Pierce County Library System
Information & Imagination

Publishers are placing further restrictions on the ability of libraries, including the Pierce County Library System, to buy and provide e-books and downloadable audiobooks to the public. These limits will affect your access to e-books and downloadable audiobooks.

Beginning Friday, Nov. 1, 2019, one major publisher, Macmillan Publishers, will only allow library systems to buy one copy of each new release of an e-book for the first two months after the book is published. 

This means longer wait times for online books by popular Macmillan authors such as M.C. Beaton, Terry Goodkind, Nora Roberts/JD Robb, Rainbow Rowell and John Scalzi.

Libraries purchase e-books at a price often four times than a retail copy. For example, the book “Talking to Strangers” by Malcolm Gladwell published by Hachette Book Group costs $15.99 for a retail copy on Amazon Kindle, while libraries pay $65 per copy for a two-year license. 

• Publishers require libraries to re-purchase e-books after a specific number of checkouts or every two years.