The Internet Archive Announces Some Upcoming Events

The Internet Archive has some session announces sessions of interest to librarians, some of them with an European flavor.

July 13

Empowering Libraries Through Controlled Digital Lending
The Internet Archive's Open Libraries program empowers libraries to lend digital books to patrons using Controlled Digital Lending. Attendees will learn how CDL works, the benefits of the Open Libraries program, and the impact that the program is having for partner libraries and the communities they serve. Register here: July 13 @ 9am PT / 12pm ET

July 14
Implementation & Integration: CDL for All Libraries
For the second event in a series about the innovative library practice of Controlled Digital Lending, we'll hear from libraries, consortia, and librarians who are exploring CDL implementations at their institutions and communities with hands on learning around potential and existing solutions. Learn about building institutional CDL policies, user experience for patrons and staff, technological platforms, and how you can get involved with the CDL community. Bring your questions, ideas, and be prepared to dig in!

Cohosted by Library Futures, Internet Archive, Project Reshare, Open Library Foundation, and CDL Implementers. Register: July 14 @ 10am PT / 1pm ET

July 15
eBook Licensing in Europe and the Vanishing Library?
Unaffordable prices, an inability to buy eBooks due to a refusal to sell, bundling of unwanted titles in packages, and restrictions on research copying all affect access to eBooks in all types of libraries.

This session will explore in depth the acute difficulties faced not just by higher education, but also by public libraries, caused by publishers’ pricing and licensing practices, and discuss possible solutions, including the potential to solve many of the problems with legal solutions in copyright law that allow Controlled Digital Lending.

Organized by Knowledge Rights 21 – a new initiative bringing together IFLA, LIBER and SPARC Europe, made possible by Arcadia, a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin.
July 15 @ 9am ET / 3pm CET

July 22
Copyright Public Modernization Committee - Public Forum
The Library is convening a public meeting of the Copyright Public Modernization Committee (CPMC) on July 22 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern to enhance communication and provide a forum for the technology-related aspects of the U.S. Copyright Office’s modernization initiative. The meeting will include an update from Library experts on the development of the Enterprise Copyright System (ECS), a discussion about Copyright IT modernization with the CPMC members and a public Q&A period.
July 22 @ 10am PT / 1pm ET

OverDrive Announces Some HC/HMH Terms

OverDrive has sent out an update on the HC acquisition of HMH.

Earlier this year, HarperCollins completed its acquisition of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. As a result of this acquisition, effective August 1, 2021, ebook titles from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will be available in the Metered Access: 26 checkouts (one user) lending model, a change from their current One Copy/One User lending model for ebooks*.

*Note that this update does not impact titles from Houghton Mifflin College eCommerce, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Education, or Heinemann.

Additional details:

• Any ebook titles purchased from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt before August 1, 2021 will remain in your collection in the One Copy/One User lending model.

• Any ebook preorder titles with a street date of August 1, 2021 or later will be delivered in the Metered Access: 26 checkouts (one user) lending model upon the title’s publication date.

• There are no changes to the lending model for audiobooks from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; they will continue to be available in the One Copy/One User lending model.

• Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will soon begin offering a variety of ebook and audiobook titles in the Cost Per Circ lending model. 

No real surprises here. It’s good that titles acquired under the old terms will remain one copy/one user perpetual access. I hope everyone is stocked up on some of those classics (Tolkien, George Orwell) under the old terms! 

No mention of price here.  We can hope that HC will keep the prices down (and they have been perhaps the most fair of all the Big 5). HMH prices were VERY reasonable. I’d rather pay $13.95 for perpetual access to, say, The Hobbit than that same price for a 26 circ metered license, but at least the license is per circ and not the “exploding” time based license. 1984 was $12.94. That price range for a 26 circ metered license seems reasonable, offering us about what we’d expect from a physical copy of the book and respecting the publishers’ concerns about ebooks being “forever.”

 As for “Houghton Mifflin Harcourt will soon begin offering a variety of ebook and audiobook titles in the Cost Per Circ lending model, ” one comment. Meh. Per circ has been advantageous for publishers and library vendors, not so great for libraries. Give us per circ at $.25 or $.50 on these titles or so and maybe I’ll get a little more excited. At even $.99 per circ, forgetaboutit. I can do better under other terms. On many titles, simultaneous access just ain’t worth paying much more. Maybe if for a limited time, I could pay a set price for unlimited simultaneous downloads, it would be more attractive then pay-per-use on an ongoing basis.

Alan Inouye's Public Policy and Advocacy Updates, 6/5/21

Thanks to ALA Inouye, Senior Director, Public Policy & Government Relations in ALA Washington’s Office, for harvesting relevant items from the vast sea of information. Here’s a partial list of his recent updates:

Upcoming: Next episode of Maryland Library Association’s MLA Conversations, Friday, July 9, 2021 from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. Eastern (Episode 54). Topic: How the ebook public policy landscape is continuing to change. Panelists are Andrea Berstler, Michael Blackwell, and Alan Inouye.

https://www.facebook.com/MDLib

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1pkAokE91LTMdCFU1EScqKCqEz7oHtjAFiK9tL7p1GKeogg/viewform

 Apply for the Emergency Connectivity Fund!

