A Macmillan Boycott Update

Carmi Parker reports that the number of libraries and consortia boycotting Macmillan has grown to 38, representing millions of library readers. She adds that Charleston County in South Carolina has extended its boycott to include all formats it gets from Macmillan.

Over at Ebooksfor all, the petition to Macmillan has as of the moment of writing garnered 215,882 signatures.

Not surprisingly in light of the publicity the decision is receiving, Macmillan appears to be retreating from public comment. For example, they did not comment on a detailed piece on library e-books that recently appeared in the Washington Post.

Such a retreat into “no comment” is fairly typical of corporations that plan to stick by a decision, however controversial, and ride out public pushback. It is perhaps even more crucial to bring attention to this decision, including making our case and also providing suggestions that might seem reasonable alternatives to Macmillan’s decision—not because Macmillan will listen but to show readers and the general public that we our concerns are legitimate and important.

If you haven’t signed the petition yet, please do. If your library isn’t taking action on Macmillan yet, if only to inform via your website and engage with your local media, please consider it.