There are a lot of smart devices which can display eBooks nowadays – eReaders, tablets, smart phones; these are all devices in which we can read eBooks from. So, there are eBook lending libraries. However, they woefully lack eBooks. It does not even come close to what is in regular libraries. A lot more books need to be available for lending.
The collection of eBooks is very small. On average, they have about 10000 books. It leaves only a few options for readers to choose from. This is nowhere near the amount and variety of books which are available in public libraries. The collection of novels is very small, for example. It does not have very popular titles like the Harry Potter series, which is shocking considering that the series is so popular. Likewise, the nonfiction collection is also small, with less than 4000 titles. This is nowhere near the number of types and genres of books in libraries, nor does it matches in terms of quantity. Public libraries have millions of books, so there are lots of books to go around. This is a pity considering that many people own smartphones, tablets, and computers which people can use to read. People who work long hours, for example, need this service because public libraries are closed when they work, so this is the only place they can borrow books without going to the library. This means that people that cannot go to the library have to stick with a very limited collection of books if they do not buy books.
The lack of books also means that people have to wait in line for books. Although people can make holds on books, the three week loan period means that you have to wait forever to get your eBook. So, people have to wait long for popular books, which there are only a few available. Many books have only a couple of copies available. Even though they are digital, their duplication is still dictated by copyrights. This means that a long waitlist means weeks or even months of waiting for a popular book. Then this means people have to cope with reading less popular titles for a long time. Popular books have long waitlists. Some have waitlists of 30 or 40 people, which means that people have to wait for years to get the book they want. This is appalling because it denies the privilege of getting the books they want in a reasonable amount of time.
eBook lending libraries should add more books. This will allow people to get their books more quickly. No one wants to wait in a long waitlist for a book which they can get in many places. Also, they should get more books, at least up to an amount which is close to the physical library. That is, millions of eBook titles.