CLEVELAND — Prince Harry’s new book "Spare" has been a literary hit. It's so popular that it has been hard to buy or even find at your local library.

There is even a hold on electronic book versions, which raises the question of how libraries gain licensing to e-books.

What You Need To Know

  • Prince Harry's new book, "Spare," has been hard to get, even an electronic book version

  • Cleveland Public Library uses an organization that gets e-books licensing and from there they pay for two different lending methods

  • One method lets you have the book forever

  • The other method is just temporary and is usually used for more popular books 

Sandy Jelar Elwell, director of Collection and Technical Services for the Cleveland Public Library, explained how the library handles it. 

Cleveland's library system uses a website called Overdriv  that holds the book licensing. Then, Cleveland Public Library can buy the books using two different lending models. Elwell explained the difference between the two.

“The first one is one copy, one user, which just means it mimics the print version. You actually buy a book and check it out to one person and you keep it for forever,” she said.

The other model has more restrictions and is based on a limited time frame, both for readers and the library. The library gets a license for a book, usually for 12 or 24 months, and is able to allow readers to check it out during that time period. Elwell said they typically do this for more popular books instead of buying them.

“The other lending model is metered access. Where it’s by time or checkouts,” she said.

She explained how to place a hold on an electronic book.

“You would just log-in into the Libby app or the Overdrive website and then you go in and you put a hold on that and then they alert you when you’re next in line and it’s available for you to checkout,” she said.

Although it is fairly easy, there is still a wait, especially for popular books like "Spare."