Recently, book publishers started to perceive the public library system as a threat to their new eBook business. As a result, they over-reacted; some hiking library eBook prices by about 300%. This caused tension between both publishers and libraries. Unfortunately, this tension caused library users (readers) to suffer as well.

The Library Journal created a new survey to help diffuse the situation.   In this keynote, Barbara Genco shares the initial results of the survey. The key findings are startling and indicate that publishers should  continue cooperating with libraries.  The survey reveals that (1) libraries are actually excellent marketing tools for content; (2) 69% of the population of the US are library patrons; (3) 61% of the patrons are power patrons who buy 1 book for every 2 books borrowed; and (4) there is a correlation between borrowing and buying.

All the data makes a strong case for the argument that, if anything, libraries actually help increase the sales of books in any format -- whether plain old paper books or other media formats such as ebooks and audio books. They are certainly not a threat to the publisher's business. The power patrons are content hungry and have always been asking for more content. Libraries do have sufficient budgets and the publishers will be losing a fine opportunity to tap a potential market if they choose to maintain their differences. If publishers enter the library market, it will be a win-win-win for all.