With the rise of e-books one may think that libraries have problems keeping up. It seems that, on the contrary, US libraries are becoming again a popular place to visit.
OverDrive – the leading e-book and digital audiobook distributor to libraries – stated that e-book checkouts increased by more than 200% in 2010. Furthermore this trend is accelerating as the checkouts nearly tripled in September 2011 reaching 12 million so far this year.
According to a recent study from the American Library Association, more than 2/3 of public libraries in the US offer e-book checkouts. OverDrive distributes to over 15 000 public and school libraries in the country. To ensure that e-books supplied by libraries are compatible to a majority of e-readers and mobile devices, OverDrive has partnered with high profile companies such as Sony, Amazon and Barnes and Noble which allow library lending.
Libraries are more appealing than ever. People can just visit their local library’s website from their home or mobile phone, and download the e-books of their choice. Mobile and tablet users represent 21% of the checkouts according to OverDrive.
US school libraries are also embracing modern times. 44% of school libraries now offer e-book lending to students and the number is on the rise since only 1/3 of schools were providing this service last year. E-books appeal more to the higher echelons of education - 71% of high school libraries, 55% of middle schools and 35% of elementary schools offer e-book checkouts.
Few South African libraries currently offer e-books but looking at the trend overseas this situation is likely to improve. The stumbling blocks for libraries may be the cost of integration with e-book distributors like OverDrive and the small penetration of e-book devices in South Africa.
