New York Legislation Flies Over First Hurdle

The New York Library Association (NYLA) has tweeted that the “#ebooks4all” bill has passed its first legislative vote: “After a short debate in the Assembly, #EBooks4All passed. Your voice made an impact. In the final hrs of Session, if you haven't yet, reach out to your NYS Senator & urge them to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. Let’s bring #EBooks4All to NY! https://cqrcengage.com/alany/app/write-a-letter?13&engagementId=512017”

RF congratulates NYLA on this important first step. The bill, which will require publishers offering ebooks and digital audio to residents of New York to also offer those titles to libraries under reasonable terms, follows legislation passed in Maryland and re-introduced in Rhode Island. We are pleased that it passed unanimously!

It will help prevent content from being withheld from library readers either completely or for months after printing.

It is unfortunate that such legislation is needed, but we hope these laws will herald a new era of cooperation.

RF strongly encourages all residents of New York to support this important legislation!

OverDrive Will Acquire Kanopy

Kevin Sayar, CEO of Kanopy, has released the following statement:

We are excited to announce that OverDrive, the award-winning industry leader in the library distribution of ebooks, audiobooks, magazines, and more, has entered into an agreement to acquire Kanopy. We believe this transaction will benefit the public and academic library communities, our suppliers, and the patrons, students, and faculty we both serve.

As a primary benefit, we are excited to extend to the OverDrive network all the success and patron engagement of the Kanopy video catalog, apps, and platform providers.

Additional information is forthcoming, but at this time we are unable to provide any details until the close date. In the meantime, Kanopy will continue to operate “business as usual” with no changes to either companies’ operations. Please contact your account representative if you have any questions.

We’ll have to wait to see if this move will result in any changes in service or cost—for example, will Kanopy simply be subsumed into Libby? RF hopes the acquisition will indeed be beneficial in some way for Kanopy subscribers/users

CDL Webinar on June 10

EveryLibrary, the Internet Archive, and Library Futures are sponsoring a webinar on Controlled Digital Lending. It should be an excellent overview for those wanting to learn more about this important practice, or to meet others interested in meeting and talking with innovators in the area.

Controlled Digital Lending (CDL) is a widely used library practice that supports digital lending for libraries of all sizes. Even though CDL is used at hundreds of libraries around the world, questions remain about this important innovation in digital library lending. In this new webinar, we'll be tackling the most commonly asked questions surrounding CDL and answering some of yours. Bring your thoughts and ideas!

Thursday, June 10 @ 9am PT / 12pm ET

Register Now

ALA Joint Digital Content Working Group Position Paper Released

The ALA has put out a press release on a position paper by the ALA Joint Digital Content Working Group (JDCWG). it says, among other things, the following:

CHICAGO - “The Need for Change: A Position Paper on E-Lending by the ALA Joint Digital Content Working Group” examines digital lending in public, academic, and K-12 school libraries. The paper notes current and long-standing challenges in digital content lending and the issues that complicate acquisition of, user access to, and preservation of digital information.

The pandemic continues to fuel increased demand for digital content and has highlighted the importance of digital media within U.S. libraries.  

As patrons continue to discover and rely on digital content, libraries continue their fight for fair pricing, multiple licensing models, and full access to digital content.

Current publisher licensing models impede library purchases and create information barriers that leave patrons who depend on digital library collections for education and enrichment with long waits or, worse yet, searches that yield no results.

Publishers’ limited licensing models are not the only barriers impeding robust collections. The paper also identifies issues with content provider platforms that cannot support multiple license models simultaneously, even if publishers offer options.  

The paper serves as a call to action for publishers to offer licensing models that are cost-effective and flexible and for library digital content providers to revamp platforms to support flexible licensing models, robust collections and enhance accessibility features.

Additional information about the Joint Digital Working Group committee and “The Need for Change: A Position Paper on E-Lending by the ALA Joint Digital Content Working Group,” is available at http://www.ala.org/tools/librariestransform/working-group-libraries-and-digital-content .

Your humble correspondent is a member of the JDCWG and can give a bit of background. The paper was started last August, went though many revisions based upon criticism from group members, and was finished last December. I would have preferred it to be released much earlier, but it took time to clear the ALA at various levels and it was decided to release it prior to ALA Annual. The paper explores issues and takes stands that RF has long held. We encourage reading of the report and advocacy for its positions.

Maryland Digital Content Legislation Becomes Law

As report in PW by Andrew Albanese and LJ by Matt Enis, Maryland HB518/SB432 have become law, though without the governor’s signature.

