance/erotica is your thing, you're in luck because they seem to have gabillion of those. Most books I put on hold I get within two weeks!

[mooshie78]

Yeah, my library (Atlanta) does have a ton of romance/erotica as well!

But super long waits for anything remotely mainstream.

[kindlegrl81]

My library had long wait times on popular books, even before they started investing in ebooks.  I remember when I was reading the Percy Jackson series it took 3 months for me to get my hands on the 5th book.  The Twilight series was a minimum wait of 2 months (one of them took 6 months). 

I don't think very many people around here have figured out they can check out library books on their ereader because the longest I have waited for an ebook was 3 weeks.  Of course when I bought my Kindle 2 years ago, no one even knew what it was so it probably wont take much longer for the wait times to increase now that ereaders are more well known.

[cheriereich]

I noticed my library has a good selection of YA, but there are waits. Most aren't too bad. I'm sure this is just the beginning, though. Thanks for sharing the article.

[mooshie78]

With my library waits on paper books are long for recent popular books.  But older mainstream books are often available or just have 2 or 3 people waiting.  Where as even older mainstream e-books have waits 20+ deep.

Just a consequence of living in a major city.  Lots of people so you're going to have long waits on things like library books.

[TraceyC/FL]

My counties selection is dismal compared to the one north of me I have access too. That one just changed to only allowing people with actual cards to borrow - it's helped some on waits and as there is a branch around the corner from my kids Peds office - I have a card.

I have had a couple of massive waits, for kicks I put The Help in my queue to see how long it took. I think I'm down to number 35 (from 90 something, but they have 10 copies too).

I've been able to read older stuff and some new series - which has GREATLY increased my buying when other bargains come along. Because my budget is tight in the entertainment area, if I can only spend $5/mo on books I need an option for more for the rest of the month, and don't balk as much if something is more than 99 cents.

But the waits did jump when they added the kindle lending...

[Jan Strnad]

I've been on the epub list for The Girl Who Played with Fire for months (L.A. Public Library). I've joined the Kindle list now, also.

As long as they limit the number of copies available, I don't see the libraries being a problem for publishers. We're too much of an "instant gratification" society.

[Meka]

Initially I was excited about borrowing Kindle books from the library but lost interest when I saw how long the wait list were and having books randomly coming of hold would not work for me since I only read one book at a time. I decided it was more convenient for me to just purchase the book when I was ready to read it. For me one of the benefits of having a Kindle is instant reading gratification and I just didn't get that with borrowing Kindle books from the library. YMMV  

[Hadou]

That was a good article.  Waiting times can be killer, especially with some popular books.  But, there's always the option of just buying the book if you can't wait THAT long.

[Ephany]

I recently was waaaay down on the Kindle list at my library for a book, so on a whim I checked and they had two copies of the physical book in stock. I drove across town, found the book and when I got home there were weird green spots and cigarette burns all throughout the pages. I guess I'm weird that I'd rather wait for the Kindle version and not have to deal with other people's cooties. I have enough to read that I consider any books I check out to be a bonus surprise when I get the email that one is ready for download. If I find out that I really can't wait, I guess I'll end up buying it instead but so for that hasn't happened. I understand that libraries are between a rock and a hard place and I really appreciate the sheer convenience of being able to check out and return books without leaving my couch.

[Sarah1981]

I don't mind longer waiting times for ebooks. My entertainment budget goes a LOT farther courtesy of free library lending and, besides, I have three weeks to read any book I check out. (Check your settings at your library's Overdrive site; you might be able to increase from 14 to 21 days like I did at both the Free Library of Philadelphia and a city library here in Texas.)

[JBennett]

It's great to see such a demand for Kindle books, but the most surprising part of this article was the mention that the publisher of Steve Job's biography (Simon & Schuster) wouldn't make it available to libraries. Considering that the library in question had purchased almost fifty copies of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo I wonder if S&S is losing a lot of potential money, or if they believe enough people will go out and purchase the book if it isn't available at the library. It'd be interesting to try and test that theory.

[RickRS]

And then there's those of us that had public libraries without any ebooks.

New to the Kindle, and hearing all this talk of ebooks on this forum, I ask my librarian if our county libraries had any ebook loans.  And the answer is no. 

She tells me there's an upcoming meeting to discuss ebooks, but she doesn't expect the county will fund any expansion of library services for ebooks.

[Betsy the Quilter]

I read that article.  What I found interesting was the bull put forward by the publishers.....and that the author of the article bought it hook, line and sinker.

And that the local library (it was in a pic in the print version, don't know if that is online) had a class on downloading library books.  That was pretty cool....

Betsy

[CrystalStarr]

My local small town library had a class on the ebooks too. I wanted to go just for curiosity if nothing else but it didn't work with my schedule. I hope it was helpful.

[mooshie78]

It's great to see such a demand for Kindle books, but the most surprising part of this article was the mention that the publisher of Steve Job's biography (Simon & Schuster) wouldn't make it available to libraries. Considering that the library in question had purchased almost fifty copies of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo I wonder if S&S is losing a lot of potential money, or if they believe enough people will go out and purchase the book if it isn't available at the library. It'd be interesting to try and test that theory.

