WordsRated.com: State of U.S. Public Libraries

Nick Rizzo from WordsRated.com has released a study of U.S. Public Libraries suggesting they are “more popular and digital than ever.” For this analysis, a team used the IMLS’s Public Libraries Survey (PLS) dataset. Data ran up to 2019. We may reasonably hypothesize that the intervening years have only heightened a trend that Nick has identified: the shift to digital is real, ongoing, and a vital indicator of library use and relevance.

Read the report here.

Here are the Key Findings:

Why people think “libraries are dying”

• Visits to libraries in a 10-year decline (21.20% since 2009) while people borrow fewer books (19.21% less than 2013).

Libraries are more popular than ever thanks to the strong shift to digital:

• More registered borrowers than ever (174.23 million, or 53.57% of population)

• Total library collection size is larger and more digital than ever (58.75% of collection)

• Library collection use is higher and more digital than ever (37.39% of all collection use)

More library programs (6 million) and higher program attendance (125 million) than ever:

• Library program attendance now accounts for 10.01% of all visits to libraries, up 84% from 2009

• States with the most programs per capita have more visits (88.25%), collection use (51.31%), and registered borrowers (12.21%) than states with least programs per capita

It’s never been more expensive to operate a library 

• Average operating expenses per library is $765,715 up more than 17.00% since 2014

• Libraries costs are more administrative than ever – 89.18% spent on staff and other expenses vs only 10.82% on library collections

Government funding hasn’t covered library operating expenses since 1992

• Libraries would be in a $4.38 billion deficit if relying on government funding alone

• Other Income from donations, grants, fines, and fees addressed budget deficits and helped generate a $17.05 billion budget surplus

• Highest-funded states per capita have more visits (80.99%), collection use (122.49%), programs (73.31%), and program attendance (81.76%) than the lowest-funded states

• There’s never been more libraries (17,468) or librarians (51,190), but library staff are still paid 35.07% below a livable wage for a family of three on average

It is axiomatic that public investing in libraries returns many benefits—benefits that can be quantified at many more $$ returned than spent. Thanks, Nick, for sharing your report!

Interesting Upcoming Webinars from IA

Brewster Kahle and Tony Marx: The Internet Archive at 25
The founder of the Internet Archive speaks with the President of The New York Public Library about the changing roles of libraries in the digital age.

In 1996 a young computer scientist named Brewster Kahle dreamed of building a “Library of Everything” for the digital age. A library containing all the published works of humankind, free to the public, built to last the ages. He created the Internet Archive and its mission: to provide everyone with universal access to all knowledge. “The goal of the Internet Archive,” Kahle has written, “is to create a permanent memory for the Web that can be leveraged to make a new Global Mind.” In the intervening years, libraries have evolved, expanded, and adapted to thrive in the digital age.

Where do these two stories intersect? And how have our understandings about the meaning and value of archives, libraries, and access have undergone seismic shifts in the past 25 years. Tony Marx, the President of The New York Public Library, and Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle discuss.

April 27 @ 11am PT / 2pm ET - Register now for the hybrid event.

Analyzing Biodiversity Literature at Scale
Imagine the great library of life—a comprehensive library that Charles Darwin said was necessary for the “cultivation of natural science"—but in digital form. Explore how historic scientific literature in the Biodiversity Heritage Library becomes data for the larger biodiversity community in this talk from Smithsonian Library's Martin R. Kalfatovic and JJ Dearborn.

This is the fifth session of our six-part Library as Laboratory series.

April 27 @ 11am PT / 2pm ET - Register now for the virtual event.

Join Unite Against Book Bans

RF generally keeps its posts somehow directly related to library digital content matters.

Our efforts to streamline and enhance the digital content experience and expand access to titles on reasonable and sustainable terms will be useless, however, if the only content that can be shared is unexceptionable pablum for the blue-nosed and dogmatists.

