The written word is going digital, right?

Not so fast, say big publishers, who limit the number of times an e-book can be loaned, offer them at inflated prices or refuse outright to sell electronic copies to public libraries.

Macmillan, Penguin Books, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster and the Hachette Book Group refuse to sell e-books to libraries. Others, including Random House and HarperCollins, will sell but with limited “loans” or charging more than three times retail price, Denver Public Library spokeswoman Jen Morris said.

“Everyone is getting fed up,” she said.

Despite the struggle to obtain electronic copies, the number of e-book checkouts at DPL has increased more than 300 percent over the past five years. Digital audiobooks also are in higher demand. Last year at DPL, there were 271,827 checkouts of e-books and digital audiobooks, including charges and renewals. Through April of this year, there were 137,066 checkouts.

Morris said that number would be much larger if customers weren’t disappointed daily with news that the titles they seek are not — and will not — be in stock.

“It’s about the customers,” she said. “It’s about what they want, need and expect from their public libraries.”

For e-book checkout, customers do not have to go to the library, but they must have a library card. At checkout, readers can choose from a variety of e-book-enabled devices, including the industry-leading Kindle and the Nook, smartphones and iPads.

Ironically, one book in high e-book demand that the library cannot offer is the biography of Apple computer co-founder Steve Jobs. Most classics are available digitally, but newer, popular works are not, officials said.

DPL collection services manager Rachel Fewell said publishing companies indicate that piracy fears keep them from selling e-books to the library.

“There really are no clear answers as to why they won’t sell to us, but some have said they worry about copies being made and distributed illegally,” Fewell said.

She said stealing digital tomes has never been a problem because the Denver library takes steps to make sure digital materials cannot be copied.

“We go above and beyond to protect digital rights management,” she said.

In a statement, Penguin Books said the company will continue talks about plans for e-book and digital audiobook availability, but, for now, it will not offer them to libraries.

Officials from Macmillan said they also are in talks about selling e-books.

“We continue to look at various possible models for e-lending. We have not, at the moment, found a model we are ready to participate in, but are actively engaged in the process,” said Talia Sherer, Macmillan director of library marketing.

Random House, publisher of the best-selling “Fifty Shades of Grey” erotic trilogy, sells e-books to libraries at an inflated rate, Fewell said.

Phone calls to Random House for comment were not returned.

Denver Public Library has a waiting list of 666 people for an e-book copy of “Fifty Shades,” but only 50 copies to share, Morris said.

“With budgets so tight these days, it does make it harder for us to buy multiple copies for our customers,” she said.

Denver libraries are not alone in their frustration with publishers. More than 70 library systems in the U.S. and Canada issued a joint statement demanding better access to e-books.

The “ReadersFirst Initiative” states that publishing companies should treat all materials alike — hard copies and digital — so all readers have access.

American Library Association policy analyst Carrie Russell said the issue comes down to money, which publishing companies admit.

“They are very upfront about their business models and fear of piracy,” Russell said. “But there is no data that says e-book lending discourages sales.”

While talks about the future of e-lending are ongoing, Russell said there is a chance that it could all be resolved by the end of the year.

“They could start offering them by Christmas, which would be good since that is when most people will be getting new pads and e-readers,” Russell said.

Ryan Parker: 303-954-2409, rparker@denverpost.com or twitter.com/yhryan