Dutch e-book lending accelerates digitalization of libraries
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E-mail Xinhua, December 24, 2014
With its national e-book lending platform launched at the beginning of this year, the Dutch Digital Library Program now offers access to 5,500 titles from the top 50 Dutch publishers in 162 public libraries, making the small European country an international forerunner amid the digitalizing trend of libraries.
"We have a couple of quite unique features in our e-lending model, such as the one-copy-multiple-users model, which means that an e-book can never been lent out, but remains available for every additional patron," explained Diederik van Leeuwen, managing director of Stichting Bibliotheek.nl, in an interview with Xinhua.
Different from the model applied in certain libraries of the United States, where one digital book is available with only one e-reader, the Dutch e-book lending platform succeed in trimming down the average cost of e-book license by paying per use, said the managing director of the foundation established in 2009 to provide digital services on behalf of and for all public libraries in the Netherlands.
"Because we make such a high volume, we can put pressure on the price. We don't pay per license a lot of money, but we pay for use. In this way, we could trim down the average cost," said van leeuwen.
To browse the e-book collection in the digital services of the Netherlands' libraries, registered members can log into the e-book portal and make their choices. Selected e-book will be downloaded to an app, not to the e-reader. When the loan expires in three weeks, the e-book will disappear automatically from the e-reader.
In average, it costs 0.72 euro per loan from the Dutch e-lending system, which is the lowest price in Europe, according to van Leeuwen.
With part of the cost paid by government subventions, library members pay a fee of 0.36 to 0.60 euro per loan for titles under 3 years old. For titles over 3 years, they pay 0.24 euro per loan for the first year, 0.12 euro per loan thereafter, according to van Leeuwen.
One fourth of Dutch citizens, or 4 million people, are members of a library and 5 percent of them are using the e-book platform. One million e-readers have been sold in the Netherlands and another 1 million tablets are frequently used for reading e-books, according to him.
Dutch e-book readers do appreciate this e-lending model.
"Buying e-books is still quite expensive, borrowing e-books from libraries is a good solution. You can also borrow music from a certain portal, it is the same idea as borrowing e-books. It's perfect," Erwin Halderman, a 27-year-old Dutchman who rushed into the Central Libraray of the Hague for a Christmas gift for his niece, told Xinhua.
For van Leeuwen, the e-lending platform means more than lower spending and more convenience for readers, it can also open up new opportunities for publishers.
With e-lending, books which are already a bit outdated can have a second life as an e-book.
"It could be used to promote authors of older titles, as well as new titles. And due to the high volume, we help publishers to generate revenue," said van Leeuwen.
Another advantage is that "it generates a lot of statistics and a lot of data". For instance, the publishers will know that whether somebody who opens a book will read it from A to Z, or only the first 10 pages, said the managing director of Stichting Bibliotheek.nl.
Concerns are also raised about the e-book lending, reservations over reading habits and culture in particular.
"E-lending is easier for readers because you don't have to go to the library anymore. But, I like to see the cover of the book. I like to read the last page to understand a bit what the book is about. And I love the library," said Anna de Bruijn, an 18-year-old student on international law from Leiden University.
"It would be a shame if the library and the printed books die out," said the faithful visitor of the Central Library of the Hague.
However, the unstoppable trend of digitalization imposes itself on the libraries.
According to a report from the European Union's Civic Agenda on Public Library e-Lending Models, e-book titles represent 4.7 percent of the Dutch book trade total revenue, registered as 557 million euros in 2013.
In the e-book market, library purchasing accounts for 23 percent. This market share is expected to rise to nearly 50 percent by 2017 since a new legislation will come into force in 2015 to give the national library a centralized budget to have more e-book licenses.
For libraries, treasured by the Dutch population as meeting places for social encounters, it is imperative to meet the needs from both trend followers and tradition lovers.
"It's very important that people recognize the library as a comfortable place to study, to have a talk, or to do group work," head of Central Library of The Hague, Jan Reijnders, told Xinhua.
For him, the youth and the children are the main target groups of libraries' plan of attraction.
"E-books fit into the lifestyle of the younger generation, it's very important that we keep attracting this group, as well as the children group, because they are the youth in the future," said Reijnders.
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