16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Libraries Pay More for E-Books. Some States Want to Change That.
It's hard to imagine a library that doesn't carry 'Fahrenheit 451.' But making Ray Bradbury's classic novel about book burning available to libraries in an e-book format can be its own little dystopian nightmare, according to Carmi Parker, a librarian with the Whatcom County Library System in northwest Washington.
That's because library access to digital books and digital audiobooks — often collectively referred to as e-books — generally costs much more than the print version of these books. The Whatcom system must pay $51.99 to license a digital copy of 'Fahrenheit 451,' which can be checked out by one patron at a time, and which expires after two years. Other licensing agreements offered by major publishers expire after a set number of checkouts.
Adding together the initial cost with time and checkout restrictions can make library e-book access as much as 10 times more expensive than print books. Parker said this is forcing some libraries to launch 'bake sales to pay for their e-book budgets.'
The issue is causing tension in the book community. Librarians complain that publishers charge so much to license e-books that it's busting library budgets and frustrating efforts to provide equitable access to reading materials. Big publishers and many authors say that e-book library access undermines their already struggling business models. Smaller presses are split.
But the problem is only getting worse as more people turn to their libraries for e-book access. Last year, the e-book library borrowing platform OverDrive reported that more than 739 million digital books, audiobooks and magazines were borrowed over its Libby and Sora apps, a 17 percent increase from the year before.
The often bitter debate has lately moved from the library stacks and into state capitals. In May, the Connecticut legislature passed a law aimed at reining in the cost of library e-books, and other states have introduced similar legislation.
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