{"id":265484,"date":"2026-04-13T12:33:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T12:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/265484\/"},"modified":"2026-04-13T12:33:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T12:33:08","slug":"sacramento-library-patrons-prefer-electronic-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/265484\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacramento library patrons prefer electronic books"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Abridged version:<\/p>\n

Sacramento Public Library patrons are checking out far more electronic materials than traditional bound books. <\/p>\n

The trend is likely to continue. Library officials are planning for increased demand for electronic materials.<\/p>\n

Library visits plummeted during the pandemic and have not completely rebounded.<\/p>\n

Some of the most active Sacramento Public Library patrons rarely set foot in a library. Local residents checked out more ebooks, audiobooks and other electronic materials than physical books from the library last fiscal year, the latest county data show. It was the second consecutive year that electronic circulation outpaced physical circulation \u2014 and the trend is growing.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur electronic circulation blew up during the pandemic because for the first couple months it was the only way to get materials,\u201d said Michelle Gordon Hartman, the Sacramento Public Library collection services department manager.<\/p>\n

\t\tSign Up for the Morning Newsletter<\/p>\n

The Abridged morning newsletter lands in your inbox every weekday morning with the latest news from the Sacramento region.<\/p>\n

Library visits down from 2019<\/p>\n

The new habits persist. Last fiscal year, the Sacramento Public Library system saw 2.3 million visits, an increase<\/a> from the prior year but still well below the 3.7 million visits seen in fiscal year 2019, county and state data show.<\/p>\n

Circulation hasn\u2019t fallen at the library \u2014 it has just changed. Last year, patrons checked out roughly 4.8 million electronic items, comprising roughly 54% of total circulation. By comparison, electronic items made up about 26% of circulation in fiscal year 2019, state data show<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"peoplePatrons at the information desk at the Central Branch of the Sacramento Public Library on April 9, 2026. (Shelley Ho)<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the pandemic, people continue to borrow at the same rate,\u201d Hartman said, but \u201cgetting people back into the branches has taken longer.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Patrons borrow electronic media mostly through an app on their phones called Libby<\/a>. In many cases, they can immediately borrow the book they want. For more popular books, they end up on a waiting list and usually get the book within a few weeks \u2014 or a few months if the book is really hot.<\/p>\n

The trend has created challenges and opportunities for the library.<\/p>\n

Licensing electronic media can be complicated. For libraries, it\u2019s often more expensive than buying a physical book, Hartman said. Different books often carry different licensing deals, requiring library officials to attempt to guess how often a book may be borrowed.<\/p>\n

The library spends more money today on electronic media than physical media, when digital subscriptions are counted, Hartman said. The trend requires finding a delicate balance between purchasing physical books, purchasing ebooks, and buying ever-more-popular audiobooks.<\/p>\n

\"books\"Books on hold at the Central Branch of the Sacramento Public Library. (Shelley Ho)<\/p>\n

Old school books often more available<\/p>\n

\u201cOur average wait time for materials on Libby is 23 days, which is really good,\u201d Hartman said.<\/p>\n

Patrons swap between formats to get popular books fast. A lot of times, the electronic books can be harder to borrow quickly, so eager readers will go old school.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you need that book right now, chances are you\u2019re gonna go into the branch to get it,\u201d said Casey Manno, supervisor at the Central Library in downtown Sacramento.<\/p>\n

\"person\"Casey Manno, branch supervisor at the Central Branch of the Sacramento Public Library, shows off the Libby app on her phone. (Shelley Ho)<\/p>\n

Practice English, play chess<\/p>\n

Plenty of other reasons remain for patrons to physically visit the public library. The Central Library hosts conversation groups twice a month where people can practice their English. Social worker interns help people access basic services three times a week. Children\u2019s story time takes place three times a week. A chess club meets every week. There\u2019s a \u201cmaker space\u201d where patrons can record music or use a 3D printer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do see people who are digital-mostly users come into the branch and they\u2019re like, \u2018Oh my God, I didn\u2019t know this was here,\u2019\u201d Manno said.<\/p>\n

Computers provided for patrons<\/p>\n

The library also provides computers and a reliable Wi-Fi connection.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Elena Scott just got her library card. She\u2019s recently experienced homelessness, and likes the quiet and peace of the library, along with internet access.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing greeted when you come in is nice,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"poster\"Sticky notes showing appreciation for the library at the Central Branch of the Sacramento Public Library on April 9, 2026. (Shelley Ho)<\/p>\n

Raquel Dudderar often visits the library with her children. On a recent Thursday, her kids were combing through the board games and card games that the library lets anyone borrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cScythe<\/a> is a good one that we love,\u201d she said, describing some of the games her children were considering. \u201cSo this last time we just checked out Expeditions<\/a>, it\u2019s like a sequel. We did Harvest<\/a>, but they weren\u2019t crazy about that. Now, he\u2019s looking at Coup<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demand for e-materials expected to climb more<\/p>\n

Dudderar said she also regularly uses the library online. She often checks out audio books, while her husband usually checks out books for his Kindle<\/a>. \u201cIf I\u2019m going on a trip, I\u2019ll pre check out several,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The trend is likely to continue, Hartman said. Library officials are planning for increased demand for electronic materials.<\/p>\n

\u201cI expect that this fiscal year, we will have hit five million digital circulation,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"computer\"A computer screensaver at the Central Branch of the Sacramento Public Library promotes the Libby app. (Shelley Ho)<\/p>\n

Phillip Reese is a regular contributor, writing Numbers Matter for Abridged.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Abridged version: Sacramento Public Library patrons are checking out far more electronic materials than traditional bound books.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122,65250],"class_list":["post-265484","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news","tag-secondary-highlight"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}