Celebrate Audiobook Month with EveryLibrary Live and Me, Plus the Audio Publishers Association's Annual Survey Data

June is Audiobook month and to celebrate, EveryLibrary has a fun slate of live interviews with the voices, authors, and producers behind some of the hottest audiobooks of the moment, with me as one of the interviewers.

But before we get to that exciting, free, live and on demand going on next week, first, I want to draw your attention to the annual survey and press release put out by the Audio Publishers Association every June.  From the public page:

THE AUDIO PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION ANNUAL SURVEYS SHOW AUDIOBOOK SALES JUMP 9% TO $2.43 BILLION

58% of Americans age 18+ have listened to an audiobook - an estimated 157 million people

June 5, 2026, New York, NY – The Audio Publishers Association Sales Survey, conducted by Toluna, shows audiobook sales revenue continuing to grow, reaching $2.43 billion in 2025, 9% over the previous year. Publishers reported over 750,000 active titles in 2025, a 43% increase from 2024.

The Audio Publishers Association 2026 Consumer Survey, conducted by Edison Research at SSRS, adds that among audiobook listeners, 63% listened in the last year and 35% in the last month. Audiobook Listeners averaged 3.8 audiobooks in the last year, and 26% listened to four or more titles in the last year. 

Piracy is a growing concern, and the Audio Publishers Association is actively addressing this issue through a multi-pronged approach. Edison data reports that among those who listened to audiobooks in the last year, 45% reported listening to a free copy on YouTube in the last year. This percentage is up from 38% in 2025 (many audiobooks on YouTube are pirated from legitimate copyright holders).

Key Findings: 

• Audiobooks are valued for being convenient, relaxing, and easy to enjoy while doing other things. Audiobook Listeners cite the ability to multitask (86%) and to listen on-the-go (84%) as the top benefits. Seven in ten enjoy audiobooks as an alternative to screen time (70%).

• Audiobook listening occurs across various platforms. Among those who listened in the last year, many used multiple sources: 49% purchased directly from websites/apps, 48% listened via a subscription service, 46% borrowed through a digital library app, and 42% used credits from a dedicated audiobook service.

• The fastest growing genres in 2025 were Humor, General Fiction and Children’s - including YA - with General Fiction accounting for the largest share of revenue (27%). Science Fiction/Fantasy, Romance, and Mysteries/Thrillers/Suspense make up the remaining top genres by revenue.

• The consumption and number of AI-narrated audiobooks published has increased in 2025, though willingness to try AI-narrated audiobooks dropped year-over-year, from 70% in 2025 to 61% in 2026. Only 16% of Audiobook Listeners have listened to an AI-voiced audiobook, and AI sales revenue amounted to .03% in 2025.

• Sales revenue from Audio First publications has increased in 2025 compared with 2024, increasing from $91.1 million to $136 million (a rise of 50%). The share of Audio First publications also increased slightly, accounting for 6% of the total net revenue in 2025.

How the APA Consumer Study Was Conducted

In February 2026, Edison Research conducted an online survey of 1,706 spoken-word audio listeners ages 18 and older to measure listening behaviors, trends in the market, and provide insightful recommendations to understand and increase audiobook consumption. Respondents were divided into two survey tracks: Audiobook Listeners: 1,020 respondents who have ever listened to an audiobook; and Spoken-Word Listeners (no audiobooks): 686 respondents who have listened to a podcast or spoken-word radio program in the last month but have never listened to an audiobook.

Access to this and additional industry data is available to APA members.

About the Audio Publishers Association

Formed in 1986, the Audio Publishers Association (APA) is a not-for-profit trade association that advocates the common, collective business interests of audio publishers. The APA serves as a networking, educational, and information forum for its members; delivers programs, services, and awards that serve the common business interests for its members; and promotes policies and activities that accelerate audiobook awareness and industry growth.

Click here for a little more of the data breakdown as well. And here for charts with 5-Year Industry Data.

As it says above, the full report is available to members, but there is still a lot here for us to learn from and use. I will crunch these numbers alongside other year end reports this winter, comparing them to what else I see in the overall book world, but for now, take a look at the findings and think about your service to your audiobook readers. Are there places you can make some changes in your service? Are their ways you can reach more of the readers where they are? Share this post and talk about it with your collections people, your service desk people, and any digital services library workers you may have.

And after you are done with that, have some fun-- you and your patrons-- all next week, courtesy of EveryLibrary. 

See below for all of the details, but here is the basics. 3x a night, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday next week, EveryLibrary is hosting conversations with the people behind some exciting audiobooks. 

