Library audiobooks are never available?

[Hooploop]

Bit of a random one but...

My local library heavily promotes an eBook borrowing service. But eBooks are never available. I've tried searching for 10 books today, but none are available for months - and one of them has a 450 person hold waiting list!

Also why is there only one copy of an eBook? Surely if it's digital it can be read by different people at the same time, and surely would be a significant point of having eBooks? Also seems like it would be a struggle for people with visual impairment to ever borrow anything?

Is it BorrowBox you’re using?

its because they only have so many licences available for each book, but there is generally an option to ‘show only available’.
My experience is that you can’t use it with the expectation of finding a book you had in mine, you just have to choose what takes your fancy that’s available.

Ebooks and eaudio books are usually purchased on a "one copy one user" licence. Although they are digital it costs the library more if they purchase a licence to allow multiple users at the same time.
For example a children's audio book can cost £50 for one copy one user which is in the library collection permanently but a multiple user licence would be £70 and the book would disappear from the collection after 3 months

I use Libby. If a new book comes out there can be a few weeks wait - think the record was about 5 months.

They do have multiple copies though. I can usually find something - I do however treat it as a top up. Newer books I want to read I usually end up borrowing a hard copy.

I can place 5 holds at a time so I just go through and put holds on what I want to read and wait for them to pop up.

Yes my library uses BorrowBox and Libby.

Thanks for explaining that @Hollyhead and @readsalotgirl63

There are only so many e-book/audiobooks available as each one needs to be licensed. I guess that you are only searching for specific popular/new books with long waiting lists? do you add yourself to the queue for them? I have found that every book I have joined a queue for I have received much earlier than anticipated.
I have borrowed 42 audiobooks and 16 e-books from my library so far this year … maybe try widening your search? You may find books that you enjoy, but would not have stumbled across otherwise! If you only want the new/popular books, you need to wait your turn to borrow them or buy them 🤷‍♀️

I reserve the newer titles and they come round eventually. Most people don't take the full 3 weeks to listen. But I tend to often listen to their spotlight of the month books that are freely available. And then that leads to me things I wouldn't have considered before.

Is this BorrowBox? It's worth putting on reserve as people often cancel so you get it sooner. I assume it's to do with the licencing as to why it's limited. I love BorrowBox but yeah can be tricky finding the book you want at the time you want, I tend to have audible on the go on the side to fill the gaps when I'm waiting for books!

As PP posters have explained, it’s to do with digital licensing. Library funding is woeful - it’s a real problem. Keep reserving copies to show the demand is there.

It can be frustrating having to wait but isn’t amazing that we get all this stuff for free!

I use Borrowbox and check every day to discover if a new "me" book has been shown. I then reserve. I have a running list to which I add when I have finished a book. Took a while to make my list but I keep it moving along nicely, now.

How does Libby differ from Borrowbox, please and, can one register on both?

Yes do add a reservation - being able to evidence demand is essential to getting funding.

I reserve and wait, and the actual wait is generally much shorter than projected.

But with brand new books the quickest way is to reserve the physical book online as soon as it is published (I find they are often listed as "being acquired") and I am the first to get it when it arrives. It costs 65p but I like a lovely pristine hardback.

You can borrow from both (you get another allowance) and they have different books, so it's worth doing.

I presume in the end one will absorb the other because they are essentially doing the same thing.

It doesn't help that some library's don't require proof of residency to become a member. So a lot of book groups on Facebook etc. share the names of libraries that will let anyone sign up regardless of where they live especially if they have a good ebook/audiobook selection. This means that queues are getting out of hand because non-residents are using the services 😭

And I know the argument of use it or lose it, but it is frustrating for people who want to use it but are disheartened by long wait lists.

My library promotes BorrowBox but I can also use my library card on Libby and uLIBRARY and currently have audiobooks borrowed on all 3 without any issue and totally independent of each other.

You just need to reserve anything and everything you're interested in. Then you might have a hope of getting something. It's not amazing but I use it to supliment my audible subscription.

I work in a library.
There are a lot of borrowers who don't live anywhere near the library, they don't use the services in person.
They join the library specifically to gain access to our online services.
So we're in the Midlands but have people all over the UK on our system, as they don't physically need to collect and return the book they can be anywhere and still take advantage.
From my experience ebooks would probably have a longer reservation list as there is a wider pool of people wanting them, rather than a physical book where people really need to live within a few miles to make it worth it.