Publishers Weekly takes a long, interesting look at the question of library e-books and what they mean for both the publishing and library industries. To some librarians’ surprise, library e-books are proving extremely popular with patrons. "It's amazing," says Diane Eidelman, administrator for member services at the Suffolk Cooperative Library System, a consortium of over 50 libraries on New York's Long Island. "We just can't keep up with the e-book demand. We'll purchase an enormous amount of content, and within 24 hours it's all checked out." Indeed, the numbers tell the story....

The Bookseller’s FutureBook blog is carrying a post by e-book distributor OverDrive, touting the benefits of multi-channel distribution for e-books. Concentrating solely on e-book stores such as those for Kindle and Nook ignores readers who buy from other places or borrow from libraries, OverDrive notes. In 2010, 718 million book and title catalog pages were viewed via OverDrive “virtual branch” library pages, but only 15 million digital titles were checked out, meaning that readers are viewing information about books through their libraries before making purchases elsewhere. But libraries are just a start. Adding titles to retail...

HarperCollins President of Sales Josh Marwell posted a response to angered librarians on the Harper Library blog (which ironically features a header graphic with flowers and butterflies and the words “Library Love Fest”) concerning its recent imposition of a 26-checkout limit for library e-books. Marwell explains that HarperCollins is “committed to libraries” but concerned that unlimited library e-book lending could “undermine the emerging e-book eco-system, hurt the growing e-book channel, place additional pressure on physical bookstores, and in the end lead to a decrease in book sales and royalties paid to authors.” He points out that twenty-six...

Library Journal reports that HarperCollins has issued new terms to Overdrive for how many times a library e-book can be loaned out. Library Journal reports that HarperCollins has declared a library-purchased e-book may only be loaned 26 times before it must be re-purchased. This bears a certain similarity to agency pricing in that not just Overdrive but any library e-book provider dealing with HC will be required to abide by those terms. The publisher also issued a short statement: "HarperCollins is committed to the library channel. We believe this change balances the value libraries get from...

From the press release: Libraries and schools worldwide were at the forefront of the eBook boom in 2010, as patrons and students downloaded millions of digital books for iPhone®, Android™, Sony® Reader, NOOK™, and personal computers. More than one million new users signed on to access free eBooks, audiobooks, and more from ‘Virtual Branch’ websites last year, resulting in a 200 percent increase in eBook checkouts and a 52 percent increase in audiobook checkouts over 2009. To find eBooks, audiobooks, music, and video titles from a library near you, visit http://search.overdrive.com.   Key statistics for...

From Overdrive's Digital Library Blog: If you need any evidence of the popularity of eBooks in the library, all you need to do is look at what happened over the past week. Despite some issues caused by a surge in activity, traffic, checkouts, and new user registration records were smashed over the Christmas holiday–all thanks to eBooks. For the first time ever, eBooks out-circulated audiobooks at libraries’ ‘Virtual Branch’ websites. Audiobooks are still very popular and increasing in circulation, but this momentum for eBook downloads shows that the format has gone mainstream at libraries. Library eBook circulation has steadily grown over the past...

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The Guardian has an article on the UK-based Publishers Association’s recent decision to restrict libraries from lending e-books remotely (which we carried Eoin Purcell’s blog post decrying a few days ago). This article goes into a little more detail about the basis of the decision. Apparently e-book readers in China were “joining British libraries and plundering their virtual collections for free,” which is of course an abrogation of the same territorial rights that have caused e-book stores such as Amazon or Waterstone’s to stop selling e-book editions outside their licensed countries. From that point of view, it’s understandable...

This is an important statement, so I reprint it in full from the OverDrive Digital Distribution Blog: From Steve Potash, CEO of OverDrive: I am writing in response to the Publishers Association (UK) announcement this week of its position on library lending at the CILIP Public Library Authorities conference, as well as recent reports of publisher concerns about the role and options for public libraries to participate in eBook lending. I am honored to have the privilege of responding on behalf of librarians and the library institutions to which they devote their energies, many of whom OverDrive is proud to count as...

From the press release: OverDrive (www.overdrive.com), the leading global distributor of eBooks, audiobooks and digital content services to retailers, libraries, and schools, announced today that Insight Venture Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on technology companies, has made a major investment in the company. The investment, subject to regulatory approval, will provide additional resources and capital to help fuel the company’s impressive growth....

The full list is here....

From the press release: On the 10th anniversary of the National Book Festival organized and sponsored by the Library of Congress, eBooks have gained a foothold with the reading public.  A majority of American public libraries now offer free eBook downloads, and circulation is up more than 170 percent from 2009.   OverDrive's Digital Bookmobile (www.digitalbookmobile.com) will demonstrate digital book downloads available from America's public libraries at the 2010 National Book Festival (www.loc.gov/bookfest) on Saturday, September 25, from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the National Mall in Washington, DC. This high-tech 18-wheeler and mobile exhibit ...