On a personal note, I am over the moon that I get to do the one about turning the Choose Your Own Adventure Books into audiobooks. 

See the full info from EveryLibrary below. And remember, you can sign up to be reminded when they go live and you can send this out to your patrons to do the same for themselves. But also, ALL of the conversations EveryLibrary has hosted over the years are archived and can be seen at anytime on their YouTube page. Go to the "Live" tab. It is a great channel to have linked on your own websites and to promote for patrons as a place where they can see authors talking about their work. And since EveryLibrary invites every type of author, this is a great resource for all ages. 

I would also suggest pursuing the YouTube recordings every once in a while to see what authors they have. Then when you see one with a new book coming out, or someone popular, add the link to those videos to the catalog record for the book they are discussing, put a QR code on the stacks near that author's books for readers to discover as they browse, and add links to any reading or author lists on your website or in Libby. This is an easy way to make your RA service more interactive AND anticipate your readers' needs. Imagine, they go to the shelf to find a book by David Gutterson and there on the shelf is a QR code to an interview with him (and me).  It is as if the library knew they were interested in something and it magically made the invisible, visible for them. Literally the definition of being seen. 

We claim we aim to meet people where they are. This is an easy way to show them that that is exactly what we are trying to do.

This is the kind of content readers love but have no idea how to find and or access on their own. And just maybe, while your patrons are there watching an interview, they might follow the links to donate to the good work EveryLibrary is doing each and every day for libraries all over the country. 

See below for next week's specific live info. I will be doing the events, live every day at 5 eastern. And again, after they stream live, all interviews are archived here.

Maybe you will see me there. Or in the past via a recording. 

Audio Book Month 2026 - Stories You Hear Come to Life

Audiobook Month 2026 is coming to EveryLibrary Live! with three nights of conversations celebrating storytelling, narration, performance, and the growing cultural impact of audiobooks. 

From June 15–17, readers, listeners, librarians, and publishing professionals are invited to join live and on-demand sessions featuring bestselling authors, award-winning narrators, producers, and audiobook creators from across the industry. 

This year’s event, "Stories You Hear Come to Life", highlights the artistry and accessibility of audiobooks while celebrating the libraries that help connect readers and listeners to these stories every day. 

Featured guests include Ash Perez, John Kenney, Jane Hamilton, Helen Laser, Kelsey Impicciche, Natalie Naudus, and Soman Chainani, along with audiobook producers and special guests from leading publishing houses and audio studios, including Anne Fonteneau (Blackstone) and the Choose Your Own Adventure Audio team.

Audiobook Month 2026 is made possible through the support and participation of major publishing and audiobook partners, including Simon & Schuster, Zibby Media, HarperCollins, Blackstone Publishing, Penguin Random House, and the team behind the iconic Choose Your Own Adventure audiobooks. 

Each evening will be guest-hosted by Gigi Howard from the hit podcast "Drinks in the Library" and Becky Spratford of RA for All and author of the recently released "Why I Love Horror". Together, they bring deep readers’ advisory expertise, energy, and a passion for connecting audiences with books, authors, and audio storytelling. 

RSVP NOW to get a reminder and links each day to these exciting programs.

Event Schedule

Monday, June 15

5:00 PM EDT — Speak Now: Love, Loss, and Second Chances in Full Cast Audio

Featuring Ash Perez discussing the queer romance novel Speak Now and its immersive full-cast audiobook production featuring performers including Jena Malone and Bahni Turpin. Sponsored by Simon & Schuster. 

7:00 PM EDT — Finding Your Way: Humor, Heart, and Reinvention, Read and Heard

A conversation with John Kenney and Jane Hamilton about storytelling, reinvention, and the audiobook experience. Sponsored by Zibby Media. 

Tuesday, June 16

5:00 PM EDT — Choose Your Own Adventure Audio Experience

An interactive look at how the beloved Choose Your Own Adventure books became immersive audiobook adventures, preserving the spirit of reader choice in audio form. 

7:00 PM EDT — Behind the Mic: The Art of Audiobook Narration with Helen Laser

Award-winning narrator Helen Laser shares insights into performance, character development, and the emotional craft of narration. Sponsored by HarperCollins and audiobook publishing partners. 

9:00 PM EDT - The Future of Listening and the Enduring Role of CDs: A Conversation with Anne Fonteneau 

Blackstone CSO Anne Fonteneau will discuss the continued growth of digital listening as well as the enduring role of CDs in libraries and communities.