Seems like the smart thing for publishers to do, if they don't want to sell e-books to libraries right away, is to do it after sales have slowed down.

Like movies that are out in the theater for a few months, then hit video.  And some studios have started making Netflix and Redbox wait 28 days after the DVD/Bluray is out for sale before selling them rental copies.  That way the studios get some extra sales by forcing people who want to see a movie right away to buy, and still make the movie available to rent after a while.

Maybe publishers could try that.  No library e-books while only the hardcover is out in print, but put them out once the paper back is out (or a month or two after the paper back is out.  That way they can try to generate more sales, while still making it available in the library as an e-book eventually for people who are never going to buy that book anyway.

I can appreciate the need for publishers and authors to make money, so I think there can be some happy medium between that and making books available to libraries so those with limited budgets can also read them.

That's another reason I don't make much use of the library.  I have an ok entertainment budget, so I generally prefer to buy and reward the author for their work.  Only time I'm tempted to use the library is when the publisher or author is greedy and the e-book is over priced relative to other books in the same genre from the same or similar publisher etc.

[jbcohen]

I'm with betsy on this issue for a different reason then the publishers arguments being baloney.  There is an old saying in the computer security community that no matter what we, in the security community do, there will always be ways around our safeguards.  It seems that publishers have not understood that basic truth.  Also where there are dollars to be made in theft there will always be someone willing to steel a particular item.  What the computer security industry has started looking into is reducing the incentive to steel information, and publishers have not understood this basic concept the higher they price their products the more tempting a target they will be and the more thieves there will be to steel their product.  Thus the artificially high book prices are making them tempting targets, what they need to do is to lower the cost of the books which will in turn lower the appeal to thieves which will actually net the publishers more dollars in the long run.  However, they seem to be intent on raising the prices of books.  A few years ago the average price of a New York Times Bestseller was approximately $8 (and this was probably four years ago) and now the average price is probably $15way too high.  This is why  I have a hard limit, won't spend over $8 don't care how good or bad the books are won't pay that.  Amazon is simply willing to sell me too many high quality books at or below the $8 price point for me to be willing to go any higher, its a simple equation of supply and demand.  The supply is there so I am not willing to go any higher.

I read that article.  What I found interesting was the bull put forward by the publishers.....and that the author of the article bought it hook, line and sinker.

And that the local library (it was in a pic in the print version, don't know if that is online) had a class on downloading library books.  That was pretty cool....

Betsy

[tamaraheiner]

I noticed this yesterday as I tried to download books from my local library system. Almost everything was "place a hold" rather than "download." It made me wonder how many copies they have available to download, if there is really that big of a demand.

[mom133d (aka Liz)]

I noticed this yesterday as I tried to download books from my local library system. Almost everything was "place a hold" rather than "download." It made me wonder how many copies they have available to download, if there is really that big of a demand.

The title's page should show how many are on the waiting list and under that number of library copies. I just pulled up Atonement since it was on the main page. 7 patrons waiting for 1 copy of the book. A quick glance at my local library's selection shows only 1 of most titles. The Fairfax County Library appears to have multiple copies of most books.

[QuantumIguana]

I haven't tried library books on my Kindle. Every book that I had any interest in either had a long waiting list or it said there were 0 copies available. Why even have it come up on the list if there aren't any copies available? The Overdrive interface is more clumsy than searching for paper books.

[Ann in Arlington]

I haven't tried library books on my Kindle. Every book that I had any interest in either had a long waiting list or it said there were 0 copies available. Why even have it come up on the list if there aren't any copies available? The Overdrive interface is more clumsy than searching for paper books.

Because you can get on the waitlist for it.

[teralpar]

...when I got home there were weird green spots and cigarette burns all throughout the pages. I guess I'm weird that I'd rather wait for the Kindle version and not have to deal with other people's cooties. I have enough to read that I consider any books I check out to be a bonus surprise when I get the email that one is ready for download. If I find out that I really can't wait, I guess I'll end up buying it instead but so for that hasn't happened. I understand that libraries are between a rock and a hard place and I really appreciate the sheer convenience of being able to check out and return books without leaving my couch.

I feel the same way. I'd rather wait for the ebook than checking out a physical copy. I recently borrowed a book about my city's history from the library. Had to get the dtb because it's not in ebook format. Its an old book, written in the 60's. It smells, the pages are yellowed and the font is too small. I haven't read a page and I've had it for almost two weeks. Normally if a book I want to read isn't available in ebook format through my library, I don't worry about it much, since I have 400+ books in my tbr list to read on my Kindle. If it's a must-have I usually end up buying it for Kindle thrum Amazon.

[Straker]

My local library has about 4,100 Kindle books and apparently about 4,050 are romance. I searched for every title on my Kindle wishlist (almost 100 books) and found exactly 6 fiction and 0 non-fiction. And these are not obscure or niche authors. I have a feeling that it's going to take awhile for librarians to figure out that their e-book patrons have different tastes than their existing patrons and to adjust their buying choices accordingly.

