As an author or publisher, you know that we all owe a debt of gratitude to libraries. They help new writers get discovered, make books available to everyone regardless of their ability to pay, and preserve history in a way that can never be replaced.

When you think about your local library, the term "eBook" may not come immediately to mind, but it should. Most libraries now offer eBook lending to patrons in their communities, but they have a problem. They need more content. It's not uncommon for 100% of a library's eBook inventory to be checked out, leading to long wait times for new titles.

There's a reason for this. Current eBook lending vendors are very expensive for local libraries, and the libraries can't keep up with demand. As just one example, the state of Kansas recently faced a 700% annual increase in fees due to the program's popularity with patrons, with other libraries reporting similar increases. These programs also require libraries to pay an annual fee for each book they lend out, something they don't need to do for print titles.

Libraries Want to Buy Your eBooks

As a result of these opportunities and challenges, libraries are beginning to contact BookBrewer asking for the ability to buy copies of self-published eBooks which they can lend to patrons using their own licensed Digital Rights Management technology. DRM controls how many copies of a book a library can lend out at any one time -- just like with physical books. When demand for a specific book increases, they typically buy more copies of those books to respond to demand.

Today, we're proud to accept a request from the Douglas County Libraries in Castle Rock, Colorado. From their letter:

"Our goal is to replicate the current print-purchase model libraries have had with publishers like you for centuries with e-content ... we want to buy e-content from you."

We think this is a great opportunity for both authors, and for the libraries, the most pro-author organizations around.

How to Library-Enable Your EBook

If you've created or distributed an eBook through BookBrewer, you can make it available for purchase by Douglas County Libraries -- and future participating libraries -- by filling out a short form. We will then make your eBook available for participating libraries to purchase. We'll introduce a more straightforward way to join in the future.

BookBrewer will provide 85% of the sale of each eBook back to the author, and these sales will be tracked and paid via the same methods and schedule used for retail sales.

We also invite other libraries who are interested in following Douglas County's model to contact us about their own direct-purchasing programs. Inquiries can be sent to libraryprogram@bookbrewer.com.

Thanks for supporting your local libraries!