Wednesday, June 17

5:00 PM EDT — From Screen to Sea with Kelsey Impicciche and Natalie Naudus

Kelsey Impicciche and Natalie Naudus discuss Voice of the Ocean, romantasy storytelling, online creator culture, and bringing fantasy worlds to life through audio. Sponsored by Blackstone Publishing. 

7:00 PM EDT — Power, Youth, and Revolution: Soman Chainani on Young World

Join bestselling author Soman Chainani and Zeno Robinson, the lead narrator of the audiobook, to discuss the immersive full-cast adaptation of "Young World". 

9:00 PM EDT - Still Listening: Why Audiobook CDs Matter in Today's Libraries

We will share a conversation with Cindy Fehmel, Collection Development Librarian/AV for the St. Louis County (MO) Library, one of the nation's largest purchasers of audiobook CDs. Cindy will share insights on patron listening habits, audiobook collection development, and why CDs continue to play an important role in library service even as digital audiobook use continues to grow.

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Libraries are one of the most important pathways to audiobook discovery and access in the United States. Audiobook Month 2026 celebrates not only the creators and performers behind these works but also the public, school, and academic libraries that ensure stories remain free, inclusive, and accessible to everyone. 

Watch live on Facebook and YouTube or catch every session later on-demand. RSVP now to get a reminder sent each day and share the invite with your fellow readers and listeners. Follow along throughout the week on EveryLibrary Live! on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.  

When

June 15, 2026 at 5:00pm - June 18, 2026

Where

EveryLibrary Facebook and YouTube Live

Library People, Strap in For a Fight With the Author's Guild

As regular readers of the blog know, I have been working on a bill going through the IL legislature to stop the publishers and their predatory pricing of eBooks and eAudio for libraries. You can read here about when I went to Springfield to testify on the topic at the State House, including my written testimony.   

The Author's Guild filed with the committee we were testifying for stating they were against our bill to control prices. 

We passed 99-0 in the IL State House and since then, they have turned up the heat and have been actively releasing "data" and lobbying against our bill.

Last week I had this post about larger library groups coming together to fight back against the Author's Guild slander. Go here to read that.

Now they are upping their fight against us by trying to make it look like libraries are part of the reason why authors are not making money.

Here is the news story on the "report" they commissioned. It does not explicitly say libraries are part of their problem but it does lay the gourd world for that argument. Combined with the statements they have made formally against the bills circulating throughout various statehouse (as reported here), their intentions are clear. They are trying to throw us under the bus.

They are not protecting authors here. As you can see in my written testimony, they are protecting the publishers. Authors do NOT get more money when the publishers overcharge libraries for digital books and audiobooks. Remember I am an author as well as a librarian. I understand this issue from both sides, as I wrote about here.

I posted this on Bluesky yesterday and many authors are coming to our defense. Library workers are calling out the fact that this is all th publishers fault. I cannot keep up with my responses. Here is what I said there when I posted this link:

You all-- I never thought I'd see the day, but library peeps, strap in for a fight. The Author's Guild is going after us as the reason why authors are making less money. I don't think they understand who they are dealing with:

Also, authors (of which I am one), the Author's Guild does a lot of good generally, but they are WRONG here. They are trying to turn against us. There are over 12,000 public libraries in America and they are one of the only places reliably spending money on books every single day of the year.

Don't fall for these scare tactics. The best route toward improving our income from writing books is hand in hand with the library.

There is no call to action here for today. But this post is a warning to you all. We need to be aware that the Author's Guild is building a case against us. It has been in the shadows of state houses until now. Slowly they are laying the groundwork to throw us under the bus.  Please be on guard. 

I will keep everyone posted as well. 

Booklist's June Issue is the Spotlight on Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror (And Becky wins the Stoker)

I returned from StokerCon late last night. And well, I won a Stoker Award for Long Nonfiction and Tananarive Due won for her essay in the book. You can see al the nominees and winners here. You can watch me accept for Tananarive and myself on the video of the live stream here. Short Nonfiction was the first award of the night, after the keynote and Long Nonfiction was only a few awards later. 

Also, here is the link to my acceptance speech.

Now I have to go hide and send a million emails (only a slight exaggeration)

While I get back to it, I wanted to make sure you all know that Booklist Spotlight's SF/F/H every June and there is a lot of great information available for free-- more than just the Top 10 lists. The issue table of contents is here. I have posted the adult links below and added backlist access.

