Something very interesting is happening in e-book Sweden. One book "Jag är Zlatan", a new biography about Swedens most famous soccer player, has tipped the scales of Library e-book lending. When it comes to lending e-books the system in Sweden is that the library pays 20 Kr. ($3) per downloaded book via the company Elib. Now this was fine when loans counted in the hundreds but libraries have become increasingly worried that the sword of increased e-book lending would fall and now that sword is hanging by a thread. The example that is being used is that the paper version was loaned about 350 times from the Stockholm Public Library but the e-version about 5 times that! The short term measures around the country are lending restrictions and even full-stops on e-book lending. As the old system clearly is flawed the Swedish library community is trying to find a new model. Go the Overdrive-way, with e-books bought and lended like paper books or is there another model yet to be realized? Hopefully this year will tell..
