E-books boosting usage at some UK libraries
Since the early 1990s I’ve urged publishers to take e-library model seriously and even work toward well-stocked national digital library systems in the United States and elsewhere.
Now, in real life, some U.K. libraries are finding a friend in E. The Telegraph reports:
“After years of library membership declining and fears that the public no longer wanted to borrow books, some institutions are reporting a spike in interest since they started to offer e-books.
“Only a handful of libraries have started to offer the service, but many in the library world are hopeful that the revolution in digital reading can help transform libraries’ fortunes, and that the majority of libraries will soon offer downloads as a matter of course, alongside the latest Dan Brown paperback.”
If nothing else, remember that fairly or not, many consumers have trouble paying cash for a bunch of electrons. The library model is a great way to help address that.
I know. Publishers worry about becoming too dependent on library funding, but one way to address that would be a small tax on telecommunications goods and services, as well as cost justification of the kind that I describe in the TeleRead plan, the most recent version of which you can read in the Huffington Post.
Among the reasons why e-books are a hit at libraries, as noted by the Telegraph: “Readers do not need to remember to take their books back on time—a perennial problem for many consumers, because the digital book automatically deletes itself from their machine after 14 days.” Result? Cash-strapped families needn’t worry about library fines. Bingo! A whole new market for publishers.
October 27th, 2009 at 3:42 am
e-books from libraries – what a great idea. I can see that catching on like hot buttered toast. Certainly hope I can get my book in on the act.
s
Chris Warren
Author and Freelance Writer
Randolph’s Cahllenge Book One – The Pendulum Swings