Macmillan Embargo Update for 2/21/20

Carmi Parker, ILS Administrator for for Whatcom County LIbrary System, reports the the following:

You may recall that in January, we published a financial impact analysis measuring how close we are to a tipping point where Macmillan begins to lose money on the embargo strategy.

We believe we have now reached and passed that point. The theory was this: if 10% of libraries suspend their purchases of Macmillan eBooks, it will “zero out” any new revenue that the embargo generates from libraries conducting business-as-usual.

In the 2017 IMLS Public Libraries survey, 7162 libraries recorded spending on electronic materials. As of this week, 889 of those libraries have suspended their Macmillan eBook purchases, for a total of 12.4%. What’s more, these libraries represent 14% of the $374 million total spent on electronic resources.

In other words, we believe the embargo strategy is now a losing proposition.

However, if your library is thinking about suspending the purchase of Macmillan eBooks, please do not let this stop you. The goal of suspending purchases is to get Macmillan to drop the embargo and restore equitable access to our readers at a fair price. We have not yet achieved those goals and every library who participates will make success more likely.

The libraries who have suspended purchases recently include the Ocean State Libraries consortium, serving the entire state of Rhode Island, as well as libraries in California, Massachusetts Ohio, and Texas.

The newly participating libraries include the following RF reported last week on the libraries in Ohio and Texas)

Plumas County Library (CA) 4 brances 18,800 populatin served

Newton Free Library (MA) 1 branch 88,900

Ocean State Libraries (RI) 49 branches 1,057,000

Of course, only Macmillan knows for sure what the effects of not purchasing have been. RF salutes the libraries taking a stand but hopes Macmillan (and all publishers) and libraries might all come together for a fruitful discussion of how we might move on to serve readers. Growing readers is after all in our joint interest. The current impasse might benefit Amazon, but few others are gaining anything.

#FundLibraries: Tell Congress to Fund Libraries

As previously reported on RF, and as you likely already know, the President’s budget proposal on February 10 completely eliminated funding for the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL).

We seek funding of at lest $206 million for LSTA and $27 milllion for IAL. The LSTA amount is important because of the formula: at that amount, larger states will get their full share but some smaller states will get a bit more.

The funding, which flows from the federal government through the states, often via grants, is vital for supporting early literacy, bridging the digital divide, and in some cases supporting digital content, especially for smaller libraries.

The ALA’s Fund Libraries Campaign encourages asking legislators to sign “Dear Appropriator” letters. One can see on this page if one’s legislators are supporters. RF already shared ALA hopes for a Twitter campaign. The #Fund Libraries page also provides information on encouraging senators and representatives to sign on via email.

Email Your Senators to urge them to #fundlibraries

Email Your Representatives to urge them to #fundlibraries

The total amount is comparatively tiny but benefits millions. RF joins the ALA in asking all who care about libraries to urge Congress to act. We already have great bi-partisan support, but we cannot afford not to advocate for the good of our readers.

Carmi Parker's Macmillan Update for 2/14

Carmi Parker, ILS Administrator for Whatcom County Library System, reports that 5 libraries recently joined the Macmillan boycott:

Schertz Public Library (TX) 41,000 population served.

Pleasanton Public Library (TX) 10,800

Wright Memorial Public Library (OH) 9,200

Butte County Library (CA) 6 locations, 229,200

Benicia Public Library (CA) 28,300

The total is now “89 libraries or consortia, representing 1,271 locations and 49.1 million people in 28 states, 15% of the total US population.” 

Ms. Parker also reports that “Good eReader published a letter that OverDrive CEO Steve Potash sent to libraries in response to OverDrive’s acquisition by KKR, a private equity firm. Regarding embargoes, Potash said:

We strongly oppose any embargo or limitation on an institution’s right to acquire every digital title published under fair terms. We advocate with authors, agents, and publishers that their economic interests are best served when their works are easily discovered and available to borrow from every library in every format. 

Expect an update on the boycott’s impact soon!

Library Funding is at Stake

RF is pleased to pass along a message from the ALA. Digitlal access through libraries could be curtailed in many states without your help. In some states, this funding helps support providing digital content. Please support libraries!

Thanks,

RF

It happened again. 

On Monday, Feb 10, the White House released its FY2021 budget proposal and - for a fourth time in a row - it intends to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), including all funds from Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA). The administration's new budget not only strips funding from IMLS, it brushes aside funding for other library-eligible education programs.

Will you stand with us by urging Congress to #FundLibraries?

As advocates, it is our responsibility to remind elected leaders that communities rely on library services to grow and thrive. As ALA President Wanda Brown said this morning: ALA takes the White House proposal seriously.

We are counting on you to send this message to Congress. Can you take a moment to tweet at your members of Congress about why we must continue to #FundLibraries?

The coming 8 weeks are critical in the fight for library funding. Visit the #FundLibraries campaign page for regular updates and look out for action alerts as we continue to monitor the budget negotiations.

