Public Knowledge Launches "Tell Congress to Let Libraries Fight Back"

Wendy Hanamura has posted on the Internet Archive blog about a new campaign:

“This month, Public Knowledge, a major public interest group promoting an open internet, launched a new campaign: Tell Congress to Let Libraries Fight Back. 

Fight back against what? you may be wondering. 

Put simply, the campaign asks Congress to clarify libraries’ right to buy and lend books today as they have done for centuries.

Today, amidst a skyrocketing demand for digital books, many books are not available on digital shelves at any price because there are no commercially available  digital versions of older titles.  This gap limits how libraries can serve their patrons.

‘Many libraries are currently closed, and sadly it looks like they may be for months to come,’ said John Bergmayer, Legal Director of Public Knowledge.  ‘We need to make sure that libraries can continue serving their communities, not just during the pandemic, but after, as tightened budgets put the squeeze on library services and limit the scope of their collections’.”

RF supports this call to action for Controlled Digital Lending and encourages librarians and library supporters to join.