Your humble correspondent suggested this legislation (based upon models provided last year by New York and Rhode Island), advised the Maryland Library Intergovernmental Relations Committee on talking points, and provided oral testimony. Obviously, I don’t have an unbiased view on the legislation. My take on it is that, if anything, it is quite mild. It could have said publishers should to license to libraries at the far lower costs offered to consumers. It could have established the right to create permanent digital preservation copies of what we have licensed. It could have suggested that books not available under license be legally permitted to libraries that owned print copies under controlled digital lending. But we kept the legislation modest to seem reasonable and passable. Legislators might not have been willing to interfere in the market on specific terms. We didn’t want it too complex. We just want access for Maryland (and by extension, all) readers. The publishers remain in charge of dictating terms.

My hope, however, is that the legislation will lead publishers to share content under mutually agreeable terms and avoid restrictive practices such as “windowing.” If a publisher were not to comply, we’d likely try a media campaign. The law would be a last resort. But it is in place. Just in case. Let’s hope for mutually beneficial relationships and a future without litigation.

Amazon Publishing Partners with DPLA to Share Content

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) released important library digital content news today:

Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is pleased to announce that we have signed an agreement with Amazon Publishing to make all of the approximately 10,000 Amazon Publishing ebooks and audiobooks available to libraries and their patrons through the DPLA Exchange, the only not-for-profit, library-centered content marketplace. This marks the first time that ebooks from Amazon Publishing have been made available to libraries. Like our previous publisher arrangements, this agreement furthers our mission to expand equitable access to ebooks and audiobooks while protecting library patron privacy.

Amazon Publishing titles will begin to be available in the DPLA Exchange via four licensing models this summer; we expect that libraries will be able to access all of the Amazon Publishing titles by the end of the year:

• Unlimited, one user at a time access, two-year license

• Bundles of 40 lends, available with a maximum of 10 simultaneously, with no time limit to use the lends

• Bundles of five lends, available simultaneously, with no time limit to use the lends

• 26 lends, one user at a time access, the lesser of two years or 26 lends license

Library patrons will be able to access Amazon Publishing titles through SimplyE, the library-developed and managed e-reader app founded by New York Public Library. Amazon Publishing is now one of more than 1,000 publishers in the DPLA Exchange and one of more than two dozen with whom we are working to provide libraries greater choice and flexibility in ebook lending models. As with other publishers that we work with, Amazon will not receive any patron data. We will have more news about the growth of our collaborative ebooks work in the coming weeks—sign up for the DPLA Newsletter to hear about it. In the meantime, you can learn more about our ebooks work here, browse the Exchange here, and find answers to frequently asked questions here. If your library would like to become a member of the DPLA Exchange, or if you have questions about our ebooks work, please get in touch.
DPLA’s ebook work is supported by The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Lots of great news here though of course RF, like Oliver Twist, has an irritating habit of asking for more:

• The multiple flexible models offer options for libraries to best use their funds. The two year license might work wonderfully for guaranteed best sellers, offering perhaps as many as 52 to 55 circulations since no circ limit is in place. The 40 circ model offers a good idea of cost-per-use on perhaps less popular titles. Bundles of 5 could give the option to sample a new or more marginal purchase to see if it is a good candidate for further investment. It is to be hoped that a concurrent use model might be developed to allow for community reads. The only important option missing is a perpetual access model, which would make sure long-lasting titles did not have to be relicensed and prevent gaps from appearing in series. Guess we can’t have everything. DPLA and Amazon are to be complimented for providing options—and this sets a good precedent for other publisher to consider. We’ll have to wait to see prices before proclaiming this the best deal currently offered by a larger publisher, but definitely an A for now!

• Titles are available in epub and not a proprietary format (such as Kindle) and patron data is kept private. Excellent, and very much in line with our RF principles. Thank you, Amazon, for agreeing to this option.

• That the titles are available at all! Amazon has leapt from seeming recalcitrant to being a good partner with libraries. Critics might point out that only being available through the DPLA Exchange, and thus only through SimplyE, restricts access from many libraries. Well have to see if this is Amazon dipping in a toe or if this exclusive arrangement is long-term. Yes, Amazon benefits either way. This move will silence potential complaints, at least from the library perspective, that they are monopolistic. And it will put them in compliance with pending legislation in Maryland, and soon perhaps other states, that suggests publishers licensing to consumers must also license to libraries. That legislation only suggests the titles must be made available to libraries. It doesn’t say that titles must be made universally available through all vendors. Maryland State Library is a proud SimplyE adopter and has DPLA Exchange content. Amazon is in the clear with us.

Andrew Albanese of PW has pointed out that this deal is a “major coup” for SimplyE and the DPLA exchange. Possibly it will create even more interest in “the one app to rule them all.” RF hopes so. As the app that most closely exemplifies RF principles, we are always happy to see SimplyED be investigated and we hope, adopted. The DPLA Exchange is free to use. SimplyE can be deployed at relatively little cost by Amigos, Califa, or Lyrasis. Is it time for your library to add Amazon Publishing to your other digital offerings, using SimplyE to launch it and also content from your other platforms?

