Alan Inouye's Update on Library Digital Content Matters from 2/1/2020

Thanks to Alan Inouye, ALA Senior Director, Public Policy & Government Relations, for the following news update:

ALA EBOOK PUBLIC POLICY & ADVOCACY

 Upcoming:  eBook panel at the PLA National Conference in Nashville, Friday, 10:15 a.m.

https://www.placonference.org/profile.cfm?profile_name=session&master_key=072AFF36-A9D2-9FD0-A8C4-4BAC5B001FD8&page_key=3B32BA3B-0C73-28BC-D7F3-2A5F86C92F37&xtemplate&userLGNKEY=0

Writeup of ALA’s eBook panel at 2020 ALA Midwinter

https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/the-latest-on-ebooksforall/

 Writeups on the John Sargent (CEO, Macmillan) AMA session at 2020 ALA Midwinter

ALA news release: http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2020/01/ala-persists-ebooksforall-advocacy-campaign-macmillan-must-lift-embargo

American Libraries magazine:  https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/macmillan-ceo-hosts-ama/

 

ARTICLES

 More writeups on the John Sargent AMA session

Texas State Librarian:  https://www.tsl.texas.gov/director/libraries-and-the-e-book-market-where-do-we-stand/

Information Today:  http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/Macmillan-CEO-Talks-to-Librarians-at-ALA-Midwinter-136267.asp

 

Digital Book World makes strong statement against Macmillan embargo

https://www.digitalbookworld.com/single-post/2020/01/29/Digital-Book-World-Bans-Macmillan-Employees-In-Response-To-Library-Embargo-Creates-Library-Scholarship

 

"I can’t remember the last time a major publisher [MacmillanUSA] took an action so widely and loudly reviled by customers and readers alike" in Pondering the State of Digital Publishing in Publishers Weekly

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/82245-pondering-the-state-of-digital-publishing.html

 

Burlington [Mass.] Public Library Director Michael Wick called the Macmillan move “unethical”

https://burlington.wickedlocal.com/news/20200124/burlington-library-director-macmillan-e-book-embargo-bad-for-libraries

 

Continuing pushback by Multnomah County (Ore.) Library against Macmillan embargo

https://www.oregonlive.com/books/2020/01/multnomah-county-library-users-love-ebooks-audiobooks-oregons-2020-pacific-northwest-book-award-winner-2-new-books-about-sports-history.html

 

And pushback from Buffalo, NY and Waterloo, Ontario, Canada:

https://buffalonews.com/2019/12/19/new-e-book-rules-called-discriminatory-to-library-readers/

https://www.waterloochronicle.ca/opinion-story/9812272-ebooks-gaining-popularity-in-digital-era-but-restrictions-hinder-accessibility/