via The 51st — "In 2019, DC Public Library circulated 1.58 million digital items (32% of total circulation) and spent $655,000 on e-books — 11% of its overall collections budget. But by last year, 3.74 million digital items were circulated (54% of total circulation) and DCPL’s spending on e-books jumped to $1.6 million — 34% of its budget. All the while, wait times for e-books hardly budged, averaging 46 days. A bill is now being considered by lawmakers would broadly restrict DCPL from buying e-books from publishers that charge excessive prices or attach conditions on their use — like time limits before a book needs to be repurchased.

"'The demand is so great that the price we’re paying is not sustainable,' says DCPL Executive Director Richard Reyes-Gavilan. And he worries that for every dollar more he spends on e-books to meet the demand, that’s one less dollar for physical books. 'If we were to say, ‘Hey, we’re going to take our measly $4.7 million and just go all in on e-books,' that will disenfranchise a lot of folks who don’t have other options.' (E-book usage is highest in wealthier parts of D.C.)

"While the effort to force a collective negotiation with publishers in hopes of lowering e-books prices has drawn support from librarians and groups like the Urban Libraries Council and American Library Association, publishers are far more critical."

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