Libraries boost eBook sales

When publisher Macmillan took the step of allowing libraries only one digital copy of their new eBooks over fears that sales would be affected if libraries were allowed to hire out multiple copies at once, the library trade were angered. Steve Potash, the CEO of OverDrive, the American company which provides digital rights management for libraries, called the movie, horse shit.

Well now there seems to be data that proves that Macmillan were wrong to worry and the library rentals actually impacts positively on eBook sales. Rebecca Miller recently revealed the results of a survey in  Library Journal  and the results were positive for digital publishing.

• 42 percent of US adults surveyed reported that they had bought the same book they had previously borrowed from a library, a number that jumps to 60 percent among millennials.
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• 70 percent reported that they had bought another book by an author whose other works they’d borrowed from a library, a number that jumps to 75.4, 76.1, and 77.2 for Gen X, Gen Z, and millennials, respectively.