At a Glance
January 1, 2027: BCPL withdraws from SWON Libraries and redirects the membership funds toward eBooks and eAudiobooks.
January 3, 2027: Reciprocal borrowing between BCPL and CHPL ends for Northern Kentucky and Ohio residents following CHPL’s decision to end the agreement.
Why? These are two separate decisions. CHPL is ending its reciprocal agreement with Northern Kentucky residents. Separately, BCPL is redirecting SWON (Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky consortium) membership funds to strengthen its digital collection.
Public libraries have long relied on collaboration and regional partnerships to expand access for customers. For years, cross-border arrangements, like reciprocal borrowing agreements across state lines and regional consortium memberships, have allowed local libraries to pool resources and share materials.
As library operations and funding continue to change across the region, libraries must adapt as well. Following the decision by the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library (CHPL) to end its reciprocal card agreement with Northern Kentucky residents, Boone County Public Library (BCPL) will make changes to its own regional partnerships and how some resources are invested.
What’s Changing?
Two related but distinct decisions are moving forward together.
1. Reciprocal borrowing with Ohio residents will end January 3, 2027
For decades, BCPL and CHPL have honored each other’s library cards, allowing Boone County residents to borrow materials in Hamilton County and vice versa.
CHPL is ending that arrangement on January 3, 2027, citing changes in Ohio state funding and rising costs for eMaterials. Ohio funding makes up a majority of CHPL’s budget, and changes in state support have affected the library’s ability to sustain free access for non-residents.
Because reciprocal borrowing depends on both library systems extending borrowing privileges to one another, BCPL will end its reciprocal borrowing arrangement with CHPL when CHPL’s change takes effect.
One important exception: Ohio residents who work in Boone County will continue to have reciprocal borrowing privileges at Boone County Public Library.
BCPL recognizes that reciprocal borrowing has been a convenient benefit for residents who live, work or travel between Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati. We value our long-standing relationship with CHPL and understand that the library is making this change in response to its own financial and operational circumstances.
2. BCPL will withdraw from SWON Libraries effective January 1, 2027
BCPL will also withdraw from SWON Libraries, the regional library consortium for Southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky, effective January 1, 2027.
This is a separate decision from the reciprocal borrowing change. BCPL has valued the collaboration, professional relationships and resource-sharing opportunities that come with SWON membership. However, the Library must continually evaluate how its limited resources can best serve Boone County residents.
BCPL will redirect the funds currently used for its SWON membership toward eBooks and eAudiobooks.
The Rising Cost of Digital Materials
The challenge facing libraries is increasingly financial.
Libraries do not buy eBooks and eAudiobooks the way individual readers do. While a physical book can be purchased once and remain on library shelves for years, digital materials operate under restrictive and often costly licensing models imposed by publishers.
Public libraries do not “own” most of their eBooks or eAudiobooks. Instead, they purchase temporary, highly restricted licenses that can function more like a lease than a purchase.
How the costs compare:
| FORMAT | AVERAGE CONSUMER COST | AVERAGE PUBLIC LIBRARY COST | LICENSING TERM / EXPIRATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| Print Book | ~$15-30 | ~$15-25 (discounted) | Permanent physical copy; lasts until worn out |
| Consumer eBook | ~$13 | N/A | Permanent digital access for individual user |
| Library eBook | N/A | ~$55-85+ | May expire after 24 months or 24 checkouts |
| Library eAudiobook | N/A | ~$75-95+ | May expire after 24 months or a set number of checkouts |
When a bestseller is released, an individual reader might pay $13 to purchase the eBook and keep it permanently. Libraries, instead, are often sold licenses that provide temporary, limited-use rights.
According to industry data compiled by the Urban Libraries Council, a typical public library eBook license can cost $55 or more per title, often for access that expires after two years or a capped number of checkouts. When the license expires, the library may have to purchase the title again simply to continue offering the same book.
That can make a library’s cost several times higher than what an individual consumer pays for permanent access to the same digital file.
