It Isn't Just U.S.

Thanks to Gary Price of InfoDocket for picking up a podcast from Ireland.

Sean Moncrieff’s podcast is described as follows: “Irish libraries are facing a crisis due to the extortionate cost of eBooks. President of The Library Association of Ireland Cathal McCauley, told Sean [that] Irish libraries are encountering an uphill battle to remain feasible due to ‘scandalous’ price increases, restrictive licensing terms, and a lack of availability where eBooks are concerned.”

The points sound familiar:

Libraries are not offered ebooks in every case

If the are offered, prices are often “scandalous.”

At this cost, libraries still don’t even own but only license, with many restrictions

Prices have gone up during the pandemic

Large publishers have the most egregious terms

No rationale has ever been offered for these prices

The mission of the library is threatened in the current digital ecosystem, as prices become unsustainable in a time of increasing demand.

It is depressing and yet unsurprising to hear these points made internationally. Publishers are apparently the same all over the world: stick it to libraries on ebooks because they can. Call it the litany of wrongs. And it ain’t just being said in the U.S.A.