These aren’t your grandparents’ libraries.
Libraries throughout the Historic Triangle got in the business of lending e-books—digital versions of books that are read using electronics—in the last year, with York County Libraries boasting more than 670 e-books and Williamsburg Regional Library, which also serves James City County, offering more than 3,700 titles to its patrons.
The collections are free to anyone who has a library card, and to gain access to them, you don’t even need to visit the library. Click here for York County’s e-book collection and click here to access the collection at the Williamsburg Regional Library. All you have to do is log in with your library card number, and you’re all set to peruse their catalogs and download e-books.
The number of e-books available at the libraries is constantly growing despite a fractured publishing industry that features publishers ranging from those who refuse to sell any of their e-books to libraries, to those that charge libraries up to three times as much for an e-book than it does a consumer, to those that charge libraries the same rate they charge consumers.
“We want to work with the publishers,” said Barry Trott, the digital services director for Williamsburg Regional Library. “We don’t see them as foes, but we need to come to some kind of agreement.”
Both York County Libraries and Williamsburg Regional Library get their e-books from OverDrive, a global distributor of e-books. When the libraries go to buy a book, they pay OverDrive for the license to lend the e-book rather than an actual copy of the e-book. OverDrive is able to offer content from numerous publishers but not all of them.
Between the limited number of publishers and the sometimes exorbitant rates charged for e-books—for example, only seven of the top-25 New York Times Bestsellers were available to Williamsburg Regional Library in e-book form, and five of those seven titles were $47.95 or higher—the libraries have had a difficult time acquiring e-resources for their patrons who demand them.
The inflated cost of some e-books isn’t the only barrier libraries face.
“I’ve bought 600 e-books,” said York County Library Director Kevin Smith. “I have to pay $10,000 per year to OverDrive to access them. Out of that $10,000, they give me credit to purchase more e-books, but that is the entrance fee.”
Smith said he has bought digital versions of references resources and literary criticism. Since the e-books won’t wear out and are never at risk to have pages ripped out by students looking to save money on textbooks, Smith considers it a worthwhile investment.
“More people are getting their information on tablet devices and smartphones,” Smith said, “and that’s where our business has gone. Schools and universities are going with electronic textbooks. We’re all in that in between time of trying to adjust to something that hit us very quickly.”
Smith was one of five library directors whose names are attached to a letter circulated this week by the Tidewater Area Library Directors Council citing the need for libraries to be able to disseminate e-books.
“We cannot wait passively while some publishers deny access to our cultural record,” the letter said. “We must speak out on behalf of today’s—and tomorrow’s—readers. The library community demands meaningful change and creative solutions that serve libraries and our readers who rightfully expect the same access to e-books as they have to printed books.”
John Moorman, the director of Williamsburg Regional Library, is also a member of the American Library Association’s Executive Board. The ALA has been in talks with leaders in the publishing industry to try to work out a deal that benefits both sides.
“There has been a demand for e-books for several years,” Moorman said. “Our e-book users are a small minority, but they are influential and growing.”
Williamsburg Regional Library has noticed a steady uptick of patrons who access e-books on their website, and with plummeting tablet prices, the demand for e-books will only grow.
Photo by Gregory Connolly
