Abstract:
Ebooks have been on the upswing for the past two years, but libraries really began
to see a spike in the last year. In fact, many respondents to our second annual
Library Journal Survey of Ebook Use in U.S. Public Libraries saw demand
grow right after Christmas 2010. Armed with a variety of new devices that hit the
market in 2010, library patrons marched in to their local library or visited their
library’s website in order to discover and download content. Nearly two-thirds
(66%) of the 1,053 respondents to our 2011 survey said they had experienced a
“dramatic” increase in requests for ebooks in the past year.
Part of the increase in demand was inspired by the new devices themselves.
Barnes & Noble rethought and redesigned its Nook. A new version of the Apple
iPad was released to much hoopla. Lower-cost ereaders such as the Kobo Reader
and others that are short on bells and whistles but high on readability also helped
expand the ebook market. With a new holiday season just around the corner and a
slate of cheaper devices hitting the market (Amazon will be selling a basic Kindle
version for as low as $79), we can expect another round of the same.
One happy consequence, as found in this survey, is that libraries reported more
users coming to public libraries to use their ebook collections. Just over threefourths (76%) of public library respondents said that they have attracted new users
to the library by offering ebooks. Almost half of respondents (43%) are aware of
customers who are “e” only and decline to borrow print editions. For context: as
recently as 2009, almost two-thirds of public libraries (62%) reported not
circulating any ebooks—a scant two years later, that number is now 21%. This
illustrates how quickly things change, and how readily public libraries have
adapted with them.