Article by 
Ann M. Zydek,
WCPL Library Director

Are you an eBook reader? Ever wonder why you can’t find an ebook version of a bestseller at WCPL?

Recently I asked Dana Owen, adult services librarian, that question. She shared, “It may not be a title that the public library can purchase. It may be outrageously priced or have other restrictions placed upon it by the publisher.”

Taking a quick glance at April’s bestseller book lists, Dana found NYPD Red 2 by James Patterson, Power Play by Danielle Steel, and The Chase by Janet Evanovich, all sold to libraries for $84 each. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt costs $90 and Blossom Street Brides by Debbie Macomber costs $78. Meanwhile, they sell to individuals for about $11 a title.

While Concealed in Death by J.D. Robb costs $18.99 and Missing You by Harlan Coben costs $16.99, they expire after a year and need to be repurchased. Some titles last only 26 checkouts; other titles two years or 52 checkouts, whichever comes first. There are pleasant exceptions, such as The Auschwitz Escape by Joel C. Rosenberg, which is decently priced with no extra restrictions.

Although I’ve Got You Under My Skin by Mary Higgins Clark and Jeffrey Archer’s Be Careful What You Wish For aren’t even available for libraries to purchase, such titles are now in the minority. When WCPL began purchasing ebooks Dana told me it was “frustrating” as many of the big publishing houses refused to sell their titles to libraries at all. Now most publishers are expanding their ebook titles available to libraries.

A recent library journal article, “Materials Shift/Materials Survey 2014”, by Barbara Hoffer, states that 9 in 10 public libraries loan ebooks and since 2009, “ebook budgets are blossoming like flowers in spring rain, up 20 percent overall. Among libraries our size, books average 65 percent (print 60 percent, eBooks 5 percent) of materials budgets. Interestingly, the top circulating fiction genres in print and ebook alike are mystery/suspense, general fiction and romance. Yet when you compare the top circulating non-fiction print and ebook titles they are dissimilar: biography/memoir (57 percent print, 80 percent eBook), medicine/health (68 percent print, 57 percent eBook), and cooking (84 percent print; 34 percent eBook).

I encourage you to enhance your summer reading, viewing and listening experiences by exploring the library’s collections and checking out our Summer Reading Programs at www.warsawlibrary.org.