Macmillan to launch two-year e-book library lending pilot

Big-six publisher Macmillan, which has kept its e-books out of libraries until now, is launching a pilot lending program.

The pilot is limited to 1,200 older titles from the Minotaur Books mystery and crime fiction imprint (part of Macmillan’s St. Martins division). Libraries will be able to lend out the e-books for two years or 52 times, whichever comes first, before having to buy a new copy. According to Library Journal, each e-book will cost $25. The e-books will be available through three different digital library distributors at launch: OverDrive, 3M Cloud Library and Baker & Taylor’s Axis 360.