muggle not Posted November 27, 2019 Share Posted November 27, 2019 As many of you know, I am a strong supporter of libraries. North Carolina has one of the better library systems in the U.S. I believe. Recently though one of the big book publishers, Macmillan Publishers, has gotten greedy and is hurting our library system. Read on: November 19, 2019 North Carolina Digital Library Why the North Carolina Digital Library will stop buying eBooks from Macmillan Publishers Effective immediately, North Carolina Digital Library will suspend eBook purchases from Macmillan Publishers. Librarians want Macmillan to stop its new eBook embargo, which began November 1. Under this embargo, the library is able to buy just one copy of each new eBook during the first two months after a new title is released — the peak time for reader demand. The goal of Macmillan’s policy is to make more money by creating barriers for people accessing library eBooks. The North Carolina Digital Library is a consortium of 23 municipal, county, and regional public library systems throughout the state with nearly 2.5 million borrows annually. Libraries pool limited funds to increase access to downloadable eBooks, audiobooks, and magazines to readers across the state in partnership with Overdrive and the Libby app. Until now, the library has purchased Macmillan eBooks at nearly four times their retail price, with a plan to purchase one copy of an eBook for every five borrowers who request that title. The suspension will last until Macmillan cancels their embargo or until we revisit this discussion with member libraries in spring 2020. In our view, Macmillan’s embargo effectively cuts libraries out of the market for eBooks and sends the message that only those who are able to pay for access deserve it. We believe that this suspension is the best way to support readers and ensure equal access to digital materials. This is not a decision we make lightly, and it means that some borrowers won’t be able to access popular authors in their preferred format. However, as Macmillan’s embargo stands, even if we did choose to purchase Macmillan eBooks, we would still only be able to provide a single copy of a new book for months, resulting in exceedingly long waits for most readers. We want Macmillan to end this policy. You can let Macmillan know how you feel by signing the #eBooksForAll petition at www.ebooksforall.org, or use the #eBooksForAll hashtag to spread the word on social media. Macmillan overall has a number of imprints, including Farrar, Straus & Giroux, Henry Holt, Picador, St. Martin’s Press, Griifing, Minotaur, Thomas Dunne, Tor/Forge, Flatiron, and more. While we have suspended the purchase of eBooks from Macmillan, print books at your local library and downloadable audiobooks from Macmillan are not affected. The North Carolina Digital Library collection is online at ncdigital.overdrive.com or accessible using the Libby app which is free through the App or Google Play store. Contact your local library for questions about your account or ncdlpitcrew@gmail.com for NCDL consortium business. Published by Google Drive–Report Abuse–Updated automatically every 5 minutes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 I read about this too. It's so so stupid . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggle not Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 6 hours ago, Athena said: I read about this too. It's so so stupid . I signed the petition. I will also think hard on it before I purchase any book published by Macmillan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted November 28, 2019 Share Posted November 28, 2019 I had heard about this but didn’t realise they’d actually gone ahead with the idea. Hopefully, once they realise they aren’t getting the huge rise in sales they were obviously hoping for, they’ll change their minds! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muggle not Posted November 28, 2019 Author Share Posted November 28, 2019 I support our Library 100% for the stance they have currently taken of not purchasing any e-books from McMillan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hayley Posted November 29, 2019 Share Posted November 29, 2019 I just want to make it clear that I was talking about Macmillan when I said I hope they change their minds, not the library! I think it's crazy that they went ahead with idea of severely restricting library access to ebooks. All they've done is make themselves look greedy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Talisman Posted November 30, 2019 Share Posted November 30, 2019 This is no doubt something to do with copyright and digital rights management which is still a tricky issue to resolve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.