Thank you for your efforts and support,
ALA's Public Policy & Advocacy Team

PS - Easier to copy and paste a tweet? Use the language below and tag your members of Congress:

My congressional district depends on our libraries, and our libraries depend on federal library funding. Please support the @US_IMLS and #FundLibraries in FY21! http://www.ala.org/advocacy/contact-congress 

Alan Inouye: "Bring back equitable access for the Digital Age: Congress must act"

In The Hill, Alan Inouye, Senior Director, Public Policy & Government Relations for ALA’s Washington Office, is advocating legislative change to ensure fair access to e-books for library readers:

“There is failure,” says Mr. Inouye, “in digital markets for libraries, schools, universities, and other public-service organizations, and libraries are officially fed up with it. We’ve tolerated abusive pricing and restrictive licensing terms long enough. It’s time for Congress to act.”

He contrasts access via copyright to print materials with the licensing mdoles that give access to digital content: “Contracts can specify that works cannot be used in a classroom setting. Contracts can prohibit modification of materials to accommodate people with disabilities. Contracts can prevent the preservation of materials by libraries, as the very stewards of the cultural heritage of a nation or a community. And contracts often mandate much higher prices - as much as five times the consumer price. In the case of Amazon, no contract is offered, so there is no possibility of access. Public-service organizations face all of these problems and more.”

Efforts are beginning:

“The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, under the leadership of Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.) and Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), is undertaking an investigation of the competition in digital markets. In response to a request for comment, the American Library Association submitted detailed information highlighting the impact of market-distorting practices in the digital content industry. On behalf of libraries in every congressional district, the ALA urges the Subcommittee to intensify its activities and calls upon the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to investigate as well.”

Efforts are also progressing at the state level.

We in libraries are fighting powerful monied interests. While RF is no fan of Macmillan’s e-book embargo not of “exploding” timebound licenses, Amazon’s outright refusal to allow access to their “exclusive” content is a far bigger threat to access and preservation , while other streaming survices such as NetFlix compount the problem. If legal barriers to denying access to content can be enacted, libraries and readers might gain equitable access. Those who are homebound or have issues with reading traditional print for a variety of reasons will benefit. And of course, nobody should have to have a credit card or pay by cell phone in order to ensure being an informed citizen. The fight will be difficult. But don’t our readers deserve a supreme effort from us?

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/

Legislative Developments in Library Digital Content

Julie Holden, Assistant Director for Cranston Public Library has posted that the Rhode Island Library Association hosted a roundtable with Congressman David Cicilline. Cicilline, who has been getting notice for his investigation of the tech giants, said “As the Chairman of the House Antitrust Subcommittee leading a bipartisan investigation into the state of competition in the digital marketplace, I’m particularly interested in potentially anticompetitive practices harming libraries and their users, especially in Rhode Island. I’m grateful that the Rhode Island Library Association put together today’s roundtable so we could discuss these issues in detail. I look forward to continuing our work together as the investigation wraps up and legislative fixes are introduced later this year.”

Brianna McNamee, Director of Government Relations & Advocacy for the New York Library Association, notes that Senate Bill S7576 is in the New York Consumer Protection Committee. Sponsored by State Senator Rachel May, the bill has these provisions:

This bill amends the general business law by adding a new section 349-g that requires publishers to offer electronic books to public libraries under reasonable terms. Subsection one establishes definitions for elec- tronic books and publishers. Subsection two requires publishers to offer e-books to libraries on reasonable terms that permit libraries to provide patrons with access to said books. Subsection three defines what shall and shall not constitute reasonable terms for e-book licen- sure. Subsection four deems violations of this section as deceptive practices with applicable remedies. Section 2 sets the effective date.

ReadersFirst thanks Congressman Cicilline and Senator May for their advocacy and hopes for the passage of the legislation in New York. Having legislation in the state where many publishers are located would be a great step towards equity in access to digital content.

Other legislation or legal appeals appear to be in the offing. RF will report on them as details become available.

Follow-Up to two ALA Sessions

Andrew Albanese from Publishers Weekly has a detailed post on “ALA Midwinter 2020: Macmillan CEO John Sargent, Librarians Spar Over E-book Embargo.”

Mr. Albanese objectively reviews the position from both Mr. Sargent and the librarians who came to question him.

In his talk, Sargent insisted the embargo wasn’t designed to “punish” libraries, but was an honest effort to correct what he sees as a troubling, emerging imbalance in the digital marketplace. To restore balance, Sargent told librarians, the publisher had basically two “levers” at its disposal: pricing, and availability. With library e-book prices already high, Sargent said Macmillan executives “did some math” and concluded that tweaking the availability lever seemed worth a shot.

Sargent added that the embargo will continue for now, that it was based in part on data collected from Amazon {probably incuding Amazon data from Kindle use in OverDrive], that librarians will not be able to see the data, but that Macmillan might be open to change at some point.

