Ohio: Southwest Public Libraries Ask For Help from Ohio’s Congressional Delegation re: Access to Ebooks

From ThisWeek:

Southwest Public Libraries is calling upon Congress to help ensure patrons can access e-books.
At its regular meeting Nov. 12, the SPL board of trustees voted 5-0 to approve a resolution asking that the Ohio members of the United States Congress seek a legislative solution to “ensure public access to e-book materials through public libraries.”
Library director Mark Shaw said the resolution comes from the Ohio Library Council.
[Library Trustee Richard] Curtiss said the attitude of those publishers is not “very charitable to learning.”
“I like the idea of some government action looking for a middle ground,” he said.

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Other Calls For Government Assistance Re: Ebook Access in Libraries

• Maryland: Montgomery County Council Passes Resolution Urging Equitable Access to E-Books for County Public Libraries (July 23, 2013)

• Connecticut: Governor Signs eBook-Public Library Availability Study Legislation Into Law (May 30, 2013)

See Also: Ohio Federal E-Book Project Update: “eBooks: The Content Divide” (Slides; July 2013)
See Also: Video and Slides: Video Presentation by Two Public Library Leaders: “Ebooks: The Content Divide” (May 2013)

Patrick Losinski, CEO of the Columbus Metropolitan Library and Kim Fender, Director of the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library briefed members of the Ohio Library Council with an overview of the current ebooks in libraries situation focusing on consumer access to titles.

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