Spotlight on SF/Fantasy & Horror

• Essentials: Body Horror
• Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror 2026: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022
• Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror Debuts 2026: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022
• Writers & Readers: Reviewing Books Made Me a Better Novelist
• Top 10 SF/Fantasy & Horror on Audio 2026: 2025, 2024, 2023,

Features

• Essentials: AI and Its Potential for Good and Bad
• The Booklist Carnegie Interview Yiyun Li
• The Booklist Carnegie Interview Megha Majumdar
• Talking with Tillie Walden
• Trade Secrets: Updates on the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Disabled
• High-Demand Hot List

Libraries Fighting Back [Together] on Unfair Digital Book Pricing [story via PW]

As I discussed in this post back in March, I have been actively involved in trying to get fair eBook pricing for libraries. I was in Springfield to jet rally support for IL House Bill 5236—The Digital Library Protection Act. From the ILA page Advocacy page about HB 5236:

What is House Bill 5236?

The Digital Library Protection Act, as known as House Bill 5236, aims to prevent publishers from imposing unfair restrictions on libraries when licensing eBooks, digital audiobooks, and other electronic literary materials. It prohibits contracts that would prevent libraries from performing their usual functions, like licensing materials from other publishers, using necessary technology for lending, making preservation copies, or participating in interlibrary loan systems. 

It prevents publishers from restricting a library's ability to determine loan periods, from charging libraries more than the public for the same item, or from limiting the number of licenses a library can acquire after an item is available to the public. The bill ensures libraries can continue to virtually share content for educational purposes and share licensing terms with other libraries in the state. 

In that post, I included my written testimony which was formally filed with the committee.  

Since then, the bill passed the IL House 99-0. It is currently sitting the senate but the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild’s denunciation of the passage of Illinois HB 5236. It will probably not get taken up until the Fall session due to the Chicago Bears sucking all of the energy out of the state house, but we are on the right track.

This denunciation by the Authors Guild is what I am currently battling against. They are wrong to oppose this. They are not protecting authors. They are actually hurting them. I talk about it in that previous post. Authors do not get more money when these books are sold for high prices to libraries, and in fact, fewer books by mid-list authors are purchased because of the high prices. 

Our next steps here in IL are to keep the library workers updated (I helped with a webinar on that), and, through me, reach out to specific authors to get them to support us. I am going to have to work to explain why they need to go against the Authors Guild-- which I support normally too, especially as we are connected with them through he HWA-- but in this case they are wrong to side with the publishers. 

Now that IL is making headway, 5 Large Library Organizations are finally speaking out to help those of us in CT and IL who have been going at it alone. We were the test cases and it is starting to work, so now others are reading to jump in and help us fight back. 

PW had this great article that will get you up to speed on the entire issue. From the first paragraph:

On May 27, five public library organizations from the U.S. and Canada released a statement, addressing the Big Five publishers and digital platform providers, in response to e-book pricing models. The Association for Rural and Small Libraries, Chief Officers of State Library Agencies, Canadian Urban Libraries Council, Public Library Association, and Urban Libraries Council all signed on to the letter.

Please click through to read the entire article. It explains where we are on a national lever here. Things are getting serious and we are close to FULL VICTORY. Also take a look at the Joint Statement Letter (linked above as well). From that letter:

Our organizations, representing the vast majority of public libraries across the US and Canada, call on the Big Five publishers, as well as platform providers, to come to the table to work with libraries to identify and implement sustainable solutions, no matter the format.

Mutually-beneficial solutions exist. These include the importance of usage-based e-book models that guarantee our communities actually have access to the materials their libraries have paid for, and the option for libraries to purchase perpetual-use models so we can ensure the preservation of knowledge remains a cornerstone of the public library.

Public libraries protect copyright and invest millions of dollars in curating collections that increase author discovery and promote titles and reading, and our book borrowers are book buyers. We’re important partners for publishers, and have shared concerns including declining literacy rates and fighting threats to intellectual freedom.

It’s time for a new dynamic, based in collaboration and mutual respect, that can build off those shared interests. It’s time to finally address – rather than ignore – this crisis. This helps everyone – libraries, authors, patrons, publishers – thrive.

Thank you to PW's Libraries reporter, Nathalie op de Beeck, for covering this so well. Now everyone in publishing has a clearer understanding of what we are fighting for. I hope authors and smaller publishers begin to understand that the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild are not fighting for them like they may think they are.

Feel free to use any or all of my letter to the IL House, in tandem with the PW article and the Joint Statement Letter, to do your own advocating.

