Digital library loans get government backing

Quoting Ted Hughes's assertion that "Even the most misfitting child / Who's chanced upon the library's worth, / Sits with the genius of the Earth / And turns the key to the whole world", a review of ebook lending in libraries commissioned by the government has found that libraries risk becoming irrelevant if they do not start lending digital books.

A panel including the author Joanna Trollope, the agent Caroline Michel of PFD and publisher Stephen Page of Faber & Faber published their recommendations on Wednesday following submissions from across the book trade, finding that digital books should be loaned free of charge, and that – despite concerns from authors and publishers – members should be able to borrow books remotely.

"It is plain that an inability to offer digital lending will make libraries increasingly irrelevant in a relatively short time. Library services therefore do not have the luxury of waiting any longer to expand, or in many cases start, their provision of digital lending," wrote the head of the review William Sieghart, publisher and Forward prize founder.

Sieghart acknowledged the fear of publishers and booksellers that when a library member downloads a book remotely, "it would be too easy to borrow a book for free. So easy in fact, that the borrower might never need to buy another book", but said that "it would be counter-intuitive not to recognise the technological ease of remote downloading and the likely consumer demand for it".

"There are many encouraging signs from studies that borrowers of digital books go on to buy copies of the book they have read or other titles by the author or published by the publisher," he continued. "There is therefore a potential opportunity for digital loans to lead to a relationship between publishers and borrowers and between booksellers and borrowers. A 'buy now' option after a digital loan could allow the purchase of titles from a variety of sources including local retailers."

The review spoke of a negative attitude shown by the book trade, where speaking to its various constituents the "overriding sense gathered… was of the challenges posed by digital developments, rather than of the opportunities offered", but Sieghart admitted that "given the transformative impact of digitisation on the music and film industries, it's not entirely surprising that many publishers, booksellers and writers fear for their financial future".

Addressing publishers' worries about the impact on their revenues that successful digital lending could have, Sieghart recommended that a digital copy of a book should only be loaned to one reader at a time, and for a limited period only. He said that digital copies of books should also "be deemed to deteriorate, ensuring their repurchase [by libraries] after a certain number of loans".

"Their printed counterparts naturally deteriorate, forcing popular books to be repurchased. This principle therefore should be applied to digital books; otherwise publishers would be unfairly discriminated against," wrote Sieghart.

And finally, in a move that will be welcomed by writers, he advised the government that writers should be paid when digital books are loaned from libraries. The Public Lending Right is the means by which authors are remunerated when their books are borrowed from libraries, but currently it only covers physical books.

Culture minister Ed Vaizey welcomed the review's findings, approved of plans for further research into ebook lending, and said that "the challenging economic climate continues, but government will consider commencing the appropriate provisions of the Digital Economy Act 2010 to extend PLR to audio, e-audio and ebooks".

The Society of Chief Librarians was also positive about the review. "Libraries will only sustain their relevance by moving with the times; people's lifestyle choices have changed dramatically in the last ten years, and with the potential to offer accessible, freely available content, libraries will be well positioned to continue to meet people's future reading requirements and expectations," said SCL digital group chair Nick Stopforth.