At LibraryPass, we often refer to our publisher partners as being “library-friendly,” because they help more than 3,500 libraries and schools offer their readers unlimited, simultaneous access to thousands of comics, manga, and picture books through Comics Plus.
While most publishers love what libraries represent, ebook licensing is a little more complicated.
Under traditional single-user access models for ebooks, no library or school would be able to afford the deep, diverse collection available in Comics Plus, serving readers of all ages and interests. Instead, most would have to prioritize maximizing access to bestsellers or specific age groups, or limit how many ebooks each reader can check out every month, regardless of their individual interests.
Some may even decide to only make comics, manga, and picture books available in their print collections, limiting access to those able to visit the library in person.
Unlimited, Simultaneous Access = Equitable Access
When building and maintaining a digital collection that serves a community or school’s varied needs, librarians balance a number of decisions to manage limited budgets — guided by collection development policies, reader demand, and the vendors they work with. Because of the unique limitations and higher costs for traditional ebook licenses, reader demand often ends up being the most influential factor, and managing hold ratios can become an expensive, ongoing challenge.
A collection dominated by bestsellers is one that prioritizes a small percentage of available books for a small percentage of a library’s potential readers. Due to more restrictive ebook licenses such as single-use or metered check-outs, those bestsellers end up dominating an escalating percentage of a library’s materials budget, while under-serving readers with other interests.
Paradoxically, this often leads to libraries offering less-diverse digital collections than print, or having to enact artificial borrowing limits on diverse collections that push readers to establish their own personal wait lists.
While single-user licenses are the most common way publishers make ebooks available to libraries, it’s not the only licensing model available to them. The alternatives may seem less profitable at first, but they’re more equitable for libraries and readers, which ultimately benefits publishers, too.
That’s our perspective and why we refer to our publisher partners as “library-friendly.”
Library-friendly = Reader-friendly
Every month, there are dozens of new “midlist” titles that don’t get any traditional review coverage, don’t hit any bestseller lists, aren’t featured in bookstores — but they all have potential readers who would be interested in them if they knew they existed and could find them.
Every month, those titles are joined by dozens more like them, becoming part of an ever-expanding “backlist” of hundreds and hundreds of titles, all of which are still new to the vast majority of potential readers — if they knew they existed and could find them.
- Library-friendly publishers know that libraries have limited budgets, and that supporting alternative ebook licensing models allows them to offer more diverse collections that appeal to more readers, rather than prioritizing bestsellers.
- Library-friendly publishers know that libraries aren’t simply marketing and discovery channels, and that many readers can’t afford to buy everything they want to read, relying on libraries as their primary source for ebooks.
- Library-friendly publishers know that some titles take longer than others to find their readers, and that libraries are where many avid readers turn to discover their next reads.
- Library-friendly publishers know that supporting equitable access through libraries ensures more of their titles find more readers, enhancing the revenue potential of their midlist and backlist titles.
Library-friendly publishers make Comics Plus possible, and we’re grateful for all of our partners who support our mission to help libraries and schools affordably expand and diversify their digital collections to better serve more readers.
Read All The Comics!
“An absolute game changer.” School Library Journal
With Comics Plus, schools and libraries can offer readers unlimited access to thousands of digital comics, manga, and picture books from popular publishers like ABDO, Andrews McMeel, Capstone, Cherry Lake, Dark Horse, Europe Comics, Fantagraphics, Humanoids, Image Comics, Kodansha, Lerner, Mad Cave, Manga Classics, Oni Press, Papercutz, Tokyopop, TOON Books, UDON Entertainment, Yen Press, and dozens more.
No holds, wait lists, or monthly borrowing limits—all at a price that won’t break your materials budget.
Learn more at comicsplusapp.com and sign up for a free demo account.
We curate high-interest, immersive digital content that helps schools and libraries expand and diversify their collections—without breaking their materials budgets.
