Fort Worth Public Library users will be able to check out fewer e-books and audiobooks at a time, and may wait longer for some titles, as the library absorbs a cut of about $864,000 in the city's new budget, library leaders told the city's Library Advisory Board, the Fort Worth Report reported Sunday.
Library Director Midori Clark told board members during an Oct. 1 session held at the Summerglen branch that most of the reduction will come out of the collections budget, according to the Report's account of the meeting.
That affects how many books and other materials the system can buy, including titles offered through the Libby app, which gives cardholders free access to more than 90,000 e-books and audiobooks and over 6,000 digital magazines.
Why digital checkouts are the target
Clark explained that digital books work differently from printed ones. A physical copy is bought once and can circulate again and again, but the system is charged every time someone borrows a digital title, even if the borrower only listens for a minute and returns it.
To cut down on downloads that go unread, the library plans to lower the number of digital titles a patron can hold at once and to steer users toward features such as samples and better management of their hold lists. Communications manager Theresa Davis said the library plans an outreach push to its heaviest users to explain the changes.
The Report's account did not say what the new checkout limit will be or when it takes effect.
