From a Canadian Public Libraries for Fair Ebook Pricing News Release:
Canadian Public Libraries for Fair Ebook Pricing have joined to raise awareness of high ebook prices charged by multinational publishers at fairpricingforlibraries.org.
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“Demand for ebooks continues to grow – in fact, it’s our fastest growing area of circulation at Toronto Public Library with 3.5 million checkouts last year alone,” said Vickery Bowles, City Librarian at Toronto Public Library. “Ensuring universal access to information in all its forms is key to public libraries’ mandate. But we face serious challenges because of unreasonably high ebook prices. We want to let the public know so they can understand why we’re not able to provide as many copies as we’d like of certain ebooks, and also to start a broader conversation on the topic.”
Issues facing public libraries are outlined at fairpricingforlibraries.org.
The page features examples of the “price gap” between consumer and library prices, illustrated by a selection of popular titles, and includes social media sharing with hashtag #FairEbookPrices, as well as email collection for those interested in updates on the issue.
Canadian Public Libraries for Fair Ebook Pricing is a coalition formed by the Canadian Library Association, Canadian Urban Libraries Council, Ontario Library Association and Toronto Public Library. Coalition members have worked individually and in partnership on advocacy efforts since 2010.
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Canadian Public Libraries for Fair Ebook Pricing will continue to communicate its position to several government and publishing stakeholders, and to work collaboratively with other large public library systems across North America. The coalition will hold continued conversations with multinational publishers as part of an effort to establish fair and reasonable prices and obtain more ebooks.
Direct to New fairpricingforlibraries.org Website
See Also: Canadian Library Association E-Book Task Force Publishes Recommendations
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