Seattle Public Joins "Books Unbanned"

RF thanks Seattle Public Library for joining the Books Unbanned initiative.

Their webpage beings thusly: “Teens and young adults ages 13 to 26 living anywhere in the U.S. can access our entire collection of e-books and audiobooks. We believe in your right to read what you want, discover yourself and form your own opinions. Fill out the simple form at the bottom of this page to get a Books Unbanned card.”

The page goes on with encouragement to readers to read what they want, to form their own opinions and get involved, and with FAQ’s

Readers may join both Brooklyn and Seattle programs, if they wish, to get the greatest variety of titles to choose from.

Neither will ever tell anyone who is in the program or what each person is reading.

Digital books are a censor’s dream. Imagine being able to shut down access to thousands of titles at once. Yikes! But they are also a powerful arrow in the quiver of those fighting for the right to read. Censors may ban in libraries locally, but anyone with internet access cannot be stopped from reading what they like—paid for by libraries for the good of readers.

We cannot cease from effort while banners challenge fundamental democratic rights. The digital divide guarantees that many will not have access to Books Unbanned, even through their local library many not be able to offer print versions of titles. Start by telling Congress to support the Right to Read Act. Fighting for the right to read is democratic. Censorship is authoritarian. Fighting to teach the truth of our history is brave and even patriotic. Fighting to enforce narrow-minded and small-hearted ideologies is cowardly and undermines the Constitution. The battle is that clear and that important. We cannot afford to lose.

A Busy Week In Congress

Thank you to Alan Inouye, Senior Director, Public Policy & Government Relations and Interim Associate Executive Director, for an update on a busy week for legislation in Congress:

Right to Read Act of 2023

Sen. Reed and Rep. Grijalva introduced the Right to Read Act of 2023 on Wednesday. This bill would highlight the importance of certified school librarians in schools and increase the authorization for funding beneficial to school libraries. Additionally, the legislation also protects the Constitutional rights of students to access information in school libraries, extend liability protections to teachers and school librarians, and improve federal statistics on school libraries.

Reed release, Grijalva release, and ALA release.

Prison Libraries Act of 2023

On Tuesday, Reps. Emanuel Cleaver, II, Sheila Jackson Lee, and Shontel Brown introduced the Prison Libraries Act of 2023. This legislation would establish a new program to provide grants to state prisons to create or develop libraries.

Cleaver/Jackson Lee/Brown release.

ALA release.

More Social Workers (MSWs) in Public Libraries Act

On Friday, the More Social Workers (MSWs) in Libraries Act was introduced by Rep. Sylvia Garcia with Reps. Barbara Lee and Hillary Scholten. It would create a grant program that places social work interns and qualified social workers in public libraries.

Garcia release.

Garcia bill H.R. 3006 (text not posted as of May 1 afternoon)

Garcia tweet.

Resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives introduced by Rep. Pramila Jayapal

Expressing support for the staff of this Nation's public, school, academic, and special libraries and the essential services they provide to our communities, recognizing the need for funding commensurate with the broad scope of social services and community supports provided by libraries, preserving the right of all citizens to freely access information and resources in their communities, supporting a strong union voice for library workers, and defending the civil rights of library staff.

Jayapal release.

Jayapal resolution.

Many Members of Congress went public about libraries and National Library Week, which you can find on PPA’s twitter at @LibraryPolicy. Here are a few notables:

Video message from Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (West Virginia)

Video message from Rep. Joe Morelle (New York)

Remarks from the House Floor by Rep. Sylvia Garcia (Texas)

Garcia remarks in the Congressional Record

Finally, ALA PPA held a briefing on Capitol Hill on Friday, on Libraries Build Business: Entrepreneurship and Economic Opportunity. This briefing was held in the Rayburn House Office Building and sponsored by Rep. Thomas Kean Jr. of New Jersey. The panelists were Corianne Rice (National League of Cities); Anna Lucas (U.S. Small Business Administration); Radwa Ali (Roxbury (N.J.) Public Library); Adriana McCleer (Appleton (Wisc.) Public Library).  From the event: Photo1, Photo2, Photo3, and Photo4.

Whew!

Alan

Upcoming Events at Library Futures (and elsewhere)

Our partners at Library Futures have announced some interesting webinars, coming soon to a screen near you. Hope to “see” you at them.

The Athena Unbound Discussion

Information is meant to be shared, and scholarly knowledge is meant to be free. Join Peter Baldwin and our new Research Manager Michelle Reed on May 4 as they discuss Peter’s new book Athena Unbound: Why and How Scholarly Knowledge Should be Free. Register here.

Come Learn with Us!

