“You are not a format. You are a service” (Schneider, 2006). The library of the future (and present) must shift from “book warehouse” to “center for discovery, learning, and creation,” for people, and librarians should be careful about romanticizing book-as-object over what the book says–i.e. “the content or the container?” (Stephens, 2016).
And yet, at the same time, students surveyed about a renovation of the library of the Free University of Amsterdam stated that they enjoy having books around them. Physical books, not just the access to the information therein, were comforting and provided a different environment than commercial third spaces (Leferink, 2018). This sentiment is echoed by Kenney (2014), who points out that “75% of Americans primarily associate libraries with books—more than in 2005 (69%).” Further, preferences for e-books over print books are not tied to age, and perhaps surprisingly, “teens seem to really, really hate e-books” (Kenney, 2014). A Pew Research study showed that in 2021, “75% of U.S. adults say they have read a book in the past 12 months in any format,” with print books as “the most popular format for reading” at 65% (Faverio & Perrin, 2021). So it isn’t quite time to replace all of the bookshelves with maker studios and digital displays, although it’s worth making room for some if it will benefit the community.
Certainly, the public library will still have to be thoughtful about what users need when they spend that book budget. That same Pew study found that in the same time period, 30% of Americans read an ebook, and 23% listened to an audiobook (Faverio & Perrin, 2021). Those numbers can be charted on a steadily rising line, especially audiobooks, which (anecdotally, among my own friends) have continued to grow more popular. As Schneider (2006) puts it, “the user is not broken.” The user simply wants to be able to listen to a book while they go for a walk, or do dishes, or commute, and libraries should follow them where they are. Plenty have–according to OverDrive’s own metrics, the Libby app “is used in over 22,000 public libraries” and crossed the one billion checkouts threshold in January 2023 (Burleigh, 2023). Still, there have been growing pains, and libraries need to keep budgets in mind. Per Roose (2025), Spokane Public Library has circulated more digital materials than physical since 2023, and the average audiobook license costs $73 compared to $8-30 for print books. The licenses are also time-limited, while print books last until they wear out.
Reflection
As a big reader myself, I associate libraries with books–and use them that way most of the time. Last year I read an average of a book per week, most of them from the library, in a mixture of formats.
At the same time, I am also a heavy user of technology, and my book flow uses multiple tools that come from within and outside of the library. I use hold requests, both physically and through Libby. I also have several library cards (four of them at the moment) so that I can get access to more digital collections and choose the shortest queue. However, there is a lot that I do outside of the library that could become integrated better in the future. I use Goodreads to track what I want to read and read others’ reviews, though I’ve noticed wishlist features and reviews on some of the libraries’ pages. I also use Library Extension, which automatically pops up library catalog searches when I load a page with a book on it.
As a library user, even as a bibliophile, I already think about libraries as an ecosystem, not individual buildings with books in them: where can I get this information or story the fastest, in my preferred format, or in a way that lets me go and browse my nearest library branch, which I do still enjoy? As a future information professional, I hope to provide other library users with the same mix of old and new: balance the comfort of the stacks and the expense of ebooks; the necessary physical spaces and the virtual access. There’s room for both.
References
Burleigh, D. (2023, January 25). Public libraries lend one billion titles with the Libby reading app. OverDrive. https://company.overdrive.com/2023/01/25/public-libraries-lend-one-billion-titles-with-the-libby-reading-app/
Faverio, M. & Perrin, A. (2022, January 6). Three-in-ten Americans now read e-books. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/01/06/three-in-ten-americans-now-read-e-books/
Kenney, B. (2014, January 27). The user is (still) not broken. Publishers Weekly. https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article/60780-the-user-is-still-not-broken.html
Leferink, S. (2018, January 24). To keep people happy…keep some books. OCLC Next. https://blog.oclc.org/next/to-keep-people-happy-keep-some-books/
Roose, R. (2025, January 14). The true cost of ebooks and audiobooks for libraries. Spokane Public Library Blog. https://www.spokanelibrary.org/the-true-cost-of-ebooks-and-audiobooks-for-libraries/
Schneider, K. G. (2006, June 3). The user is not broken: A meme masquerading as a manifesto. Free Range Librarian. https://freerangelibrarian.com/2006/06/03/the-user-is-not-broken-a-meme-masquerading-as-a-manifesto/
Stephens, M. (2016). The heart of librarianship: Attentive, positive, and purposeful change. ALA Editions.
I love this inclusive take on book formats. My daughter and I both love physical copies of books, but right now she is also using Hoopla to listen to a book as she is reading it. Although, she loves the book and is really interested in the story that it is telling, she can get distracted by the silence of the pages. The audiobook, which she listens to at 4x times speed, keeps her focused and helps her retain information in multiple parts of her brain at once.
Oh, that’s interesting! Are you saying, she’s listening and reading the physical copy at the same time? That might be the best of all worlds, if you can swing it.
I didn’t have word count to get into this, but I remember my feelings about the Kindle when it first came out. I used to be pretty romantic about the physical book object, but once I received one as a gift and realized I didn’t have to drag multiple thick books on vacation, I’ve always had an ereader since. I’m still getting on board the audiobook train (and usually can only do nonfiction that way), but bumping the speed up helps. Listening to the Reading Glasses podcast has also expanded my thinking a lot: the hosts are very non-judgmental; they just love reading, and all book formats and genres count as reading!
Yes! She’s listening to the audiobook on 4x speed while she reads either the hard copy book or the ebook on her laptop. I am still not on board with the ebook, but history podasts got me into audiobooks in a big way. I am usually listening to a podcast or an audiobook all day at work.