I Love a Parade

As noted by Andrew Albanese in Publishers Weekly, the New York legislature has passed and sent to Governor Cuomo a bill requiring “ ‘publishers who offer to license e-books to the public’ to also offer those e-books to libraries on ‘reasonable’ terms. The bill’s summary states that the law is designed to ensure that ‘widely accepted and effective industry practices remain in place while prohibiting harmful practices that discriminate against libraries and harm library patrons.’ And, also like the Maryland legislation, New York’s bill passed unanimously in the Assembly.”

Mr. Albanese notes that the timing of presenting the bill to the governor is not definite, but it looks likely that the bill will be passed into law once it is presented.

ReadersFirst congratulates the New York Library Association for their successful advocacy, including an effective public letter-writing campaign, and thanks the New York legislation for is unanimous support of library readers.

Perhaps even more than the recently passed Maryland law, this development may bring about conversations between individual publishers and libraries. Perhaps one or two will try the recently announced Amazon/DPLA models with a new pricing structure. What would it look like if library digital prices approximated print (or digital audiobook) retail prices? Legislation (and likely soon a law) passed in their backyards may give some of the larger publishers the opportunity to think if the time is right for a new paradigm: not to withhold from libraries in hopes of maximizing profit but to engage more fully with libraries in hopes of maximizing readership. The sales might just follow. Many publishers have pioneered this approach. RF thanks them and encourages readers to explore their content, much of which is worthy buying one’s very own copies.

Maryland and New York are not alone. Rhode Island has legislation pending, while Virginia and Washington librarians seem to be working towards it and Pennsylvania librarians have expressed interest. Of course, it is not librarians who provide the necessary power. It is readers. The people are speaking, and we are grateful that legislators are listening.