Withitsnationale-booklendingplatformlaunchedatthebeginningofthisyear,theDutchDigitalLibraryProgramnowoffersaccessto5,500titlesfromthetop50Dutchpublishersin162publiclibraries,makingthesmallEuropeancountryaninternationalforerunneramidthedigitalizingtrendoflibraries.
"Wehaveacoupleofquiteuniquefeaturesinoure-lendingmodel,suchastheone-copy-multiple-usersmodel,whichmeansthatane-bookcanneverbeenlentout,butremainsavailableforeveryadditionalpatron,"explainedDiederikvanLeeuwen,managingdirectorofStichtingBibliotheek.nl,inaninterviewwithXinhua.
DifferentfromthemodelappliedincertainlibrariesoftheUnitedStates,whereonedigitalbookisavailablewithonlyonee-reader,theDutche-booklendingplatformsucceedintrimmingdowntheaveragecostofe-booklicensebypayingperuse,saidthemanagingdirectorofthefoundationestablishedin2009toprovidedigitalservicesonbehalfofandforallpubliclibrariesintheNetherlands.
"Becausewemakesuchahighvolume,wecanputpressureontheprice.Wedon'tpayperlicensealotofmoney,butwepayforuse.Inthisway,wecouldtrimdowntheaveragecost,"saidvanleeuwen.
Tobrowsethee-bookcollectioninthedigitalservicesoftheNetherlands'libraries,registeredmemberscanlogintothee-bookportalandmaketheirchoices.Selectede-bookwillbedownloadedtoanapp,nottothee-reader.Whentheloanexpiresinthreeweeks,thee-bookwilldisappearautomaticallyfromthee-reader.
Inaverage,itcosts0.72europerloanfromtheDutche-lendingsystem,whichisthelowestpriceinEurope,accordingtovanLeeuwen.
Withpartofthecostpaidbygovernmentsubventions,librarymemberspayafeeof0.36to0.60europerloanfortitlesunder3yearsold.Fortitlesover3years,theypay0.24europerloanforthefirstyear,0.12europerloanthereafter,accordingtovanLeeuwen.
OnefourthofDutchcitizens,or4millionpeople,aremembersofalibraryand5percentofthemareusingthee-bookplatform.Onemillione-readershavebeensoldintheNetherlandsandanother1milliontabletsarefrequentlyusedforreadinge-books,accordingtohim.
Dutche-bookreadersdoappreciatethise-lendingmodel.
"Buyinge-booksisstillquiteexpensive,borrowinge-booksfromlibrariesisagoodsolution.Youcanalsoborrowmusicfromacertainportal,itisthesameideaasborrowinge-books.It'sperfect,"ErwinHalderman,a27-year-oldDutchmanwhorushedintotheCentralLibrarayoftheHagueforaChristmasgiftforhisniece,toldXinhua.
ForvanLeeuwen,thee-lendingplatformmeansmorethanlowerspendingandmoreconvenienceforreaders,itcanalsoopenupnewopportunitiesforpublishers.
Withe-lending,bookswhicharealreadyabitoutdatedcanhaveasecondlifeasane-book.
"Itcouldbeusedtopromoteauthorsofoldertitles,aswellasnewtitles.Andduetothehighvolume,wehelppublisherstogeneraterevenue,"saidvanLeeuwen.
Anotheradvantageisthat"itgeneratesalotofstatisticsandalotofdata".Forinstance,thepublisherswillknowthatwhethersomebodywhoopensabookwillreaditfromAtoZ,oronlythefirst10pages,saidthemanagingdirectorofStichtingBibliotheek.nl.
Concernsarealsoraisedaboutthee-booklending,reservationsoverreadinghabitsandcultureinparticular.
"E-lendingiseasierforreadersbecauseyoudon'thavetogotothelibraryanymore.But,Iliketoseethecoverofthebook.Iliketoreadthelastpagetounderstandabitwhatthebookisabout.AndIlovethelibrary,"saidAnnadeBruijn,an18-year-oldstudentoninternationallawfromLeidenUniversity.
"Itwouldbeashameifthelibraryandtheprintedbooksdieout,"saidthefaithfulvisitoroftheCentralLibraryoftheHague.
However,theunstoppabletrendofdigitalizationimposesitselfonthelibraries.
AccordingtoareportfromtheEuropeanUnion'sCivicAgendaonPublicLibrarye-LendingModels,e-booktitlesrepresent4.7percentoftheDutchbooktradetotalrevenue,registeredas557millioneurosin2013.
Inthee-bookmarket,librarypurchasingaccountsfor23percent.Thismarketshareisexpectedtorisetonearly50percentby2017sinceanewlegislationwillcomeintoforcein2015togivethenationallibraryacentralizedbudgettohavemoree-booklicenses.
Forlibraries,treasuredbytheDutchpopulationasmeetingplacesforsocialencounters,itisimperativetomeettheneedsfrombothtrendfollowersandtraditionlovers.
"It'sveryimportantthatpeoplerecognizethelibraryasacomfortableplacetostudy,tohaveatalk,ortodogroupwork,"headofCentralLibraryofTheHague,JanReijnders,toldXinhua.
Forhim,theyouthandthechildrenarethemaintargetgroupsoflibraries'planofattraction.
"E-booksfitintothelifestyleoftheyoungergeneration,it'sveryimportantthatwekeepattractingthisgroup,aswellasthechildrengroup,becausetheyaretheyouthinthefuture,"saidReijnders.