BookLife Elite From Publishers Weekly

Biblioboard has announced a partnership with Publishers Weekly to call attention to indie-published titles. RF calls attention to this partnership in hopes of promoting diversity in readership and out of recognition of Biblioboard’s efforts to establish a sustainable library ebook model:

For years, Publishers Weekly has been guiding libraries when it comes to their collection development. Now, in response to the increased need for sustainable eBook programs along with the new partnership between BiblioBoard/Indie Author Project and Publishers Weekly, we’ve launched the BookLife Elite collection which showcases the best of the best indie-published titles from PW. This initial 50 title collection is available for purchase on OverDrive, DPLA/SimplyE, and cloudLibrary in an unlimited, simultaneous-use environment—a sustainable model for libraries.

The BookLife Elite collection by Publishers Weekly was created as a way to expand the work we’re already doing with our Indie Author Project Select collection and bring even more great indie reads to libraries across North America and beyond. The collection features top indie-published eBooks spanning a variety of genres with selections from PW Star Reviews, BookLife Prize winners and runner-ups, and BookLife Reviews Editor’s Picks. Learn more about the project and partnership here.

These titles provide good reading and deserve wider audiences, and unlimited simultaneous use at reasonable rates is certainly a good way to help with that. Libraries need the usual best sellers, of course, but providing those in a sustainable way is increasingly a challenge. Let’s work to be influencers and hep readers discovery new talent!

Macmillan Extends Its Content Use Guidelines Through September 30, 2021

RF applauds Macmillan for supporting easier access to programming content by librarians during the pandemic:

New York, NY (May 10, 2021) – Macmillan Publishers announced that it will extend its Content Use Guidelines for Teachers, Librarians, and Parents through September 30, 2021. 

Under the program, teachers and librarians can live stream or post videos reading Macmillan children's books to their students, and authors can livestream or post videos reading their children's books, provided it is done on a noncommercial basis. 

All educators, librarians, and parents who want to participate in the program can learn more here. 

Contact: 

Erin D. Coffey

646-307-5417, erin.coffey@macmillan.com

At the risk of seeming never to be satisfied, RF hopes that even after the pandemic, librarians might under strict guidelines continue to have this opportunity.

ALA Asks for Your Help

RF encourages all to take action to support libraries!

The deadline for your legislators in the Senate to sign onto the Dear Appropriator letters is next Friday, May 7. Thanks to your advocacy, the House letters, which closed on April 23, 2021, gathered over 100 signatures each! 

Will you contact your Senators and urge them to sign on today? (If your legislators have already signed onto the letters, they will receive a 'Thank You' note. See if your Senators have signed here.)

Take Action Now

ALA has recently launched our FY2022 #FundLibraries Campaign. Our campaign website hosts a helpful collection of advocacy resources, including the one-page introduction to federal library funding, state-by-state library factsheets to share with your elected officials, and a handy visual guide on the overall federal appropriations process.

The Dear Appropriator letters are circulated to all Members of Congress by library champions in the House and Senate to rally colleagues in support of library funding before the appropriations budgets are negotiated. The FY2022 budget will include the designated amounts that the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) will be able to grant to libraries through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA), along with the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) grant program through the U.S. Department of Education, which supports school libraries and other literacy-related organizations. For FY2022, we are asking congressional appropriators to include funding of at least $206 million for LSTA and $50 million for IAL. Please contact your legislators today!

Thank you so much for your continued advocacy, 
ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Team

Contact Us
ALA Public Policy & Advocacy Office
1615 New Hampshire Ave NW, 1st Floor
Washington, D.C. 20009-2520
Phone: (202) 628-8410Subscribe
Ready to take action?
Subscribe to our Action Center.

BISG hosts The Library-Publisher Relationship: Increasing Readership Through Collaboration

On May 4, 1 PM Eastern Time, Book Industry Study Group is sponsoring a panel discussion that may be of interest to those engaged with library digital content.

The Library-Publisher Relationship: Increasing Readership Through Collaboration

BISG is pleased to convene a conversation about the symbiotic relationship between libraries and book publishers. Libraries and publishing companies share the same goals: increasing audience and serving readers. We’ll be exploring ways that all can optimize processes and improve partnerships.

What do libraries wish publishers knew? What do book publishers wish libraries knew? How might the two segments work together more efficiently to benefit library patrons and those who support them?

From metadata to marketing, author events and seasonal offerings, communication and collaboration, we’ll hear some common pain points and potential solutions from experts on both sides of the equation. 

RF hopes that this might be a chance for an open conversation on implementing flexible digital content license models.

Register here

RF has bene told there is a $25 registration fee. RF does not benefit.