We are thrilled to introduce our new Library Futures Learning Circles! Join our community and build your expertise in everything from Controlled Digital Lending to Introducing Ebook Legislation in Your State to Negotiation Tactics to Fighting Book and Database Challenges. We’ll kick things off in May with “Ask a Lawyer!” Learn more

Ask a Lawyer

Can you digitize a thing? Can you lend a digitized thing? What the heck is a transformative use anyway? Meredith Rose from Public Knowledge kicks off our first Learning Circle on May 11 at 3:30 PM ET. Come for an casual hour of conversation and empower yourself to answer your own library legal questions! Reserve your spot

Visit the OCEAN!

From the Internet Archive and CDL to Andy Warhol and fair use (with stops for digital preservation rights, sharing collections online, and the Communications Decency Act), the Open Copyright Education Advisory Network’s spring series has you covered for smart talk with smart people. Register today (RF sez, lots of interesting sessions—check it out.)

LF’s Moment of Inspiration: Let’s celebrate the right to repair—and the right to digital ownership!

Digital ownership isn't just important to libraries--it's also crucial to the right to repair. Our friends @iFixit have the lowdown on Colorado's new right-to-repair bill for farmers.

Own your tractors; own your ebooks!

Alan Inouye's Policy and Advocacy Updates

ALA Senior Director of Public Policy & Government Relations Alan Inouye has released his recent on policy and advocacy. Thanks Alan!

Upcoming: It is National Library Week! Look for multiple library developments in Congress, the Unite Against Book Bans initiative, telecom policy submissions to federal agencies, and more--on @librarypolicy twitter.

Upcoming:  University of Maryland iSchool/ALA Lecture Series. ALA President Lessa Pelayo-Lozada and COL member Joe Thompson speak about the future of libraries & the profession on Thursday, Apr 27 @ 6pm Eastern

https://ischool.umd.edu/events/umd-info-presents-the-ala-lecture-series/

 Upcoming:  Friday, Apr 28, noon, Capitol Hill, 2168 Rayburn House Office Building.  ALA PPA sponsors policy discussion (includes lunch) on the role of our nation’s libraries in strengthening small business and entrepreneurship in their communities. Come join us!

RSVP: https://airtable.com/shrXBUIK0K6BAzl2p. Questions to Jim Takeshita, jtakeshita@alawash.org.

 Upcoming: A Rally for the Right to Read! SAVE THE DATE - Thurs., June 22, 2023 evening, on the eve of the 2023 ALA Annual Conference in Chicago.  Let's come together in solidarity against censorship. Join us at the Unite Against Book Bans event & reception, celebrating the courage & resilience of America's librarians. Details to come. https://twitter.com/ALALibrary/status/1649563710225018881

 CBS Sunday Morning:  War of words: The fight over banning books. Features ALA OIF director Deborah Caldwell-Stone and librarians from Brooklyn and Norman, Oklahoma.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/war-of-words-the-fight-over-banning-books/

 ALA announces new cadre of the ALA Policy Corps focused on book banning and censorship

https://twitter.com/LibraryPolicy/status/1644352744558346243

https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/04/ala-launches-policy-corps-cadre-proactive-advocacy-book-banning

Op-ed by PPA Senior Fellow Chris Harris: "Support Your Local Librarians By Rejecting Book Bans"

https://twitter.com/AlanSInouye/status/1649784338223857669

https://buckscountybeacon.com/2023/04/support-your-local-librarians-by-rejecting-book-bans/

 ALA joins leading public interest groups and corporations to promote unlicensed spectrum in letter to NTIA.

https://twitter.com/AlanSInouye/status/1646955005302153217

https://twitter.com/WifiForward/status/1646881934973235200

 "Keeping Up with Digital Equity Funding," ACRL Keeping Up With blog, by ALA PPA consultant Michelle Frisque and Kara Malenfant of ACRL.

https://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/keeping_up_with/digital_equity_funding

NEWS AND ARTICLES AND MISC

 Rep. Cleaver Calls on Governor Parson to Protect Funding for Missouri Libraries

https://cleaver.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/rep-cleaver-calls-governor-parson-protect-funding-missouri-libraries

PRH Make Pandemic Models Permanent

Sorry not to post this news sooner. Many in libraries will already be aware, but Penguin Random House’s “temporary” models, put in place during the pandemic, have become permanent. One year licenses, as well as the standard two-year for ebooks and perpetual access for audiobooks, and pay-per-use models will now remain in place.

RF hopes that PRH might return to a perpetual access option for ebooks (go ahead and charge a higher price than for two-year metered). Still, we are grateful to PRH for offering options. The one-year license has proven valuable for cost savings on best-sellers that (as many do) have a time of more limited popularity.

Lest anyone think RF is just a bunch of carping critics, we wish to say it: Every little bit helps—thanks, PRH!

The EBook Study Group is Live!

