eBook Lending

Gary Green

Surrey County Council Library Servicegary.green@surreycc.gov.uk

Past, Present, Future• Back to the 1930s• Ebooks today• How ebook lending

services work• The future?

© Wiertz Sébastien/Flickr

Ebooks - Beginnings• A 1930s idea:• “The Readies”

• Reality in the 1940s:• Index of Thomas

Aquinas• Mechanical

Encyclopedia

© Eirik Newth/Flickr

Project Gutenberg (1971)• First digital library• 45,000 ebooks• Still freely available

now via the internet

© gato.villegas/Flickr

Modern eBooks

• eBook – text file• eReader – the

device you read it on

• Compatibility

© Kodomut/Flickr

Ebooks – 21st Century• Recent popularity• Most public library

ebook services less than 5 years old

• Why lend ebooks?

© Let Ideas Compete

UK Statistics (2013)• 80m ebook sales• 323m print book sales• 1-in-5 sales are self-published

books• Est. 35% of book sales in next 2

years will be ebooks© Libraryman/Flickr

Key Players• Non-traditional:

• Amazon• Tech organisations• Supermarkets

• Publishers• Booksellers• DIY self-publishers © theunquietlibrary/Flickr

Surrey Example• Services• Overdrive• Project Gutenberg• One Click Digital

• Access via apps, internet, desktop computers

© Peter Gene/Flickr

Challenges• Changing ebook landscape• Publishers concerns• Some high costs • Supporting staff & library

users

© Eric Rice/Flickr

Government eLending Review• Acknowledged problems• Asked for feedback• Positive ideas • Pilot projects

© Mike Licht/Flickr

The Future?• It is still early days• Still no single “best way”• Pilots will help guide us• What technology is around

the corner?

© Mike Licht/Flickr

Thank you

Gary Green

Surrey County Council Library Servicegary.green@surreycc.gov.uk