A Student Asks for Help With an EBook Study

Hyba Ouazzani of Cardiff Metropolitan University in Wales has asked ReadersFirst for help in bringing attention to a survey. ReadersFirst is always interested in promoting research and so posts the following:

“As part of my programme requirements, I am undertaking a study on the viability of enhanced fiction ebooks in the digital publishing industry.

A large part of my research will be based on survey responses from readers of fiction from all over the world, and I was hoping that, as your organization works with ebooks and making them more accessible and available to libraries, you could share my survey with the Readers First staff and/or community by sharing the following link: https://forms.gle/fJ3gBtdebMMrNuuv5 It would be invaluable to my research efforts.

The survey is in English and can be shared via whatever channels you deem most appropriate. I do not require any mailing lists or other contact information; you can share it at your discretion with members of your community and/or staff who you feel might be interested in responding to the survey.

Participants will have the choice of receiving a copy of my eerie suspense ebook, Apartment, as a thank-you gift at the end of the survey.”

Participants will receive information about how the data collected will be used, how respondents’ privacy will be maintained, and the rights of participants to withdraw from the study. An ethics approval for this study is available.

RF wishes Ms. Ouazzani success with her studies and will post the results of this survey should she decide to share them.

A New Iteration of Library Simplified: The Palace Project

The Knight Foundation has provided a generous grant to The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) and Lyrasis to launch the Palace Project. Built upon the open source Library Simplified architecture, it will be a new iteration of “the one app to rule them all”: content will launch from other platforms, including OverDrive, Baker & Taylor, Bibliotheca, and of course the DPLA’s own Content Exchange (now including Amazon Publishing titles, which are expect to be available in July), and Lyrasis’ new acquisition and partner, Biblioboard.

This development is significant because it shows that Library Simplified is growing. The pioneering New York Public Library is continuing to deploy an iteration of the app, and will be concentrating more on deployment in the New York area. Amigos and Califa are also deploying the app, as is State Of Georgia Library on its own. The new version of the app will launch in fall. We can expect the development of significant branding tools and help sheets (printable but mostly digital) for tech and patron use support.

ReadersFirst hails this development. The Palace Project harkens back to Carnegie’s vision of libraries as “Palaces for the People.” The name honors our profession’s tradition of inclusion of resources for many but transfigures any “elitist” connotation of the term palace by foregrounding libraries’ democratic mission to serve all as well as we can—in this case, getting content across many platforms to provide the easiest and most private patron experience. Library Simplified is the best example yet of an effort that realizes ReadersFirst principles, getting all content from one place, avoiding proprietary formats, being easy to use, and protecting patron information from outside entities.

Libraries that keep the first version of Library Simplified, SimplyE, will still be able to have DPLA accounts and access its unique content and variable license models. DPLA accounts remain free and (we can hope!) may soon be offering even more unique content from vendors that have not hitherto worked with libraries. With more developmental resources behind it, Palace may become an interesting option, especially for libraries interested in allowing readers to find all (or at least most) of their ebooks and digital audiobooks in one app.

RF hopes that the ability of the app to respond to accessibility commands will be enhanced even more.

DPLA has issued an invite to learn more: “We’ll be sharing more about The Palace Project at an open Coffee Chat on July 7th at 1 pm ET, please join us.”

PLA Statement to Vendors

The Board of the Public Library Association has released a statement to various library vendors encouraging the enhancement of their platforms to handle multiple and flexible models. Many library stakeholders, including ReadersFirst, have advocated with publishers, and many have responded. It won’t do us any good for publishers to offer the models if the library vendors can’t support them. The entire text of the statement is below. RF thanks PLA leadership for its advocacy!

On behalf of the Public Library Association board and our XXXX members, thank you for your work with publishers and public libraries to provide digital content to our communities across the country.  As you know, eLending has grown significantly during the pandemic and over the past decade, and public libraries are committed to improving digital content access to cultivate a love of reading and exploration today and into the future.

We need your help. Specifically, public library leaders would like more ways to buy eContent – which could be a real opportunity to sell more eContent. To make this possible, we are asking all eLending content aggregators to enable multiple lending models and display them together all in one place. Each title ideally will show a:

·         Metered‐access option (sequential loans, lower price point)

·         Perpetual use option (sequential loans, higher price point)

·         Concurrent use option (concurrent loans, priced by individual loan)

 Multiple lending models help libraries optimize their collection budgets and meet diverse community needs according to library policies and the anticipated life cycle for a title. Enabling concurrent use for community reading events, for example, with one title while pursuing a metered-access license for trying out new or lesser-known authors enhance our ability to serve our diverse readers. The ALA Joint Digital Content Working Group identified multiple licensing models as a change that can significantly benefit public libraries and readers, and [LC1] this letter to you is an effort to realize this change.

We appreciate that aggregators may only implement multiple lending models if publishers enable these licenses, so we are advocating directly with publishers, as well. Many medium or smaller publishers are amenable, and one of the Big 5 [LC2] is offering multiple models at least until the end of the year. We need both the licensing options and the acquisition platforms to support these options to enable choice for libraries and our readers. Library choice and user-friendly interfaces to access diverse content will be key drivers for determining future investments by public libraries related to digital content.

Thank you for your work with public library leaders to cultivate readers and lifelong learning through your products. We appreciate your consideration and look forward to your reply.

Warm regards,

 Michelle Jeske

PLA President

Kelvin Watson

PLA Board member

ALA DCWG Co-chair

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.

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?