The AAP and various affiliates have promulgated lots of disinformation—well, okay, lies—about library efforts to get fair library digital content licensing from the large publishers. (As always, thanks to the many, many medium, small, and indie publishers that do give us a fair deal and that have no worries about any state ebook bill/law). They claim that librarians are tools of “Big Tech.” They say we are out to destroy copyright and impoverish authors. They threaten state legislators with being the “Next Maryland”—that is, with a lawsuit over ebook bills, even though the existing bills are based on grounds other than the old Maryland law and the AAP knows it. One might expect better than the sort of thing that would do a Russian troll farm proud from groups that represent the publishers. If so, one would be sadly disappointed. Big 5 folks, are you ever disgusted by your Myrmidons’ tactics?

Kyle Cortney and Juliya Ziskina, copyright experts, with supporting organizations Library Futures, EveryLibrary Institute, the Authors Alliance, Connecticut Library Association, Massachusetts Library Association, and ReadersFirst (you know that was coming), have established the Ebook Study Group. The website sets out the problem that libraries face (using in part data from ReadersFirst, with special thanks to Carmi Parker), explain library efforts to confront unfair terms (including a useful bill tracker), dispel misconceptions, and invite your stories.

It is a must-see for all librarians, state (and, yes, federal) legislators, and the reading public.

ReadersFirst joins the call to action:

We encourage every librarian and community member to take the following steps:

Connect with state library organizations and legislative committees. Reach out to us if you need help finding contact information or making those connections.

Take action in supporting the bills in your state. Contact your local representatives to voice your support. Start or sign a petition in support of bills in your state.

If you do not already have an active bill in your state, contact local representatives and let them know you want to see one introduced.

Voice your support for eBook Study Group. Contact us to have your story posted on our website!

The publishers’ minions have made it clear that they will not only defend whatever unfair terms the publishers ask under copyright laws that are unbalanced for libraries and the public but also constantly seek to undermine rights that libraries have. Now is the time to act. We don’t have their huge budget to lobby, but, with your voice, we can make a difference.

U.S. libraries seem to spend somewhere between $425 to $520 million a year for digital content access. The exact number is difficult to determine. More granular statistics are needed. Publishers, aren’t we customers too? Why so unfair when we give you even more in far-less-costly print?

Ellen Paul on Connecticut's Ebook Bill

Ellen Paul, Executive Director of the CT Library Consortium, has penned an excellent opinion piece on Connecticut’s Digital Content Law. Using comparisons to things lay reader would know, she makes a strong case for why the law is needed there (and in fact everywhere). Here are some excerpts, but do read the whole piece.

“Imagine if the Department of Transportation had to pay four to six times more than your neighborhood driveway contractor for asphalt. Now imagine if all our roads completely disappeared after two years and the DOT had to build them all over again.”

“Sounds crazy, right? But those are the terms and conditions that public libraries across Connecticut are forced to accept every day – not for asphalt of course, but for eBooks.”

“Let’s remember who is paying these prices: taxpayers. Public libraries support their collections, at least in part, with municipal dollars.”

“Normally, when the state or a municipality buys anything from pencils to asphalt, they go through a procurement process to ensure that taxpayer funds are being spent responsibly. Somehow, publishers have been able to skirt procurement law for the last 20 years. Librarians in Connecticut are asking for that to change.”

“Some bills raised in other states failed because they bumped up against federal copyright law. But Connecticut’s bills are different. They set contract terms.”

“Think about California’s gas mileage requirements for cars. California isn’t telling Ford that they MUST sell cars to California. They’re saying that if Ford WANTS to sell cars to California, they need to adhere to certain terms and conditions California sets. That is what Connecticut’s eBook bills are attempting to do: regulate an out-of-control library eBook marketplace. Libraries spend municipal, state and federal dollars on eBooks. The state absolutely has the authority to ensure that these dollars are responsibly spent.”

“Libraries in Connecticut are asking the state for help. Not just for libraries, not just for readers, but for every Connecticut taxpayer who deserves a better return on their investment.”

Hear hear! Well said! Let us point out, as always, that any medium and small publishers already offer fair terms. They have nothing to fear from our state ebook efforts. To publishers that jack up library prices, perhaps with the aim of making access difficult while benefitting from reader discovery of books through us, we say enough! And our legislators and voters are going to be saying it, too.

A Must-read Paper From Harvard

Why is this seemingly commonsense sentence so very important? “nothing . . . prevents a library or archives from participating in interlibrary arrangements.”

Why is it so important for libraries to put a copyright notice on photocopiers?

How is a “coursepack” different from a library “reserve,” and why is that important?

Many librarians—most?—could use a basic primer on copyright as it applies to libraries. In 2023’s "The Publisher Playbook: A Brief History of the Publishing Industry’s Obstruction of the Library Mission,” Kyle Courtney and Juliya Ziskina have not only produced a readable account but also a spirted celebration of how U.S. courts have largely stood up for fair use in support of libraries against ongoing efforts by publishers to control access and restrict fair use.

