Rising cost of ebooks and audiobooks

Many readers are surprised to learn that ebooks and audiobooks cost libraries much more than physical or print materials and these digital materials come with licensing restrictions.

Libraries everywhere are facing a dramatic increase in the cost of licensing ebooks and audiobooks to lend to their patrons, along with a growing demand from their communities for digital materials.

Rising costs and use

At London Public Library, the number of digital items (ebooks, audiobooks, music, movies, newspapers and magazines) that our community borrows has increased by 144% since 2019! In 2025, Londoners borrowed more than 1 million digital items on OverDrive and almost 2 million digital items when all platforms are included. While this is a milestone worth celebrating, it also presents new challenges for the Library.

Unlike purchasing a print book, Libraries pay a significantly higher price for digital materials. A single ebook license can cost two to three times more than a print copy, and this license often expires after just two years. Digital licenses for ebooks and audiobooks allow one person at a time to use or "borrow" the digital item, which is why there are waiting lists for ebooks and audiobooks.

For example, in 2024, Kristin Hannah’s The Women cost libraries $85 for a two-year ebook license, while the retail price for the print version was just $40. Print copies are owned by libraries and thus can circulate for many years to come.

The book cover of The Women by Kristian Hannah. A graph with 2 bars. The first bar shows the print copy retail cost of $40. The second bar show the ebook license cost of $85

The impact of holds

When many people place holds on a popular title, London Public Library purchases additional licenses to reduce wait times and meet demand. This means that we are buying extra copies to meet demand, rather than using our budget to purchase a wider selection of titles. Additionally, in many cases, borrowers with high numbers of items borrowed and on hold do not end up borrowing the item when the item becomes available to them.

By lowering the number of holds each patron can place, London Public Library can better balance demand for popular items with the ability to offer a wider variety of titles to the whole community.

Reducing the number of loans and holds each patron can place helps manage rising costs for ebooks and audiobooks and allows the library to allocate resources more effectively.

Reducing limits also means that wait lists will be shorter, reducing the time you will have to wait for your hold to be fulfilled.

Learn More

The Canadian Urban Libraries Council established the Digital Content Working Group to advocate for equitable, affordable, and sustainable access to digital content for public libraries across Canada.