[tubemonkey]

I've been on the epub list for The Girl Who Played with Fire for months (L.A. Public Library). I've joined the Kindle list now, also.

Why are you on two waiting lists?

[Betsy the Quilter]

In my library system, and it appears Jan's, you have to specify the format you're on hold for at the time of placing the hold.  Although, on my system, you are not allowed to get on hold for both versions.

Betsy

[tubemonkey]

In my library system, and it appears Jan's, you have to specify the format you're on hold for at the time of placing the hold.  Although, on my system, you are not allowed to get on hold for both versions.

Betsy

I have to specify at my libraries also. Just curious as to why on both lists since most libraries no longer buy specific formats. If a library has 5 copies of a book and 5 Kindle books are checked out, there are no epub books available until some of the Kindle books are returned.

[Esmeowl12]

I was so excited to learn that I could borrow Kindle books from my library - until I encountered the problem everyone seems to be having. I hate having to wait several weeks to get a book I'm eager to read. That's hard when you're on a budget.

[GBear]

I haven't tried library books on my Kindle. Every book that I had any interest in either had a long waiting list or it said there were 0 copies available. Why even have it come up on the list if there aren't any copies available? The Overdrive interface is more clumsy than searching for paper books.

I hesitate to defend the clunky Overdrive interface, but the one I access does have an option to only show books that are available for checkout. You can't do anything like only show books with <5 on the waitlist, though.

[jbcohen]

Why are you on two waiting lists?

You all are going to laugh at this one.  My home county library (Montgomery County, MD) you frequently need to wait a week to get on the waiting list.  Think of this one - you need to put your name on a waiting list to get on the waiting list.  The library's have taken the concept of a waiting list to a whole new level. or  depending on your opinion.  That is of course if you can find something you want to read which is very rare - Montgomery County library's motto should be - what ever you want we don't have, what ever you don't want we have.  I am venting here  .

[jackz4000]

I used to visit my local library every two weeks or so and then late this spring I discovered ebooks and that ended my usual library trips. A couple weeks ago I checked online to see what they had for ebooks since I knew they were in Overdrive. I was saddened to see they had a total of 1000 titles and usually 1 copy of each title and people ahead of you could be 3-30 waiting for the ebook. Even worse is that they belong to a group of 200 other towns and their offerings were similiar.

They also had a NYT article posted and said many publishers were withholding ebooks. Won't be using my library much, if at all.

[GBear]

The library works great for me. I do have to do a little juggling when lots of books on hold come available at once. (It's possible to check out and download more than the maximum if you keep Whispernet turned off, for example, although I've only resorted to that once; but I more frequently keep a book longer than the alloted two weeks.) You do have to wait, but for my NH location it's not awful. I've read about 20 library books in the last three months, and haven't made a single purchase.

Still, the whole experience has me wondering about the role of government in paying for ebooks for me to read. Sure, they've built and stocked libraries with paper books all my life, and going back to when books were rare things that very few people could afford to own themselves. And the libraries themselves have and and continue to have some functions as community centers, although the internet has severely limited their value as research centers. But my underlying guilt about taxpayers funding my e-reading habit is making me wonder if libraries in general should, or will, survive?

The extreme example is if the Library of Congress set up ebook lending, with an unlimited number of copies of every book available for free and instant access by anyone in the country. (Google appears to be trying this, but they've got some profit motives behind it.) Sounds great on the surface to me, but it could put lots of entities - local libraries or bookstores, publishers, Amazon, even authors - right out of business.

I'm sure you librarians have been debating this for years. What's the future going to look like?

[mooshie78]

Libraries still need to exist to give poor people access to information.

Doesn't matter if it's a paperbook or an e-book.  Some people are very poor and have no money to spend on leisure items like books, and libraries are a way to make sure even the poorest in society can have access to literature and information and some other arts like music and movies as well.

Even for those with the means to buy books, their tax dollars are funding the library, so they have every right to also make use of it.  I don't use the library much personally as I hate due dates etc., and like supporting authors I enjoy by buying their books.  But it's a nice option to have if a book I want to read is overpriced or not available on Kindle (hate buying paper books since I seldom re-read).

[luvshihtzu]

I have found out that my Pima County Overdrive Library posts the newest eBooks that have been ordered on the last week of the month.  They have a special listing where you can see what is pre-ordered and it shows you the date it will be released.  I go through it each month and get on the hold list for titles that I am interested in.  My only glitch is that each person at my Overdrive can have only 5 holds at once.  Usually, I am in the first 3-4 borrowers on this list.  Other borrowers are now catching on to this method and getting their holds the same way.
I still use my old Sony readers with original firmware that allows me to change the date on the device so the book doesn't return to the library when my two weeks is up. (The Kindles will do the same as long as you don't turn on your WiFi or 3G until your books are finished)   The Overdrive eBook will go to the next person in line and I keep my ePub copy on my reader just long enough to read it. 
Someone mentioned having a hold for 4 days to actually do the checkout.  We have only two days to claim our Overdrive books, only five books out at a time and up to 5 holds.  It is very limited.  It is the main reason I also have a membership with Free Library of Philadelphia.