eReolen – the Danish, national e-lending platform

Mikkel Christoffersen, senior adviserCopenhagen Libraries and ”eReolen”

Copenhagen, June 17, 2016

Copenhagen libraries

• 330 library staff• 580.000 inhabitants, 195.000

cardholders• 4,6 million visits, 3,6 million loans• 5.4 million web visits• 21 locations• Libraries merged with ”cultural houses”,

school libraries or citizen service centres • Most Libraries open from 8-22• Some of the time without staff• Citizen's use their health card and a pin

code to access the institution• CCT-surveillance

Copenhagen Main libraryKey figures

– 850.000 visits– 700.000 loans– 610.000 copies in

collection– 160 events– 80 staff– Operating costs

• Total 8 mil. euro • Rent 2,4 mil. euro• Staff 5 mil. euro

Modernisation of the main library

• Started in 2010 • Implemented in 3 stages• Total cost 6 mil. euro

– The library is opened towards the city and expanded with cafe area (the meeting space)

– A new learning space on the 3. floor (the learning space)

– More places for study– Upgraded event area(the performative

space)– New exhibition areas - digital, tweens

area and literature area (inspiration space)

What is eReolen?• eReolen is the Danish public libraries’ joint

ebook and digital audio books service• It’s an association with all Danish public

libraries as members, an organisation withlots of paid and voluntary employees, and a web site and Android and iOS apps

• There are 9,500 ebooks and 4,200 digital audio books

• 250+ publishers supply the material

Setup

PublisherPublisher Datawell

Selection OPAC eReolen

Publizon

Stores

National Bibliography

An offer tolibraries

Publishers’ jointlyowned portal

Librarians’ committee

The association ”eReolen”

Board

Editorialgroup Support Selection

Project coordination Negotiation

team

General assembly

Lending models1. One-copy one-user: We have four loans per

license. Purchase and management is national as are the reservation queues.

2. One-copy multiple-users: The bread and butter of our platform. Fixed prices based on age or length of audio book and there are localrestrictions.

3. Free-for-all: We pay once for all or part of a publisher’s catalogue. It is then free to loan for everybody without local restrictions.

Prices (€1 = 7,5 DKK)• For all loans: 1,75 DKK to eReolen, 2,25

DKK to Publizon• Licenses: Retail price for 4 loans. 1 loan

costs retail price / 4. E.g. a license is 100 DKK; each loan is 25 + 4 DKK.

• Click: Fixed priced based on age. 0-6 months 14,50 DKK, 7-24 months 13,00 DKK, 24+ months 10,50 DKK (+ 4 DKK all)

• Subscription: Still experimental. Librariespay one sum for some part of a publisher’scatalogue. Price is based on this years use.

The license model• Invented by HarperCollins in the US• One copy one user with a set amount of loans• Harper-Collins 26, in Denmark 4(!)• Denmark may have the most liberal ebook

models but they are also the most expensive!• Mimics a physical book and with a fixed loan

period• Librarians were wrong about the model initially

HarperCollins quiz• Librarians predicted that the Harper-Collins

model would exhaust the 26 loans* veryquickly and bankrupt the library buying new licenses. However, after more than 18 months only eight titles were exhausted. Seven of them were by the same author. Who?

Agatha Christie!Only the Bible and Shakespeare have been published in more editions

1 bn. Sold in English. Anotherbillion in non-English

HarperCollins bought the rightsin 2010

Local restrictions• Libraries have an administration hub to put in

local restrictions; money spent, number of simultaneous loans etc.

• The system checks local user data and permissions when the user logs in

Models in a book’s lifecycle

Demand

Time

License

Click

Subscription

Use of models

The effect of 1C1U

Explicit models

History2011-12• eReolen opens with

aid from the ministry• All libraries and all

publishers participate• Model is one-copy

multiple-user• Big Publishers pull out

citing cata-strophicsummer sales

2013-14• Big publishers make

their own portal EBIB• One-copy one-user• eReolen keeps on and

EBIB languishes thencloses

• Negotiations to re-fusion w. hybrid model

• Deal for 2015 with all

2012 eReolen2012 eReolen

What killed EBIB?

History2015• Hybrid model works• Huge success• eReolen promotes the

back catalogue• Bestsellers suffer(!)• Audio books explode

for real• Many big publishers

are worried again

Loans

Titles

2016• 5 of the 6 biggest

publishers pullout. The biggestdigital publisher(Lindhardt & Ringhof) stay!

• They pull out of audio books too

• eReolen loses 3,000 e-books and 1,000 audio books or 25% and 20%

• We’re now looking to re-negotiate –again!

A bestseller author:

”It has become waytoo attractive to be a library e-lendinguser.”

”When they can’t getto my books, theyjust borrowsomething else!”

A literary agent:

”It’s difficult to movenew titles when the library pukes the back catalogue out over everybody!”

2015 in the newspapers:

Golden rules#1

Nothing is strongenough to promote itselfin a digital world

#2

Whatlibrarians do is just as important in a digital world –if not more

#3

We cannotcontrol or evenpredict whatpublishers willdo – only whatwe will do

Golden goals#1

Don’t just offer e-lending. Offer a literaryenvironment.

#2

Integrate saidenvironmentwith the rest of the library’sbusiness

#3

Watch trends, cultivate new friendshipswork with new partners

A literary environment

Integration with OPAC

Integration w. social media

Times are a-changing!

E-books loans per user Audio books loans per user

Loans vs. Catalogue by age of audio book

Trends• Audio books are exploding slowly(?!) all

over Europe – Denmark is no different• Audio books are less title-driven than

ordinary books, and among ordinary bookse-books are less title-driven than physicalbooks

• Is reading per se on the decline?• What on earth is happening in publishing?

Attempts at trendspotting• eReolen for Children: Special site with their

school log-in, tons of information and promotion, social media integration and integration with the national kids’ site (co-funded Denmark’s Digital Library)

• Collaboration with the selfpublishers –making the library more of a ”place of literature” – reading AND writing (funded by the Agency of Culture and Castles)

Age and gender

User survey• 935 users answer a

questionnaire• Focus groups with

<30 yo. and >30 yo. users resectively as well as non-users in two cities

• Focus on use and evaluating the service and the promotion, use of social media and communication in general

Digitisation

• We want to transform the library in step withthe changing reading habits of users

• This requires ebooks and a digitally availableback catalogue

• No digital lending rights and changing policiesfrom publishers

• We have two models: Collaboration withpublishers for newer works. Collectiveagreements or collaboration for the olderworks.

The potential

Thank you Comments, questions, threats, fan-mail to:

Mikkel Christoffersenc45c@kff.kk.dk

Mob. +45 2049 1885