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E-book Boom
Demand surges at libraries, but they are expensive
A trip to the library used to mean driving into town, searching the shelves for the latest bestselling novel and taking the book to the circulation desk.
These days, more residents are opening their smartphones or tablets, scrolling through digital shelves and tapping "borrow."
Librarians in the Highlands report dramatic increases in apps like Libby and Hoopla that allow patrons to borrow e-books, audiobooks and digital magazines.
"You can bring a piece of the library with you on the road," said Johanna Reinhardt, director of the Butterfield library in Cold Spring. Reinhardt said the library circulated nearly 20,000 e-books, audiobooks and other electronic material last year, compared to 2,200 in 2015.
The demand is similar at the Howland library in Beacon and the Desmond-Fish library in Garrison. In January alone, nearly 80,000 e-books, audiobooks and other digital materials were circulated through the Mid-Hudson Library System to patrons using Libby. Ten years ago, it was 16,000.
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Gillian Murphy, director at the Howland, said that digital loans will soon be dominant. "We're still lending more print books, but it's going to flip in the next couple of years," she said. Dede Farabaugh, the director at Desmond-Fish, added: "We have patrons who never see us because they're just doing things electronically."
The growth of digital lending brings financial challenges because libraries must purchase licenses that are sometimes more expensive than the physical copy. For example, a digital copy of a bestseller may cost $15 on Amazon, but libraries often must pay $50 or more and are limited in how many times it can be lent. With print books, libraries may pay $30 for a bestseller and lend it out until it falls apart.
Last year, Butterfield reduced the e-books and other items that patrons can check out on the Hoopla platform from 10 to five per month because of a surge in usage that raised costs.
Public libraries have lobbied for legislation to reduce e-book prices, but Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill that would have compelled publishers to lower digital prices for libraries. She said the legislation would violate federal copyright laws that give publishers and authors the right to determine what to charge.
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By Highlands CurrentDemand surges at libraries, but they are expensive
A trip to the library used to mean driving into town, searching the shelves for the latest bestselling novel and taking the book to the circulation desk.
These days, more residents are opening their smartphones or tablets, scrolling through digital shelves and tapping "borrow."
Librarians in the Highlands report dramatic increases in apps like Libby and Hoopla that allow patrons to borrow e-books, audiobooks and digital magazines.
"You can bring a piece of the library with you on the road," said Johanna Reinhardt, director of the Butterfield library in Cold Spring. Reinhardt said the library circulated nearly 20,000 e-books, audiobooks and other electronic material last year, compared to 2,200 in 2015.
The demand is similar at the Howland library in Beacon and the Desmond-Fish library in Garrison. In January alone, nearly 80,000 e-books, audiobooks and other digital materials were circulated through the Mid-Hudson Library System to patrons using Libby. Ten years ago, it was 16,000.
Librarians Scramble as Trump Targets Agency
Gillian Murphy, director at the Howland, said that digital loans will soon be dominant. "We're still lending more print books, but it's going to flip in the next couple of years," she said. Dede Farabaugh, the director at Desmond-Fish, added: "We have patrons who never see us because they're just doing things electronically."
The growth of digital lending brings financial challenges because libraries must purchase licenses that are sometimes more expensive than the physical copy. For example, a digital copy of a bestseller may cost $15 on Amazon, but libraries often must pay $50 or more and are limited in how many times it can be lent. With print books, libraries may pay $30 for a bestseller and lend it out until it falls apart.
Last year, Butterfield reduced the e-books and other items that patrons can check out on the Hoopla platform from 10 to five per month because of a surge in usage that raised costs.
Public libraries have lobbied for legislation to reduce e-book prices, but Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill that would have compelled publishers to lower digital prices for libraries. She said the legislation would violate federal copyright laws that give publishers and authors the right to determine what to charge.