Presentation delivered at the research seminar on e-books at University of Borås, Sweden, 24 November, 2017

1. E-book lending through public libraries in
the Netherlands:
Trends and experiences
Swedish School of Library & Information Science
University of Borås | 24 November 2017
Frank Huysmans
prof. of library science | University ofAmsterdam
researcher & consultant |WareKennis, Den Haag

2. public libraries in the Netherlands
2
0
500
1,000
1,500
2,000
2,500
3,000
3,500
4,000
4,500
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Registered users of public libraries, Netherlands (x 1000)
total adults youth (up to 18 yrs)

3. public libraries in the Netherlands
3
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Lendings of paper books, Netherlands (x 1000)
lendings: adult books lendings: kids and youth books

4. e-lending in the Netherlands
Two platforms for trade books
e-lending portal public libraries (PLs) since Jan 2014
for members of public libraries, or digital-only members (€ 42/yr)
Holiday Library app since summer of 2013
for members & non-members alike, free service
4

5. e-lending portal
national portal public libraries (PLs) started Jan
2014
• one copy multiple users model
• PLs: 2.3 mio youth members + 1.4 mio adults (end 2016)
= 3,7 mio who can register for free
• portal: 344k registered accounts (end 2016; now >400k)
• 2016: 204k borrowed 1+ e-books, 2.8 mio e-books in
total
• peak age: 30-70 yrs
• currently ~16k titles (1/3 of digitally available titles )
5

6. Holiday Library app
One-copy-multiple-users
• open only during summer holidays (kids: June-August,
adults July-August)
• very limited selection of e-books: 30 titles for kids/youth
(meaning 5 titles per age group), 30 for adults
• app & e-books to be downloaded for free by anyone who
registers
• > 2 mln downloads in summer 2017, ~ 800k registrations
6

7. e-lending in the Netherlands
7Source: FEP (2017)

8. e-lending in the Netherlands
8Source: CB Logistics
red: sales
blue: loansx 1.000

9. new: subscription services
Several models:
• model 1: ‘book club’ model; limited set (8 titles: e-book + audio
book versions) for monthly fee (€ 3,99/month)
• model 2: ‘Spotify/all you can read (AYCR)’-model; large amount of
titles; limited fee (€ 9,99/month)
AYCR model versus public libraries’ e-lending portal: AYCR
• has more choice (+ more recent titles): 21 k vs. 16k
• is more expensive (€ 120 vs € 42 per year)
• has a more user-friendly portal
• currently has ~35k subscribers (estimate)
9

10. cannibalization?
10
‘months’: # of months since 1st publication
graph:Top-25 loans &Top-25 sales
Source: CB Logistics

11. cannibalization?
11Source: CB Logistics

12. VOB-Leenrecht court case
12

13. paper/e-lending: prognosis
13
Source: Koninklijke Bibliotheek
0
20
40
60
80
2014 2015 2016 2017* 2018* 2019* 2020*
Prognosis paper+e-book lendings, Netherlands, 2014-2020 (x 1 mln)
e-books (youth +
adults)
paper books:
adults
paper books:
youth

14. thank you!
e: huysmans@uva.nl / frank@warekennis.nl
t: @fhuysmans
w: https://warekennis.nl/