The ALA Prepares to Enter the Fray

Alan Inouye, ALA’s Senior Director, Public Policy & Government Relations at American Library Association, has confirmed that Columbus Metropolitan Library CEO Patrick Losinski will participate with other library leaders in an announcement launching a campaign against Macmillan’s e-book embargo on libraries, adding to Shawnda Hines’s press release of 9/6/19.

That release reads as follows:

Contact: Shawnda Hines, shines@alawash.org, (202) 628-8410

 Headline: ALA to launch national campaign against e-book embargo

 Washington, D.C. - On September 11, 2019, at 11 a.m., the American Library Association (ALA) will unveil a public action campaign opposing arbitrary restrictions to library e-book lending. The campaign is in response to Macmillan Publishers’ new policy to allow a library to purchase only one copy upon release of a new e-book title; no additional copies will be available for eight weeks. The announcement will take place at Nashville Public Library, 615 Church Street Nashville, Tennessee. The announcement coincides with the 2019 Digital Book World conference in Nashville.   

National library leaders including Kent Oliver, library director, Nashville Public Library; Mary Ghikas, executive director, American Library Association; and Ramiro Salazar, president, Public Library Association, will share library and reader impacts of the embargo and efforts to increase digital access for all.  [Have since added Pat Losinski, CEO, Columbus (OH) Metropolitan Library]

Macmillan’s embargo is scheduled to begin November 1, and would limit libraries’ ability to serve their communities in an increasingly digital world.

ReadersFirst eagerly awaits the announcement and thanks Ms. Ghikas and Mr. Oliver, Salazar, and Losinski for their leadership.

Mr. Inouye has released a list of articles on Macmillan’s action as of September 8, which may be found here. Thank you for your work, Alan!