A popular title can become a significant expense
If 50 customers want to read a popular eBook without waiting months, BCPL may need to purchase multiple digital licenses. Popular titles often carry a 24-checkout limit. Once a digital book has been checked out 24 times, that license expires, and the Library must purchase the title again to keep it in the digital collection.
Over time, a single popular eBook can cost a library hundreds of dollars.
eAudiobooks can be even more expensive. A popular unabridged audiobook license can exceed $90 per copy and must be renewed regularly to remain available to customers.
A BCPL example
The difference becomes easier to understand with a real-world example.
BCPL recently spent $117.60 to purchase seven print copies of Fury in Death by J. D. Robb, a bestselling novel.
It would cost BCPL $555.00 for the same number of digital copies of the title – more than five times the cost of 7 seven print copies – for a format the Library does not even get to keep permanently.
This illustrates one of the challenges libraries face: the format customers increasingly want may be significantly more expensive to provide, while also coming with restrictions that do not apply to a physical book.
A Growing National Challenge
These figures are not unique to BCPL. Public libraries across the country are facing similar challenges as demand for digital materials increases. Nationally, per-capita library spending on eBooks has nearly doubled over the past five years, while print spending has remained essentially flat. At BCPL, digital licensing now consumes nearly 30% of the entire materials budget.
Together, these trends illustrate a nationwide financial challenge: public libraries are increasingly paying premium prices for temporary access to materials their communities expect to find quickly and easily.
These pricing models have prompted the Public Library Association (PLA) and four other major library associations to issue a joint statement calling on the largest publishers to reform library licensing terms. Several state legislatures have also introduced bills targeting library eBook pricing.
Digital Collections are an Essential Library Service
Digital collections are no longer an optional enhancement to a library’s physical collection. For many residents, they are a core library service.
eBooks and eAudiobooks allow customers to access library materials:
• From home
• During a commute or while traveling
• Outside regular library hours
• When a library visit is difficult
BCPL already provides a substantial Digital Library, including eBooks, eAudiobooks, comics, video, music, tutorials and other online resources.
BCPL also offers Temporary Digital Access Cards to Boone County residents age 13 and older, providing a fast path to digital resources.
As more customers rely on digital materials, BCPL must consider not only how much it spends on these resources, but how those dollars can provide the greatest access for the people we serve.
Where the SWON Funds are Going
The question is not whether regional cooperation has value. It does. The question is where a limited pool of public funds can make the greatest difference for Boone County residents right now. At a time when demand for digital materials is growing and publisher licensing terms are increasingly expensive, the Board has decided to redirect those funds from the consortium membership into eMaterials purchases.
What does that mean for Boone County residents?
The additional investment should help BCPL provide:
• More copies of popular eBooks and eAudiobooks
• Shorter wait times for high-demand titles
• A broader catalog of digital materials
• Continued investment in digital magazines, educational resources and other online materials
Redirecting funds from SWON membership is one immediate step, but it is not the only one under consideration. BCPL is actively investigating additional ways to expand the size and depth of its digital collection, including evaluating purchasing strategies, licensing options, partnerships and other responsible opportunities that can increase access to eBooks, eAudiobooks, digital magazines, educational resources and other online materials for Boone County residents.
A Decision About Stewardship
BCPL values the relationships it has built throughout the Greater Cincinnati region and remains committed to serving as a welcoming, collaborative community institution. BCPL also recognizes that CHPL is facing genuine financial and operational pressures of its own. The decision to end reciprocal borrowing is not one BCPL takes lightly, and we understand that some residents will be disappointed by the loss of this convenience.
At the same time, BCPL’s first obligation is to the people of Boone County. Ending reciprocal borrowing with Ohio residents and withdrawing from SWON will allow BCPL to redirect resources toward a growing need: providing Boone County residents with stronger, more sustainable access to digital materials.
The goal is simple: to make Boone County tax dollars work as hard as possible for Boone County residents, especially as the cost of providing digital library services continues to rise.
