Report: “Missouri Secretary of State Suspends E-Book Service Over Culture War Concerns About Minors”
From The St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Following the lead of his predecessor, Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins Monday entered the ongoing conservative culture war skirmish against so-called inappropriate reading material being made available to minors.
While former Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft put a target on printed material in libraries during his tenure, Hoskins is aiming at a digital platform that lets users download and read books on their smartphones, tablets and laptops.
In an announcement, Hoskins said he had suspended state funding to an app named OverDrive, which has received $160 in state payments this fiscal year, saying he believes allegations it gives minors access to inappropriate materials.
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The company, which has received under $12,000 in state funds since 2022, did not respond to a request for comment Monday.
Read the Complete Article ||| Archived Version Also Available (about 560 words)
UPDATE: Additional Coverage From the Missouri Independent:
Rachael Dunn, spokeswoman for the secretary of state, said the move was in direct response to the bill and “agency investigations involving digital library catalogs.”
Overdrive and its other apps like Sora and Libby allow library patrons to check out digital copies of books and audiobooks online.
The Secretary of State’s Office, which runs the state library, helps fund access to Overdrive and its applications for a network of schools and libraries called the Missouri Research and Education Network, or MOREnet.
The office’s $3.1 million appropriation to MOREnet, of which $30,000 is directed to Overdrive, funds access to databases and discounts for services like Overdrive.
Read the Complete Missouri Independent Article
Filed under: Digital Collections, Funding, Interactive Tools, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users
About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
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