Popular E-Content at The New York Public Library: Seven Years of Success

Abstract

The New York Public Library (NYPL) has seen tremendous growth in demand from our patrons for popular e-content in recent years. This article illustrates some of the Library's key successes and challenges surrounding popular-interest e-content in the context of the evolving U.S. marketplace. NYPL began offering e-content via ebooks.nypl.org in 2004, when it entered into partnership with Overdrive, the primary e-content vendor to U.S. public libraries. That year the Library offered a start-up collection consisting of 5,992 e-books bringing in 5,227 checkouts. For the 12 months leading up to March of 2011, this same site brought in 387,959 checkouts of from a collection in excess of 59,000 items. These statisctics, when combined with the rest of NYPL's popular digital offerings, rank the Library's popular e-content collection #2 in circulation among its 90 circulating locations. The e-content marketplace is complex and evolving. If there is one constant theme throughout our experience since 2004, it is that forward momentum has steadily increased -- not just in technology, but in the availability of attractive content and the level at which consumers are embracing an e-literate lifestyle. (English) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]