ALA Petitions Macmillan
The American Library Association launched a petition to protest Macmillan’s “recent efforts to limit library access to ebooks.” The petition reads, in part,
Beginning November 1, 2019, Macmillan Publishers will allow libraries to purchase only one copy of each new eBook title for the first eight weeks after a book’s release.
Readers cannot stay silent! We need your help!
This embargo would limit libraries’ ability to provide access to information for all. It particularly harms library patrons with disabilities or learning issues….
Macmillan is the only major publisher to propose such an embargo.
The American Library Association and libraries across the country ask you to voice your opposition to Macmillan’s new policy by signing this petition and telling Macmillan CEO John Sargent that access to eBooks should not be delayed or denied. We must have #eBooksForAll!
Sargent wrote a memo to authors and agents in July 2019 describing “growing fears that library lending was cannibalizing sales,” saying, “It seems that given a choice between a purchase of an ebook for $12.99 or a frictionless lend for free, the American ebook reader is starting to lean heavily toward free.” He announced plans to limit ebook sales to libraries then, immediately sparking an outcry from the ALA, library ebook provider Overdrive, and others in the industry.
As of press time, over 25,000 people have signed. To read the entire petition: <https://p2a.co/fgcQkzV>.
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