Libraries are feeling the cost burden of e-book popularity

The increasing ubiquity of e-books might be a good thing for avid readers, but walk into a library and you will hear a different story. Many libraries across the United States are locked in a battle over e-books, which generally cost much more to purchase than printed books. This expense can weigh heavily on libraries, thanks to the high level of demand for e-books. Now, some of these institutions are fighting back against the higher costs.

Why do e-books cost libraries more?

It is largely due to licensing agreements with e-book publishers. These publishers "typically require libraries to renew the license to each e-book every two years, or after 26 loans — policies that libraries call prohibitively expensive," said Axios. This frequently "restricts the number of e-books — particularly popular bestsellers," due to the higher prices charged.

When libraries "buy print copies, we get substantial discounts," Sarah McCusker, the head of the Connecticut Library Association, said to Marketplace, noting that the average hardcover book costs about $15. In comparison, the e-book version "might be $100, $120 and we only have that for two years." When the two-year license expires and libraries must "purchase it again, we're paying the same inflated price that we paid initially."

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Publishers say that they are not raising these prices out of malice, but rather out of necessity. The Association of American Publishers "argues that it must protect the rights of copyright owners — that is, authors — to be fairly compensated for their work," said Axios.

What are libraries doing about this?

Some are urging Congress to get involved. Libraries in several states "have been pushing for legislation to rein in the costs and restrictions on electronic material," said The Associated Press. Lawmakers in Massachusetts, Illinois, Hawaii and New Hampshire have "proposed bills aimed at closing the affordability gap." A similar bill proposed in Virginia wound up being tabled.

Maryland has particularly pushed for e-book reforms and made headway in 2021 when it "passed a law that would have required publishers to make e-books available on 'reasonable terms' to libraries if they were being offered to the general public," said the AP. But that law was later struck down by a judge, and Maryland has now rejoined the other states in the legal fight.

Connecticut has had the most success, passing a law "aimed at reining in the cost of library e-books," said The New York Times. This law makes it so that libraries cannot "enter into licensing agreements that are simultaneously time-limited and cap the number of checkouts permitted," which library advocates hope will "force publishers to the bargaining table."

Librarians have expressed enthusiasm that this could also help cut down on long wait times for e-book rentals. Every year, "libraries spend more and more of their budget feeding the beast that is e-books to meet their patrons' demands, and yet we still have wait lists of over six months long to get that book that you want," Ellen Paul, the executive director of the Connecticut Library Consortium, said to the Times.

But some people are worried that authors could suffer from lost wages as a result. Libraries "do have a funding problem, but the answer is not to take it out of the pockets of authors and destroy the rights of creators," Shelley Husband, the senior vice president of government affairs at the Association of American Publishers, said to the AP.