ILA Joins ALA in Denouncing Macmillan Publishers' Library Lending Model
August 15, 2019
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The Illinois Library Association (ILA) as a professional membership organization of more than 2,500 members that represents Illinois libraries and their patrons, and works to build the future of libraries across the state. It is a chapter of the American Library Association; an independent organization that provides geographical representation to ALA’s Council.
ILA joins ALA in denouncing Macmillan Publishers’ new library eBook lending model. Under the new model, scheduled to take effect November 1, a library may purchase only a single copy of each new title in eBook format upon release, after which Macmillan will impose an eight-week embargo on additional copies of that title sold to libraries. The new Macmillan eBook lending model expands upon an existing policy that took effect in July 2018 when the company, without warning, issued a four-month embargo applying solely to titles from its Tor imprint. Other major publishers use business models that limit access to eBooks through public libraries, such as a one- or two-year access model, or limiting how many “circulations” an eBook may have, but Macmillan is the only one to implement an embargo.
“ILA is interested in encouraging practices that increase access to information, and in discouraging practices that restrict access. This new lending model severely curtails libraries' ability to serve our patrons,” says ILA President Molly Beestrum, Education and Curriculum Coordinator at Northwestern University's Galter Health Sciences Library. “There are ways to do this that balance business interests and equitable access to information.”
ILA members are encouraged to visit ALA’s eBook lending action page for information and graphics to share on social media. ILA also calls on the library community and library patrons to contact Macmillan Publishers to express their objection to the company’s new policy, using the contact information below.
Macmillan Publishers
Attn: John Sargent, CEO
120 Broadway St.
New York, NY 10271
Phone 646-307-5151
Email: press.inquiries@macmillan.com
Twitter: @MacmillanUSA
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