Study released finds e-book borrowing at libraries low

NEW YORK - E-book readers have been relatively slow to borrow digital works from the library, in part because they don't know if libraries offer them, according to a new study.

The Pew Research Center released a survey Friday that reports around 12 percent of e-book users 16 years and older downloaded a text from the library over the past year. In a Pew study from earlier in 2012, around 20 percent said they had read an e-book recently.

Major publishers have limited e-book offerings to libraries, citing concerns that the ease of free downloads would hurt sales. Lack of awareness may be another factor. Around 60 percent of those 16 and older couldn't say whether their libraries had e-books.