TeleRead: Bring the E-Books Home

How e-books could help Lousiville

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Are public libraries out of sync with the public in deciding how much money goes for actual books, and could e-books help matters?

In the Louisville, Kentucky, the metro council has urged more money for the Louisville Free Public Library (shown here in a 2002 centennial photo). But there is a nifty catch. Council members want a higher percentage of the money to go for books. They are dismayed that the library owns only 1.9 books per capita compared to a state recommendation of at least 2.5.

For books: Just a fraction of operating expenses

Just a fraction of actual library spending typically goes for books and other materials–for example, just 14 percent of the operating expenses in the Dallas library system. And yet library systems such as Dallas and Seattle pride themselves on their big library buildings, even though citizens are not always thrilled by the results.

In fairness to librarians, the issues are indeed complex. Below are some points that a nonLuddite friend of mine in the library world has made to me. I’ll also include my own thoughts, and I’d welcome further comments from others, particularly librarians.

–Books, especially the paper variety, cost money beyond the actual purchase prices. “Non-librarians usually do not realize that there is a cost involved with processing new materials,” writes Gary Price of ResourceShelf, “and often that cost is not included in additional funds for purchasing materials. LFPL would be better served by a general budget increase with no strings attached.” The scuttlebutt I’ve heard–not from Gary–is that a $15 book may cost as much as $45 to put on the shelf.

Response: Not the most cost-effective approach. Wouldn’t e-book eliminate the expenses except for, say, cataloguing and other odds and ends? And wouldn’t that leave more money for additional book purchases, as well as for more librarians to help the public make the best use of the books.

–Main libraries often may serve as centrally located warehouses, and big libraries downtown make it easier for the public to enjoy immediate access to out-of-fashion oldies.

Response: Great argument. As former poverty beat reporter, I can understand the glories of locating libraries on main bus routes. Still, given the cost of the real estate, I wonder if neighborhoods, especially low-income ones, could not be served with more money going into branches–even if this means that many old books are not available to readers immediately. They could be stored in warehouses for overnight shipment to the central and branch libraries. Meanwhile keep in mind that digitized versions of older classics are already online.

–As a result of the wonderful Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act–see the latest in Spiked and Norman Solomon’s column–it’s more expensive than it could be otherwise to digitize old books that are seldom used.

Response: True! Bono does not just divert money from schools, libraries and consumers to the copyright elite. It also costs taxpayers a bundle by increasing the dependence on physical libraries.

The bottom line? We’re not going to be able to do away with huge library buildings overnight. Still, e-books could help reduce the need for expansion–and do more than that, once enough of them are online. We’re talking evolution, not revolution.

(Louisville item found via LISNews.)