We encourage all with any interest in library digital content matters to join the ALA’s Unite Against Book Bans campaign:

Although book bans are nothing new, there were more censorship attempts in 2021 than at any time since the American Library Association began tracking more than two decades ago [and 2022 is going to be worse!].

Unite Against Book Bans is a national campaign to protect the rights of everyone to access a variety of books, in libraries and elsewhere.

We trust individuals to make their own decisions about what they read and believe.

Join us as we unite against book bans.

Concerted efforts and loud support will be necessary if we all don’t wish to wake up one day to laws saying librarians should be subject to jail terms for not censoring our collections and to collections that offend nobody—which is to say, no collection worth having.

Hey, publishers—don’t leave librarians to fight this one alone. Wanna sell books? You’re in this fight too. Time to mix it up. We all have too much to lose.

Good News: Blackstone Ends its Library Embargo

Blackstone Audio, which had been holding certain parts of its catalog from libraries for 90 days after date of publication, has announced that it will stop this practice:

Chief Sales Officer Anne Fonteneau announced the following this week:

In a continued effort to increase accessibility of audiobooks, Blackstone Publishing will release all new titles to all retail and library markets simultaneously, in both digital and physical formats, starting on July 1, 2022. Pre-order links on all sites will show up simultaneously wherever books are sold. At launch, Blackstone will release Retail CD, Library CD, MP3-CD and retail and library editions. Digital editions will be available from our digital partners on their first available release date. The Blackstone catalog is available under the perpetual one book/one user model, as well as pay-per-use, multi-use and other models.

Since the titles that Blackstone held back were joint with Audible, and since Audible will now release titles to libraries through the DPLA Palace Exchange, this move was perhaps not a big surprise. Why hold back what someone else is licensing? Still, there is much to be thankful for.

Available on first release date? Check.

Multiple models? Excellent!

RF suspects that state-level ebook advocacy has played a part in various publishers coming to the table with libraries—yet another good reason for that advocacy.

Thank you, Blackstone, for this much.

Maryland A.G. Declines to Further Pursue the State's EBook Law

As noted by Andrew Albanese in PW, the Maryland Attorney General’s Office will not further pursue defending the state’s ebook law.

Marylanders, and indeed all in the library community, have every reason to be proud of Maryland’s legislators and A.G. Passing legislation unanimously and defending that legislation has brought much needed attention to unfair, even predatory terms that our county’s broken copyright laws allow the Big 5 to charge for their library digital content.

The Library of Congress is protected from some unfair terms in license agreements: CFR § 701.7 - Certain terms in license agreements . I find it ironic if unfortunate that Congress exempts its own library from the issue we face but that its laws seemingly forbid public libraries the same protection.

As the ALA notes in a statement,

The library community also has new public support from several important officials. For example, during the Maryland hearing, Judge Boardman said “It does seem to me that there is inequity and an unfairness on how publishers have treated public libraries.” Here are several public statements by Brian E. Frosh, Attorney General of Maryland, made during the course of the lawsuit:

1. “Publishers capitalize on the digital revolution at libraries’ expense.”

2. “We [Office of the Attorney General of Maryland] think publishers should not be able to unfairly take advantage of Maryland public libraries. We will continue to pursue fair treatment for Maryland public libraries.”

3. “Many publishers have exploited the rapid advancement of digital technology to discriminate against public libraries when licensing e-books and audiobooks.”

4. “Technology has enabled publishers to create two classes of customers—those who can afford to buy electronic literary products and public libraries who serve those who cannot—while charging the latter substantially more for the same product.”

Legislators in at least 8 states have considered how the public coffers are being unfairly drained. Every bill may not pass, but at least three look promising. And the Maryland hearing is not binding on hearings in other states, and, should the AAP sue elsewhere, it has no guarantee of a favorable result. Other states have in any case learned from Maryland, and the bills are so tweaked that the AAP may find difficulty in challenging them. States may not be able set publisher terms, but they can certainly prevent public entities from entertaining unfair contracts. We eagerly await the results of other state legislation.