In light of continued efforts to control basic library function in the digital age and to price libraries out of the digital market with unfair license terms, this work is a must-read for librarians who want to understand how and why we need to fight for continued access today.

Find a link to it here.

Two Ebook Bill Hearings

RF is pleased that despite lobbying efforts against them, two bills setting out terms for fair library ebook license terms are sailing nicely through state legislatures.

When provided with the facts, legislators understand the lack of fairness.

It is important to note that despite implications to the contrary, these bills are not the same as the Maryland law and not unconstitutional under copyright preemption. We learned from the Maryland hearing. The bills don’t mandate that the publishers set certain prices. They only suggest that publishers must follow state laws if they wish to do library ebook business in these states. The publishers are free not to negotiate and not to do business in the states. States rightfully regulate any number of terms for doing business to protect consumers—and libraries are consumers.

As reported by Ken Dixon, Connecticut lawmakers understand the issue:

Both Republicans and Democrats on the Planning and Development Committee agreed it is time to redraw contract terms.

"This bill is absolutely critical to our towns," said state Rep. Eleni Kavros DeGraw, D-Simsbury, co-chairwoman of the committee. "It is unconscionable to me that I can buy a book, a best-seller for say $10 or $14 when I use a Kindle or an iPad, but libraries that are only get to get two years or 26 uses out of a book that they purchased to make available to patrons online, they're going to pay sometimes five times what that best-seller cost. This is limiting them in the number of books they can purchase. It's limiting them in the expansion of an online library. I think the more that people learn about this situation, the more-outraged they become about just how these publishing companies are really hurting the towns."

"It is about fundamental fairness," said Rep. Joseph Zullo, R-East Haven.

"This legislation wouldn't have been necessary if the publishers weren't charging such ridiculous rates for these books," said Sen. Ryan Fazio of Greenwich, who along with Zullo is a top Republican on the committee. "I didn't go into this bill expecting to support it necessarily, but the prices on the eBooks are so ridiculously high and orders of magnitude higher than the physical books, this legislation wouldn't be advanced if they just were acting in a more reasonable fashion. And I am a major free-market guy."

Listen yourself, if you like, here at the times helpfully set out by the Connecticut Library Association here. Props to Ellen Paul, executive director of the Connecticut Library Consortium, for this explanation: "We're saying if you would like to participate, these are the terms and conditions. It's like the Connecticut DOT paying six times more for asphalt than a general contractor and every two years seeing the road disappear."

Meanwhile in Hawaii, State Librarian Stacey Aldrich reports to RF that HB1412 passed the Senate Education Committee after amendments to remove Academic, Special, and Research libraries (by request) and adding language to say that the law would only apply to future contracts. As previously reported, the bill is carefully constructed to avoid copyright and grounded in state consumer and procurement. See the testimony here. Props to Ms. Aldrich Librarian for the careful explanations (starting at 11:56 of the testimony) of how the bill is not about copyright and for the clear specific examples of how the current licensing practices disadvantage library readers and all taxpayers.

The publishers seem to be doing well enough with the print prices they charge, and libraries buy far more in print than in digital. Print or digital, these are books. All we want are fair and sustainable prices for books. RF is pleased that the legislators in these states understand. We look forward to the bills passing into law. The publishers’ lobbyists may well try to block them in courts, but they’ll have to find something other than copyright to be successful. We wish them the same luck they are having this far in blocking the bills in these two states.

Oppose H.R. 5: Turn Back Censorship Efforts

From the ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Team:

This week, the U.S. House of Representatives will vote on a dangerous bill that would pave the way to more censorship in school libraries. Please call your Representative today and ask them to vote NO.

Call My Rep Now!

The bill is H.R. 5, the so-called “Parents Bill of Rights Act.” While the title might sound good, librarians know not to judge a book by its cover.

H.R. 5 would open the door to more book bans targeting local school libraries. Specifically, it would require schools that receive federal funding to give parents a list of books in their child’s school library and create a process for parents to view them on request.

Obviously, parents should be able to know what is in their kid’s school library. And they already can. This is already standard local practice, and if a parent wants to know more about the school library, they can just ask. We don’t need a federal regulation for this.

But if it became law – especially now, in a climate of unprecedented censorship efforts targeting libraries and schools – H.R. 5 would be weaponized by the people who want to ban even more books.

Tell My Rep to Vote NO on H.R. 5

Let’s be clear: even if the House passes H.R. 5, it’s expected to go right into the shredder in the Senate. Nonetheless, Representatives need to know that any time legislation threatens to expand censorship, library advocates will stand up to oppose it.

Please call your Rep. TODAY – it only takes two minutes and we provide suggested talking points.

P.S. Follow @LibraryPolicy and @UABookBans for further updates.