Publishers worried that readers who borrow e-books from libraries don’t buy books can put those worries to rest.
According to a new study from the Pew Internet and American Life project,
those who borrow e-books from libraries also purchase e-books. When e-book
borrowers were asked by Pew how they acquired the last e-book they read, 41%
said they bought it.
“E-book borrowers are book lovers,” said Lee Rainie, director of the Pew
Internet project. “They the heaviest book-reading cohort of the ones we
measured. They are more into books than even e-book readers, the larger group
they fall into.”
E-book borrowers represent about 12% of e-book readers, according to the
study. Among e-book readers, about
21% of the population per a Pew study from earlier in the year, the buy rate
is a slightly higher 55%.
For Rainie, the takeaway is that e-book borrowers are slightly more likely to
borrow an e-book than e-book readers, but are still heavy book buyers.
“E-book borrowers being buyers is a phenomenon that’s true in the print world
as well,” said Molly Raphael, president of the American Library Association. “We
know this anecdotally and this data that shows it is an important finding for
us.”
You can read the full article here.
Source: Digital Book World