Maryland itself is not done, as the Maryland Library Association has stated:

We are disappointed to hear that the judge is considering the permanent injunction, even though it has been acknowledged that the treatment libraries are receiving from publishers is unfair. Should a permanent injunction be put into place, libraries in Maryland and across the county will continue to use all the avenues at our disposal to seek for reasonable terms with publishers to ensure that we can continue to provide access to digital materials. We applaud the work that Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh and his team have done on behalf of Maryland's libraries and the individuals who rely on them every day.

We are not only unbowed but not even bloody. Even if that law has not stood for now, it has done much good. It should be a long time before even a major publisher tries any sort of embargo. And the attention to libraries’ just cause is invaluable.

Libraries are far from finished with this fight. The Maryland law is down, but libraries are not out and never shall be. We, our readers, and our legislators are tired of unfair terms. it is just a matter of how we get equity, for us and the readers who depend upon libraries to be informed.

Upcoming Webinar: Collaborating for Access: Creating More Inclusive Ebooks

On April 12, a COSLA, DPLA, and ReadersFirst Webinar will consider an important future direction for ebooks: greater accessibility. Panelists are informed experts. You won’t have to put up too much with that Blackwell guy—he’s only there to ferry questions from you, the attendee, to the panel. Join us for what is certain to be an interesting discussion.

Collaborating for Access: Creating More Inclusive Ebooks

Tuesday, April 12 at 1 pm ET

In this second in our Collaborating for Access series of webinars hosted by COSLA, DPLA, and ReadersFirst, we’ll bring together a variety of experts and thought leaders to discuss the potential to bring easy, enjoyable reading experiences to all through the development of more inclusive ebook design. What might a truly inclusive ebook look like, and how can we all work together to bring forth a future of reading that is truly accessible to everyone?

Jason Broughton, National Library Service Director, National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled

Darren DeFrain, Ph.D., Co-creator, Vizling App and Wichita State University

Reginé Gilbert, User Experience Designer and Author, Inclusive Design for a Digital World

Aaron Rodriguez, Co-creator, Vizling App and Ph.D. student, Florida State University

Moderated by Michael Blackwell of ReadersFirst

Please register here.

Registration link: bit.ly/collab-for-access

Controlled Digital Lending News

Don’t forget the Internet Archive Community Update on Controlled Digital Lending tomorrow, 11 am Pacific Time. Sign up here. “Whether you are new to Controlled Digital Lending or have already implemented it in your library, this session will give everyone an update on where the community is today & where it’s going.”

Seven librarians from Canada have published a paper on that “explores legal considerations for how libraries in Canada can lend digital copies of books” through Controlled Digital Lending (CDL).

The paper aims to “help libraries and their lawyers become better informed about the concept by fully explaining the legal rationale for controlled digital lending in Canada, as well as situations in which this rationale is the strongest.”

The authors contend the following:

CDL shifts . . .lending to a new format that opens up access possibilities for readers with disabilities, physical access limitations, research efficiency needs, or other needs for digitally accessible content. We are aware that libraries across Canada are discussing the value of CDL in a range of areas, such as to improve the efficiency of interlibrary loan, to support lending among institutions that share last copies for preservation, and to enable access during periods of library closure. We also contend that CDL may be used more generally for library lending, including to improve availability of out-of-print materials for all Canadians.

The paper gives a detailed consideration of the legal aspects of “fair dealing.” ReadersFirst hopes all Canadian librarians will give it careful consideration and work towards appropriate implementation. See an abstract and review the paper here. [Disclaimer: one of the authors, Christina de Castell, did pioneering work for ReadersFirst and still follows our Working Group activities. Great paper, Christina!]

Meanwhile, UC Davis Library and California Digital Library are exploring expanded lending of digitized books.

