Today, over three-quarters of the libraries in the U.S. loan eBooks, and the readers of those eBooks also purchase a large quantity of books. Just as in print, the library can actually bolster book sales, and a recent survey by Pew Internet Project has proven that.
In a survey that received over 75,000 responses, fifty-seven percent of those responding stated that the library is “their primary source of book discovery“. Those library eBook borrowers also read more books than their non-eReading counterparts, and purchased more books.
One interesting note from the survey is that many library patrons were not aware that they could borrow eBooks. Here’s a few more notes from the survey:
- 58% of all library card holders say they do not know if their library provides e-book lending services.
- 55% of all those who say the library is “very important” to them say they do not know if their library lends e-books.
- 53% of all tablet computer owners say they do not know if their library lends e-books.
- 48% of all owners of e-book reading devices such as original Kindles and NOOKs say they do not know if their library lends e-books.
- 47% of all those who read an e-book in the past year say they do not know if their library lends e-books.
You can see the survey in it’s entirely by following this link.
