Read Social Law Executive Director Kyle K. Courtney's recent July 29 piece in The Library Journal - "Moving Beyond the Publisher Playbook: Why State-level Contract Law is Essential to the Future of Digital Library Rights."
The era of mere “firefighting” and polite, incremental negotiation is over. The library sector is asking for relief from ebook pricing schemes that consume tremendous amounts of public dollars while providing neither ownership nor legitimate lending rights to libraries. The eBook Study Group, alongside a coalition of state legislators and frontline librarians, has moved beyond waiting for voluntary vendor reform. We are steadily reasserting the rights of memory institutions through established state contract law, consumer protection, and procurement policy.
In his recent piece in Library Journal, Alan S. Inouye characterizes the last 15 years of library digital book advocacy as well-intentioned “firefighting” and incrementalism, calling instead for a retreat from state-level legislative action in favor of a vague, long-term national strategy. While a retrospective on the digital lending landscape is welcome, Inouye’s analysis fundamentally misunderstands the current legal architecture driving the library ebook movement today. And, in several critical respects, it recycles the very talking points of the publisher lobby it purports to analyze objectively..
Read Full Article in the Library Journal