LIbrarians challenged the accuracy of Sargetn’s claims about the data results, dismissed the comparison of digital and print models, argued for improved access (especially for those with economic need), and suggested Macmillan should work with them on developing an effective license model.

Albanese closes with two points for thought:

. . . the session was useful. Not only did librarians get a better sense of what was motivating Macmillan to explore this change, librarians now have a better sense of what's happening in the market. Many librarians PW talked to said they shared the blame for not engaging the e-book issue with publishers more forcefully in the last few years. And librarians now recognize the broader challenge librarians face: Amazon.

And, as Texas State librarian Mark Smith noted at the end of the session, the embargo also presents an opportunity for librarians to think more deeply and creatively about the library's role in the marketplace.

"Why should librarians rush to develop a new model, to work with you, until we know also what the results of your experiment is going to be? Especially since we don’t see other publishers joining you at this point," Smith asked Sargent, toward the end of the session. "There’s a world of material in libraries besides Big Five content that is pushed by celebrity influencers. I just think that maybe the library community might take this opportunity to see, one, what influence libraries really have in the marketplace, and two what other options we have to provide reading material to our customers."

That last point is perhaps the most noteworthy takeaway of all.

American LIbraries also summarized the #EbooksforAll update session, with notes on ALA advocacy, how to quanitfy library marketing efforts, and a thought from Columbus Metropoloitan LIbrary CEO Patrick Losinski: “Losinski, CEO of Columbus (Ohio) Metropolitan Library System, said Sargent’s Midwinter AMA session was positive first step and that more conversation will ultimately help both sides. “We are very decentralized as a profession on this,” Losinski said. “It’s one of the reasons the change we’ve been trying to advocate has been very slow.”

The time to unite is now!

Digital Book World Enacts an Embargo of Its Own

Digital Book World has enacted an embargo all its own: until Macmilan lifts its embargo of full access to digital content for libraries, Digital Book World has banned Macmillan employees from attending or speaking at the Digital Book World Conference and created a scholrship for librarians to attend as well. Said Bradley Metrock, CEO, Score Publishing:

here's Macmillan CEO John Sargent, who waltzes in to a recent American Library Association conference and dares to hold court with angry and frustrated librarians while failing to prepare in any way for the session. No slides, no data, no nothing. 

As disrespectful as that is by itself, he continues to make the claim that by giving libraries unfettered access to purchase Macmillan titles in digital format, the company would lose money. Amidst a barrage of b-school five-dollar words, he speaks of an imbalance in library lending that is damaging publisher profitability.

It's disingenuous, and it's false. It merits zero further discussion.

Somehow making this stance even dumber is that even if revenue gains were realized from the act of embargoing books from public libraries, that value is instantly outweighed by the PR fallout from all the negative publicity Macmillan has received by taking this action.

It is our absolute privilege to ban all Macmillan employees from attending or speaking at Digital Book World until the company's library embargo is lifted and they fully comply with the requests of the American Library Association. This ban goes into effect immediately for all of Macmillan's many imprints and subsidiaries, as well as for employees of the parent company, Holtzbrinck Publishing Group.

This ban may last for a few days, or it might last fifty years, but we yearn for a time when we hear of major publishers doing nothing with libraries other than graciously partnering with them and showing heartfelt gratitude for cultivating their revenue stream known as lifelong readers. 

Thank you, Mr. Metrock. We at RF yearn for that time, too!

Some Innovative License Models from DPLA

RF sat with Jill Blades and Micah May of DPLA to hear more about some innovative models available through the DPLA Exchange, a non-profit library digital content platform.

“The models came about, “ May explained, “because we asked. The publishers proved to be receptive. They told us, ‘Hmm, nobody ever asked us for that before’.”

First, Workman and now Abrams Books have agreed to variable models through the Exchange:

• A Perpetual Access One-User-at-a-Time model is available

• A 40 lend (only by circ, with no time limit) model is also available. Up to 10 circulations at a time can be simultaneous.

Independent Publishers Group (IPG) is epxected to join with these models in spring, with yet another “sampler” option: libraries will be able to get a 5 lend bundle of titles to gauge interest.

Also worthy of mention is the arrangement with Biblioboard (“Just click and Read!”), under which libraries pay $10 per 20 titles, and the titles are always available, use is simultaneous for all, and the ebooks never expire for the user. 16,000+ titles are available.

The DPLA Exchange is now also offering audiobooks, which will be also available through the SimplyE app sometime in spring or summer, and has vastly exanded its non-English offerings.

As ReadersFirst has long advocated, variable licenses with a perpetual access offering (perhaps slightly more expensive but worth it) and other (metered) options allow us to use our funding most efficiently. We can license based upon demand but still ensure long-term access. Publishers that work with us are likely to find their library sales grow, unsure better long-term visibility for theri titles, and yes, earn money for authors. Thanks to these publishers for their flexibility and for the DPLA for innovating.

More details on the audiobooks as they become available through SimplyE!