Earlier this year, a patron survey yielded many questions about library services. Last month we talked about books in a series. This month we’ll tackle access to e-materials.
Q: Why are e-book and e-audiobook wait times so long?
Good question and one that is not particular to Fauquier library users. Wait time for e-materials is common in many public library systems.
E-books and e-audiobooks are convenient and popular, but they are also quite expensive. The average cost of an e-book or e-audiobook is roughly $70 whereas the average cost for a print version is about $16 (after a library discount).
Since 2021, e-material checkouts in our system have jumped 54%, from 90,000 items to 138,000, while the library’s materials budget has remained relatively flat despite contributions from the Friends of the Library.
That means we cannot afford to buy enough copies to keep up with demand.
To make the most of budget dollars, we belong to the Blue Ridge Download Consortium, which includes 13 Virginia public library systems with a similar service population. This allows us (and member libraries) to pool resources to provide a wide variety of titles to users.
Additionally, to mitigate long wait times, we purchase high demand e-materials that can only be checked out by Fauquier patrons.
And here’s another wrinkle.
Most titles are not part of a permanent collection, due to publisher restrictions. Many are only available for a set amount of time (in months) or number of checkouts. Once the time or checkouts have reached the maximum amount, the title becomes unavailable. We must purchase it again if we want to keep it in our collection.
What can be done?
We are looking at our current balance of purchases to see if some funds can be transferred from print to help keep pace with high demand e-materials.
You can help by becoming a member of the Friends of the Library.
