Read all about it: approval given to possibly shorter wait times for e-book access

The average wait time for e-books at Rochester public libraries is 10 weeks.

Unlike physical copies, e-books can be read by many readers simultaneously, so why do readers regularly wait weeks and months to access them?

The answer often stems from how libraries rent e-books from publishers.

Libraries purchase electronic “copies” of e-books which can then be distributed 26 times before needing to be renewed. These restrictions differ radically from how libraries purchase physical copies of books which can be used in perpetuity and often cost much less per use.

Rep. David Gottfried

Despite being one-third of its collection, the Rochester library system spends half of its collection budget on electronic materials, said Stacey Hendren, deputy director of public services.

“This is about corporate consolidation,” said Rep. David Gottfried (DFL-Shoreview). “This is really them exerting their market power and using government for their profit.”

He sponsors HF3698 that would bar contracts between public libraries and publishers that “precludes, limits, or restricts the library from performing customary operation or lending functions.”

Approved 8-4 by the House Elections Finance and Government Operations Committee Wednesday, the bill was sent to the House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee.

“Libraries don’t want to spend less. They want to get more for what they spend,” said Sarah Hawkins, legislative committee chair for the Minnesota Library Association.

Contracts for e-books cost libraries three to five times more than for consumers and lack many of the protections for other government purchases like discounts, annual price-increase caps, and transparency measures, Hawkins said.

Representing the Association of American Publishers, Todd Hill disagrees with Hawkins’ figure by arguing libraries now get e-books at a reduced rate. While consumers pay for the single use of an e-book, he said, each library contract represents 26 uses, making their costs notably lower than what a consumer pays per use.

For Rep. Drew Roach (R-Farmington), the issue is simple: “What’s wrong with waiting?”