Under the leadership of the UC Davis Library and the California Digital Library (CDL) and with support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, UC has begun an investigation of key questions around the future of ebook lending, such as:

• What have we learned about the best uses for print versus digital books, and what are the implications for the future?

• How does digital book lending extend and strengthen the historical role of the academic library in ensuring long-term access to scholarship?

• What legal framework(s) and/or case law might support various long-term options for large-scale digital book lending, beyond the emergency context of the pandemic? Does a form that builds on controlled digital lending offer a scalable solution?

• What technologies and formats are required for a large multi-campus university system like UC to implement such a system at scale?

• What critical mass of digitized books is needed to create a viable, compelling resource for scholars? What content gaps might need to be filled via targeted digitization within UC’s mass digitization efforts?

• How do authors, including those among UC’s staff and faculty, perceive the ethical and legal issues involved?

• And importantly, as we look to the future, what transformative research opportunities might be enabled by broader access to digital books?

ReadersFirst looks forward to seeing the white paper that will be produced as a result of this project and the ebook delivery system that will be developed.

No doubt in part because of the lack of digitization of most older works by publisher and the severe limitations on many licenses of such older works as are digitized, libraries continue to explore CDL as a valuable and vital too for content sharing. There are policies and procedures to formalize and standardize, but the rewards more than justify the work.

Ebooks Friday at ALA Annual Taking Shape

June 24th is (once again!) "Ebooks Friday" at ALA Annual.

 For those of you not able to attend in person, I'm working on a Zoom virtual option.

 9:30 - 10:30:  Ebooks Interest Group (Everyone welcome-publishers, vendors, librarians of course-for a wide-ranging discussion of trends and concerns in the library digital content.)  

10:45 - 11:45:  Consortial Ebooks Interest Meeting (By popular demand, a forum for discussion of issues specifically related to use of digital content in consortiums)

1:00 – 2:00:  Palace (The latest news about the Palace library digital content app, perhaps demos of functionality)

2:15 – 3:15:  SimplyE (The latest news about the SimplyE library digital content app, perhaps demos of functionality)

3:30 – 4:30: Library Futures (If you are not familiar with Library Futures, this will be an interesting session-updates and discussion of controlled digital lending, state ebook laws,  and a review of 1st year accomplishments.

 Room # at ALA Annual to be determined.

Hope to see you there!

OverDrive CEO Steve Potash Talks Streaming Video

As OverDrive moves away from the OverDrive app to Libby alone, some changes are occurring. Steve Spohn, Executive Director of Ocean State Libraries, had questions about what will happen with the streaming video content currently available in the OverDrive app and not in Libby. He communicated with OverDrive, and Steve Potash replied. Thanks to both Steves for allowing RF to share their Q & A.

Q: Tell us more about the transition from the OverDrive app to the Libby app.

 A: We know that Libby offers the easiest, best-in-class experience for users to browse and borrow titles from their digital library. Since we launched Libby in 2017, we've continued to build in new features and functionality and respond to partner and user feedback along the way.

Throughout Libby's development, we've also maintained the OverDrive app because:

1) We would like the change over to Libby to be a positive one, and we are approaching this change slowly and thoughtfully.

2) Libby does not offer the same feature set as the OverDrive app; sometimes intentionally and other times because the app is in ongoing development.

 Now that Libby is established in the market, it's time to start simplifying our app universe for our partners and users. The last required feature to build out in Libby before we could take steps to sunset the OverDrive app was screen reader support. The Libby team's main project throughout 2021 has been improving the accessibility of the app, including compatibility with mobile screen readers.

 Our long-term goal is to offer Libby as our single patron experience for Public Libraries. Achieving this goal will help eliminate confusion and deliver a simplified app experience and message for our partners and their patrons.

Q: We understand that video content is not available in the Libby app.  How can library patrons access OverDrive video content?

A: Patrons can access video content at their OverDrive website. Your Overdrive rep can help if you have questions about access.

 Q: It sounds like Kanopy will be OverDrive’s new platform for video content?

