Survey Says Library Users Are Publishers and Retailers Best Customers

From PW Publishers Weekly:

Survey Says Library Users Are Your Best Customers
Groundbreaking new study shows value of libraries to the book—and the e-book—business
By Andrew Albanese
Oct 28, 2011

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publishing-and-marketing/article/49316-survey-says-library-users-are-your-best-customers.html

Highlights (bolding is mine):

“This month Library Journal released the first issue of a quarterly publication called Patron Profiles. Based on surveys and data collected from library users across the country, the first issue—on libraries and e-book usage—indicates that libraries are a powerful economic engine for the book business.”

“LJ editors have been amazed by the strength of the findings so far—including the degree to which libraries are boosting book sales. “Our data show that over 50% of all library users report purchasing books by an author they were introduced to in the library,” Miller noted. “This debunks the myth that when a library buys a book the publisher loses future sales. Instead, it confirms that the public library does not only incubate and support literacy, as is well understood in our culture, but it is an active partner with the publishing industry in building the book market, not to mention the burgeoning e-book market.”

“According to Patron Profiles, in addition to the billions libraries spend buying books, the data show those books in turn are spurring individual readers to buy more books. “Public libraries collect and serve carefully crafted, patron-focused print and digital collections,” Miller explained. “They add significant value to the content ecosystem as well as being a sustaining sales channel in and of themselves. We can only imagine what the numbers would look like if [S&S, Macmillan, and Hachette] jumped into the e-book mix.””

The LJ data measure a range of library patrons, across all incomes and education levels, but, notably, the study has identified what the editors have dubbed “Power Patrons,” voracious consumers of media who log more than 47 books read per year—as compared to 27 on average read by all survey respondents.”

“Publishers now have the first really broad, deep look at what library users do with books and e-books, other media, and—perhaps most importantly—what library users do with their wallets outside of libraries,” Miller said. “If they’ve ever doubted the role of libraries in launching an author, this will set them straight. In turn, librarians get new insight into what their patrons want and need. And they are getting many of their hunches confirmed: that library users are avid readers, listeners, and talkers, and that the library is an important part of a rich ecosystem of cultural exchange that is seamlessly connected to the marketplace.””

For more information on the study, visit www.patronprofiles.com.”

Stephen