Report: Illinois Bill Would Stop Publishers From Charging Libraries More Than Public For E-Books and Audiobooks

From the Chicago Tribune:

“More and more taxpayer-funded library budgets are being eaten up by this licensing at unreasonably high prices,” [Monica] Harris [executive director of the Reaching Across Illinois Library System] said. “The hold list gets longer and longer for the constituents who are trying to, you know, use these materials and many libraries are now spending almost 50% of their collection budgets on e-books and audiobooks.”

That growing cost is why librarians are pushing lawmakers to pass legislation that would prohibit publishers from offering electronic licensing agreements that restrict what they call “customary” library functions.

The bill, which passed the Illinois House without opposition last week, would prevent publishers from charging libraries more than the public for the same item or imposing checkout limits on temporary licenses. Publishers would also be prohibited from restricting interlibrary loans or limiting the number of e-book or audiobook licenses a library could purchase.

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Author and publisher associations say the bill puts the economic livelihood of the people whose books fill library shelves in jeopardy.

“Digital access thrives nationwide today, and this bill threatens to undermine, not increase, digital access for library patrons. When publishers cannot comply with the bill’s extreme and restrictive mandates, libraries risk losing access to digital books entirely,” Association of American Publishers CEO Maria Pallante and The Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger said in a joint statement. “Authors, independent bookstores, and artists across music, film, and literature all depend on the licensing framework this legislation attempts to dismantle to protect them from piracy and safeguard the modest promise of remuneration for their work.”

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Filed under: Associations and Organizations, Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Funding, Libraries, News, Patrons and Users, Publishing