A. Yes, Kanopy is OverDrive’s flagship video app for libraries.

 Q: What will happen to the video content libraries have purchased on the OverDrive platform?

 A: We are evaluating our current OverDrive video catalog and working with suppliers and Kanopy to offer as much of the popular content as possible.   

Q: Will OverDrive bring new purchasing models for video content to the Kanopy platform?

A: Yes, Kanopy will be adding in Subscription bundle options for streaming video content.  More information here: https://librarytechnology.org/pr/27022?Row=2

 Q: What do you see as the future of streaming video for libraries?

 A: We expect that streaming video content will continue to grow as a valuable option for libraries to serve their patrons.  Content catalogs will expand with the addition of premium films and videos on the Kanopy platform, with significant focus on education, juvenile materials, global films, and select theatrical movies.  The cost models for Kanopy will also evolve to reflect how libraries seek to best utilize their budgets to serve their communities.

 OverDrive Marketplace will also add a variety of streaming video collections to the “Libby Extras” catalog that provide simultaneous access to a variety of premium streaming content.  Current offerings include Universal Class, Craftsy, ArtistWorks, The Great Courses, Qello Concerts, and many others.

Q: What else is on the horizon for OverDrive that you’d like to share with us?

 A:  See us at PLA for the latest.

Maryland Library Association Releases a Statement

The Maryland Library Association (MLA) has released a statement about the ongoing hearing on its ebook law.

Some highlights:

In her ruling, Judge Boardman noted the following: “Libraries serve many critical functions in our democracy. They serve as a repository of knowledge—both old and new—and ensure access to that knowledge does not depend on wealth or ability. They also play a special role in documenting society’s evolution. Libraries face unique challenges as they sit at the intersection of public service and the private marketplace in an evolving society that is increasingly reliant on digital media.”

In granting the preliminary injunction, Judge Boardman nevertheless indicated that the matter of fair eBook pricing for libraries likely needs to be considered at the federal level. Though we are disappointed with the ruling, the Maryland Library Association (MLA) appreciates Judge Boardman for noting the vital importance of libraries and the challenges we face in the digital realm. As this legal matter proceeds, we hope for continued consideration of libraries’ unique position.

This hearing has shown that the status quo of publishers charging what they want for limited licensing is unjust. Judge Boardman herself said in the hearing, !It does seem to me that there is inequity and an unfairness on how publishers have treated public libraries.” This inequity is on clear display when it comes to the cost libraries, and in turn taxpayers, pay for physical materials in comparison to the restricted access and high costs of eBooks. Under the current model set by the publishers, libraries pay anywhere from $54 to $75 for a two-year license for a single eBook. By comparison, the printed version of the same book would cost a [library] $15 to $18 and not be subjected to a time-limited license. This illustrates the truth to our Attorney General’s claim that this is not a matter of copyright protection, but about “the unfair and discriminatory trade practices of publishers at the expense of public libraries.” MLA will follow the proceedings with confidence in our position and with profound thanks to the Maryland Legislature and the Maryland Attorney General’s Office for their determined stance and support. The legislature’s unanimous support is a reflection of the will of Maryland residents that one should not be required to have a credit card to access information.

To publishers offering “reasonable terms” already, as always we send thanks.

To others, we say this: libraries are not quitting. When all the merits of our side are heard, and with different language in laws as other states learn from Maryland (perhaps even preempting the AAP’s ability to sue), different outcomes are very possible. Coming to terms with us now on reasonable licenses will be to your advantage. There are options other than legislation if we cannot win through at the state and eventually the federal level.

In the meantime, the library community owes thanks to the Maryland Library Association, the Maryland General Assembly, and the Maryland Attorney General for advancing the library position. When people see the facts, the overwhelming response is that the current licensing terms simply make no sense. Nobody has any problem with profit, but profit so out-of-line with the market established by print is unfair. Taxpayers, and of course library readers, deserve better.