Are ebook borrowers ebook buyers?

The struggle to get ebooks into libraries continues. Large publishers seem to be at an impasse, unsure whether giving libraries the rights to their books will drive down sales. Independent publishers, on the other hand, have been making their own ebooks available to libraries for some time, be it independently or through a platform.

For authors, libraries are a great way to broaden readership, but does it also help the bottom line? What we really want to know is: Are eBook borrowers eBook buyers?

Black and White image of two women in a library

According to a survey (New Survey Supports That Ebook Borrowers Buy, Too) conducted by the library-lending platform Overdrive and the American Library Association (ALA), readers who borrow ebooks from a library also end up buying more than three ebooks per month. Not only do readers who use digital libraries end up buying books, they’re actually more enthusiastic to buy after a visit to the ebook library.

“Library lending encourages people to experiment with new authors, topics and genres — which is good for the entire reading and publishing ecosystem,”

Carrie Russell, director of the ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy

With the major publishers slowly, and hesitantly, entering the library market, now is a great time to get an ebook into the library, especially when selection is so limited and the appetite so huge. According to the survey, over half of respondents would consider buying an ebook they encountered on a library site, and almost 60% considered the library their main interaction with new titles. (For us, who follow books tirelessly on the Internet, that seems nuts! But this proves that libraries still play a huge part in book culture and book promotion).

It will be interesting to watch over the next few months how the transition of ebooks into libraries goes. It might be the perfect opportunity for independent publishers and independent writers to gain a foothold in a voracious marketplace, one that’s not as conventional as a bookstore, but is deeply entrenched in the book-reading ecosystem nonetheless.

Would you offer your ebook to a library? Have you? Do you believe the results of the survey or does your own experience tell you otherwise? Let us know in the comments.

3 thoughts on “Are ebook borrowers ebook buyers?”

  1. Definitely! Absolutely! The goal of writing and publishing is the same as a library’s – to reach as many readers as possible. The more people reading and the more we share our stories, the better we are able to put ourselves into someone else’s shoes.

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