High price of digital content forces tough choices at libraries

The Iowa City Public Library this month changed what materials are available to patrons through one of its digital library services in an effort to conserve its funds.

That service, called Hoopla, allows library cardholders to borrow content like movies, TV shows, music, audiobooks and e-books for free. It’s available any time of day and doesn’t have wait lists — so items can be checked out immediately.

But libraries pay a fee per item checked out by patrons, ranging from 99 cents to $3.99 per item in Hoopla. The Iowa City Public Library changed its collection offerings in Hoopla — one of many digital library services offered — so it doesn’t offer anything to patrons that costs the library over $1.99.

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“The cost became too high for us to keep up with. We don’t make these decisions joyfully,” said Anne Mangano, collection services coordinator for the Iowa City library.

The Iowa City Public Library isn’t alone in trying to budget for the cost of digital material that is often far more expensive than print. According to the Urban Libraries Council, major publishers have placed severe restrictions on e-book and audiobook lending models. This includes prices that far exceed the print equivalent, time limits on titles purchased and content that can be removed with little or no notice from the offerings.

“As digital technologies become increasingly inseparable from the ways people learn, work and interact, public libraries’ abilities to afford access to e-books and audiobooks and other e-content like streaming movies are more important than ever,” the Urban Libraries Council said in a statement this month.

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The statement urged “major e-book and audiobook publishers and streaming services to institute fair, transparent and flexible licensing models for public libraries.”

There has been a 34 percent increase in digital book borrowing alone since 2019, according to the council. “Without changes made to how libraries build their e-content collections, taxpayer funded library budgets cannot adequately meet the growing demand and provide equitable access for all,” the council said in their statement.

The Cedar Rapids Public Library has a limit on the number of digital checkouts a patron can make — 10 a month in Hoopla “to make sure we don’t completely blow the budget for the year in two months, because that could happen if you’re not taking control of it,” said Dara Schmidt, the library director.

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One of the other most popular options for checking out digital materials is called the Overdrive or Libby app. In this app, the library pays for titles that then are made available to patrons. There are often long waiting lists — up to six months — for digital materials because the library can “lend” only as many titles of one book as it has purchased.

For example, if the library pays for six copies of one book digitally, only six people can check out that book at one time.

“When you buy a book, you own that book, but if you’re purchasing digital copies of things — whether it’s an e-book or an audiobook — it’s more like a rental fee,” Schmidt said.

Although libraries are buying digital copies of books, they often have to renew that purchase — at two to three times the cost of a physical book — every two to three years to keep it in their catalog.

That’s also why there’s a limit to what titles are available digitally. Both Cedar Rapids and Iowa City librarians said they prioritize buying newer trending books over repurchasing back catalogs. The most popular digital material the Cedar Rapids library distributes is adult fiction, especially in the romance, fantasy and mystery genres, Schmidt said.

The Cedar Rapids Public Library splits its $650,000 annual book budget about 50-50 between digital and print materials, Schmidt said. That includes the downtown location and Ladd Library in Cedar Rapids’ southwest quadrant. While local libraries share collections, the Marion and Hiawatha public libraries have separate budgets for their materials.

About 60 percent of the Iowa City Public Library’s annual budget for books is spent on digital material, Mangano said.

“Ideally, I would like it flipped to match what people are checking out,” said Mangano, since physical books are still the majority of the library’s circulation.

Schmidt said the cost of digital materials for libraries is the industry’s version of “price gouging.”

“The cost is so high in comparison to the average consumer, and we are government entities using taxpayer dollars. How is that an OK thing that we are increasing prices just for public use?” she said.

Cedar Rapids library materials manager Erin Horst said it might cost an individual $12 to buy a digital book from Amazon. “But I’m paying $70 to get a library copy that’s the same thing. It’s something you try to explain to patrons because they say, ‘Why don’t you have more?’ And this is the reason.”

“We want to be sure we’re being respectful of intellectual content and making sure everyone gets paid for the work they’ve done, but it’s too much for a public entity to keep up with,” Horst said.

In the last year, the Cedar Rapids Public Library saw a 950,000 circulation for print and digital materials. While the budget is split evenly, the number of print books being checked out by patrons still is higher, Schmidt said.

“I probably have three or four books checked out on my phone right now, but I would prefer a physical copy,” Schmidt said. “ A lot of people will tell you they like the feeling of a book, but I’m not going to carry five books with me at the same time. The convenience factor of having it on my phone is great.”

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