➢ ALA Resources

https://www.ala.org/advocacy/ECF

➢ Library love from the Acting Chairwoman of the FCC Jessica Rosenworcel

https://twitter.com/JRosenworcel/status/1409872727196979203

➢ Our Marijke Visser in the Indianapolis Business Journal talking ECF

https://www.ibj.com/articles/online-outreach

https://twitter.com/AlanSInouye/status/1410951704254861312

Op-eds on library construction/renovation -- Build America's Libraries Act

Everett (Wash.) Herald: https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/comment-local-libraries-key-infrastructure-for-communities/

Buffalo News: https://buffalonews.com/opinion/another-voice-proposed-federal-legislation-would-benefit-erie-countys-public-libraries/article_b2c06354-ba5f-11eb-acba-3f4fcb1e16fe.html

ALA announces Libraries Build Business coaches. Opportunities for free advice on entrepreneurship programs in public libraries, especially in underrepresented groups/communities.

https://www.ala.org/news/member-news/2021/06/ala-announces-libraries-build-business-coaches

Congrats to Jim Neal (ALA Senior Policy Fellow) and Todd Carpenter (Member of ALA Policy Corps) on their appointment to the Library of Congress Copyright Public Modernization Committee.

https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-21-034/library-of-congress-announces-copyright-public-modernization-committee/2021-06-22/

https://twitter.com/AlanSInouye/status/1407651735661862913

ALA joins Communications Workers of America, National League of Cities, SHLB Coalition, and other groups to urge Congress to provide full funding for broadband to meet local needs for decades to come.

https://twitter.com/AlanSInouye/status/1410287696703016967

ALA joins other public interest groups to call on President Biden to fill the vacant seat on the FCC immediately.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/demandprogress/letters/Letter-5th-FCC-Commissioner.pdf

Library of Congress announces the 2021 National Book Festival

https://www.loc.gov/events/2021-national-book-festival/about-this-event/

50th anniversary of ebooks -- facts, benefits, and timeline

https://twitter.com/AlanSInouye/status/1411607894940913664

Competition won't solve the digital divide — communities will (The Hill)

https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/560101-competition-wont-solve-the-digital-divide-communities-will

Rather's "What Unites Us: TGN" in Nevada

In an innovative partnership between publisher, libraries, and content vendor, the graphic novel version of Dan Rather’s What Unites Us is available for 8 weeks to all geo-located in Nevada.

In a press release, Las Vegas Clark-County Library District Executive Director Kelvin Watson welcomed this partnership (disclaimer: Mr. Watson is a member of the RF Working Group): "We are proud to sponsor the availability of this important new graphic novel to all residents of Nevada. It has been a pleasure to collaborate with Macmillan on this project as we explore new ways that public libraries and publishers can work together for our mutual benefit, to create a more accessible culture of reading for all."

Added Brian Heller, Vice President, academic, library, wholesale & international of Macmillan, “"We are very excited about this innovative partnership that brings this important graphic novel to readers in the State of Nevada. I'd like to thank Kelvin Watson of the Las Vegas Clark County Library District, Mitchell Davis of BiblioLabs, and their talented teams for all their efforts in bringing this project to fruition."

BiblioLabs, whose work on innovative licensing terms has been noted before on RF, is demonstrating nice leadership in creating the framework for sharing this content.

Mr. Watson has interviewed Mr. Rather about his book. Watch it here.

RF thanks all for their innovative spirt and expanding access to an important work in a time when the country sorely needs more of “what unites us.” May this event be an intimation of even better things to come for libraries, publishers, and library vendors!

EBookFriendly Celebrates the 50th Anniversary of the Ebook

Piotr Kowalczyk from Warsaw has written to ReadersFirst asking if we intend to write about the 50th anniversary of the ebook. RF’s interest tends towards to improving access to and enhancing the user experience of digital content in libraries today and in the immediate future, but we have found some of Mr. Kowalczyk’s information on this anniversary worthy of reposting.

Here’s his list of the 50 facts from the history of ebooks and audiobooks, including some that are lesser known: ebookfriendly.com/ebooks-audiobooks-facts-history/

Here is his infographic celebrating the 50th Anniversary: ebookfriendly.com/50-years-of-ebooks-timeline-benefits-infographic/

Happy anniversary, ebooks, and thanks, Piotr! RF hopes for many more developments in the next 50 years. For libraries today, it is vital that we work to make sharing digital content more sustainable and easy to access and enjoy for ALL readers, taking advantage of the great capacity of digital to serve accessibility needs. May we all be a part of making the next 50 years even better than the past.

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!