Ebooks have been around since the 1970s, but most of all as specialized literature. It was not until twenty years later that technology made it easier to transfer printed media to readable formats on the tablet. Currently, e-books account for just under three percent of library loans at Swedish public libraries.
But even though the figure as a whole is low, lending of e-books is a major expense for libraries every month. Unlike "regular" printed books, the lending e-book costs the municipality money per download. A cheap e-book can cost SEK 20 for each download. While a new and popular e-book can cost up to 89 SEK - or more.
- At some point we have selected an e-book in our selection for a certain price that we pay per download. But then it has happened that the publisher has raised the price of the e-book without being notified. And that is impossible, because there is such a large amount to keep track of it, says Magdalena Jeppson, library manager Kristianstad, to Sweden!
In Saturday's Sweden! a longer report on the expensive e-book lending is shown.