Booklist's May 2026 Issue is a Spotlight on Mysteries & Thrillers

May is the best time of year to get up to speed on Mysteries because for years this has been the most popular issue of Booklist, the May spotlight on Mysteries and Thrillers 

Below are the links to the content you can use to get up to speed on the current state of Mysteries and Thrillers. There are best lists and a theme based lists even articles. All focused on some of your most popular books.

Please note, I have added backlist access links as well because when you look at the last few years of best lists, a fuller picture of the genre emerges-- where it has been, where it is now, and where it might be going. Not to mention, you can use the last few years of lists to make a display or post an online list of great Mysteries and Thrillers your readers may have missed.

And don't forget, every issue of Booklist Magazine is a spotlight on a genre or format or topic, making every issue an invaluable resource beyond just the reviews.

Spotlight on Mysteries & Thrillers

Essentials: Holy Whodunits!

Top 10 Mysteries & Thrillers 2026: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022

Top 10 Mystery & Thriller Debuts 2026: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022

Trend Alert: Cozies Get a Glow-Up

Manga Essentials: More Detective Manga

Writers & Readers: A Mystery Demanded by Reality

Essentials: Social Media Mysteries

Top 10 Mysteries & Thrillers on Audio 2026: 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022

Features
Listen Up: Sounds Suspicious (unreliable narrators on audio)

Top 10 True Crime Books

High-Demand Hot List

Becky Goes to Springfield [IL] to Support House Bill 5236-- The Digital Library Protection Act.

As I mentioned on Bluesky, I spent yesterday going back and forth to Springfield IL to support House Bill 5236—The Digital Library Protection Act. From the ILA page Advocacy page about HB 5236:

What is House Bill 5236?

The Digital Library Protection Act, as known as House Bill 5236, aims to prevent publishers from imposing unfair restrictions on libraries when licensing eBooks, digital audiobooks, and other electronic literary materials. It prohibits contracts that would prevent libraries from performing their usual functions, like licensing materials from other publishers, using necessary technology for lending, making preservation copies, or participating in interlibrary loan systems. 

It prevents publishers from restricting a library's ability to determine loan periods, from charging libraries more than the public for the same item, or from limiting the number of licenses a library can acquire after an item is available to the public. The bill ensures libraries can continue to virtually share content for educational purposes and share licensing terms with other libraries in the state. 

If you live in IL, please register to attend our update tomorrow about everything that happened yesterday here.

Before I get to my official statement in support of the bill, I wanted to share a very short recap on what happened yesterday.

Click here for photos.

We were appearing in a show of support for this bill to move from the Consumer Protection Committee to the floor of the IL House. We did move forward with a 6-3 vote. This results what our lobbyist said would be a huge victory (it means we got one republican to vote for us in committee).

But I need to thank all of you who filed witness slips because while the bills that went before us reported that they have 5-10 witness slips in favor we had over 2700! The committee was impressed. But I also need to share that the anti witness slips were from places like Penguin Random House, the Authors Guild, and the American Publishers Association, so we need all the support we can get, especially from you PATRONS.

They noted in the hearing that most witness slips supporting were librarians. As we move forward we need to see the public get involved.

Please go to this page to follow our progress and see how you can educate your patrons to speak out in support. 

Right now our focus is on gathering the 60 votes we need from the IL House to pass this bill to the Senate. We need those in place and secured in 8 business days from today which is 4/9. (there are some closed dates around Easter).

What we need is for you to call your IL House Reps and talk to them about voting yes here. Now after the webinar tomorrow we will have updated advocacy scripts and advice. I will let you all know about that but it will all be here on the ILA's page with all of the info as linked above.

As my colleague Robin Bradford (and IL native) noted on Bluesky yesterday, "When you spend more money, your buying power shouldn't DECREASE. Someone is getting over like a fat rat and it ain't the people. Not the authors, either!"

Which leads exactly into the witness testimony I was asked to provide as Big 5 author, librarian, and trustee. It was officially filed into the record. I am sharing it here with all of you because no matter where you live, you can use this to advocate for this issue. In IL, I will be contacting reps outside of my district to speak as an author and as a former elected official myself. (Don't get me started as to how mad I am that the Authors Guild is against this bill, a bill which hurts every author, but they are doing what PRH tells them to do here. They are not fighting for us.)

CT has passed this legislation. We are moving to the House floor and NJ is right behind us. (which for me is poetic justice, the state I live in and the state I am from are leading the pack here.) If a few dominos fall, the Publishers will be forced to give up and make the rules fair for all libraries. Don't think for a moment what happens here in IL is not going to help every single library in the country. We are doing the work for all of you and we are happy to do it. I just wish Springfield wasn't 3.5 hours away. But with teamwork and carpools we made it happen. Again, check out the pictures here.

