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The Read With Us Lounge: Do Libraries Help Or Hurt Authors?
After I made a TikTok explaining why libraries pay significantly more for e-books than consumers do, someone asked a thoughtful follow-up question:
“If libraries have to keep renewing e-book licenses, doesn’t that mean authors make more money from library e-books than from physical books? It makes me wonder what authors prefer.”
It’s a great question because it gets at something many people misunderstand: the relationship between libraries and authors.
The short answer is that it depends.
When a library buys a physical book, it owns that copy. The author is generally compensated through the sale of that book, according to the terms of their publishing contract. Whether that copy is checked out ten times or two hundred times, the author isn’t paid again for each checkout.
E-books work differently. Libraries typically don’t own them outright, we license them. Many of those licenses expire after a certain number of checkouts or after a set period of time. If the book is still in demand, the library purchases another license. That creates another sale for the publisher, and depending on the author’s contract, it may generate additional royalties for the author.
Does that mean authors make more money from library e-books than from physical books?
Sometimes. But not always.
It depends on the publisher’s licensing model, the author’s contract, and whether a library actually needs to purchase another license. Many e-books lose popularity long before a license expires, while bestselling print books may sell hundreds of thousands of copies to individual readers.
But focusing only on royalties misses the bigger picture.
Libraries support authors in ways that can’t be measured simply by the number of books sold.
Every day, libraries introduce readers to authors they might never have discovered on their own. We recommend books to patrons looking for their next great read. We host book clubs that spark lively discussions. We create displays that encourage readers to take a chance on someone new. We feature books in newsletters, on social media, and through staff recommendations. We invite authors to speak in our communities and help connect them directly with readers.
As both a librarian and a reader, I’ve seen this happen over and over again.
Someone checks out the first book in a series because it’s available at the library. A month later, they’re buying the rest because they can’t wait.
A patron borrows a novel by an unfamiliar author, falls in love with their writing, and from then on pre-orders every new release.
A book club chooses a title, and suddenly twenty people are talking about it with friends, family, and coworkers.
Libraries don’t just circulate books. We create readers, and readers become book buyers.
That’s one reason so many authors continue to champion libraries. While the financial side of publishing is undeniably complicated, libraries provide something that’s difficult to buy through advertising alone: discovery, trust, and enthusiastic word-of-mouth.
In the end, I don’t think it’s helpful to frame the relationship as libraries versus authors. The reality is much more collaborative.
Authors write the books that fill our shelves.
Libraries help those books find readers.
And readers keep coming back for more.
As a librarian, that’s a partnership I’m proud to promote.
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I’ve often wondered about this, so thanks for answering the question! I get most of the books I read from libraries and very rarely buy a copy myself, so I’m glad to hear that authors are still being paid. (I probably don’t want to know how much (or how little) they are being paid for each book, but that’s a publisher issue.)
I’ve always been of the view that anything that gets people reading more is good for authors. There are always going to be people who won’t or can’t afford to buy books they want to read, but reading books through the library still supports those authors because those readers might recommend their books to people who do buy them. Plus, I highly suspect that many writers I admire aren’t really doing it for the money, and if the choice is between someone reading their book for free through the library or not reading it at all, they’ll choose the library.
It is hard to measure so much about business relationships, and I would say that someone who ignores those intangibles will suffer as a result. Of course libraries help authors tremendously as well as the general public! We do not, as a society, revere libraries as we should. It’s not just a place to get free books to read. Surely most authors relish going into a library as much as readers. They must have learned to love reading, and therefore writing somewhere, and I expect it started in a library.
I confess to never once thinking about this at all… but it is fascinating, Carole! Fascinating!! And just more reasons I love libraries. I was just at the library last week and noted their displays… and picked up a book I did not know about. Ha! I also have discovered that one of the lovely people who works at the library loves poetry so every time we see each other, we talk about the poetry we have recently read! And… (I think I love this about my library most of all) This Wednesday evening they are having a program on tattoos and tattooing! And the same day… they have a “squirt gun battle” for the local tweens! There is absolutely something for everyone!
Fascinating, Carole! It’s always fun to learn what goes on behind-the-scenes at the library. I’m really happy that libraries exist. Period. I’m always happy to walk into my local library and find it buzzing with activity. (And it always IS buzzing with activity.) What a great service, y’know?
This is all new to me – the whole having to renew a license for an e-book…I had no idea. I’m just so thankful to have a library close by (under a mile away). My only complaint is they need a larger parking lot! Sometimes when I arrive there are no parking spaces left. I love that they have story times for toddlers. They even have mahjong some afternoons and chair yoga too! They do have some book groups, but I have not found time to join or try them out (yet).
I serve on our library’s board of trustees and this relationship between libraries and authors was one of the first things I learned when I joined the board.
Your explaination of how this all works is excellent!
Interesting, I sometimes take a book out through Libby or Hoopla. I have been buying a ton of used or new books but retirement is coming so I will be reading from stacks and the stacks of the library.
There is nothing like going to the library and walking through the new book shelves and finding a book you were wanting to read and there it was at the right time. Or going through the stacks to find a back list book by a favorite or newer to me author.
My city library recently left the library group it was with and joined another. I tend to go to a library a town over who is no longer in the same group but I was able to bring my card there and they added me and now I can still use the old App to put books on hold there and manage my books. I haven’t downloaded the new App that the local library uses yet as I usually just go on the website to look.
Thank you Carole. I have read a little about libraries and e-books but your explanation is very clear and concise. This makes me think of the old adage, ” A rising tide lifts all boats.” To me, libraries, authors, librarians, and patrons benefit when books circulate and are read. What happens may be hard to quantify but to me is very worthwhile. Not to mention the way the world opens to those who read.