I hope to see of you at the webinar tomorrow as well.

My official witness testimony ends this post. Please feel free to quote me or just borrow the language to use for yourselves. And a huge thank you to Robin who provided the real time numbers for purchasing my specific book.

Submitted by Becky Siegel Spratford, Librarian, Author, and recently retired 24-year, elected Public Library Trustee for La Grange Public Library (Cook County).

I would like to thank the Consumer Protection Committee for giving me, and my colleagues from across Illinois, the opportunity to speak to you today about House Bill 5236—The Digital Library Protection Act. I am speaking to you in support of this bill and its aims to prevent publishers from imposing unfair restrictions on libraries when licensing eBooks, digital audiobooks, and other electronic literary materials. 

I would like to begin by sharing my personal experience as the author of WHY I LOVE HORROR: ESSAYS ON HORROR LITERATURE which was published in September 2025 by Saga Press, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. The print version of my book retails for $18 while the physical CD of the audiobook is $34.99. Consumers can buy a digital copy of my book from Amazon for $13.99 and digital audio for $13.02, via Amazon.

However, if a library would like to purchase my book for their library collections the cost of the ebook is not only inflated to $59.99 for one use at a time, but also that purchase is only for 24 months. After that time, the book simply disappears from the library’s collection and must be re-purchased again for that same price with those same terms. The digital audio is inflated to $69.99, again for one use at a time, for only 24 months.

In my opinion, this is the definition of price gouging, and since libraries are using tax dollars to purchase books for their collection, the victims are our citizens, the very people this committee is responsible for protecting. 

I want to be clear here, because I have been asked about this before, Simon and Schuster is not crediting my author account for sales dollars above and beyond the list price of my book when they make a digital sale at those inflated prices to a library. And again, unlike my print book, which can circulate as many times as possible, the libraries who purchase the digital versions of my book, only “own” them for 24 months from the date of purchase.

As of this writing, the print, digital audio, and digital ebook of my title are checked out from my library. But in less than 24 months from today, the print will still be on the shelf while the digital book and audio will disappear. Access will be denied to those who want to read it. As a librarian, I am not sure even if I would make the choice to reorder this book digitally at those prices, especially knowing the print is there for people— and let me stress, this is my book I am talking about. 

Now, multiply this financial decision about my book by thousands because as you have heard from my colleagues today, my book is but one example of this extremely unfair and, quite frankly, unsustainable system.

However, my irritation and anger as an author and librarian is eclipsed by how unfair I know the current system is for our citizens. I worked tirelessly as an elected Library Trustee to give the citizens of La Grange, IL the most efficient and effective service for six full terms, from May 2001-April 2025. The current system puts Library Trustees between a rock and a hard place. 

On my board we were regularly briefed on how popular our digital materials were, while we were also told about the price disparity between digital and physical copies. We always wanted to use our taxpayers’ dollars efficiently and effectively. We weighed the cost versus the need. We made sure the staff had access to enough money to give our patrons the titles they wanted, in the formats they wanted. 

But even for a well-funded library like La Grange Public Library, this was not easy. We had to get creative with our budget and we even used grants to help bridge the funding gaps. Many of our fellow libraries across the state don’t have the financial resources we did, however, and their patrons (citizens who give their tax dollars for their library’s collections), are forced to go without digital access to many of the books they want to read in those formats.

As you can see, I am engaged with this issue from all sides. I care deeply about making sure readers have access to the books they want from the public library, whether I have written that book or not. I also want my book in the public library. I want readers to be able to find my book on the shelf, be that a digital shelf or a physical one. I am proud that people can find my book at their public library. But I am saddened that in order for a library to have my book, they have to pay through the nose, and even after making that choice and paying those steep prices, they don’t even have access to it after two years.

This is most unfair to the consumers. Yes, the literal consumer is the library here, but really, since we are using taxpayer dollars, the consumer is our citizens. Even worse, they have no idea that they are being price gouged. 

As an author for one of the largest publishers, I also understand that we need to make money—the publisher and myself. But in the current price structure system, I am not making any more money, the library is paying a lot more, the taxpayers are being price gouged, and only the publisher is profiting.

I am so thankful that you are hearing testimony on this important issue. I hope my testimony can help you move House Bill 5236 on to the full House.

Thank you for your time and attention.