Yesterday, Penguin Group USA called to alert us that they will no longer offer any ebooks or audiobooks to libraries through OverDrive. While libraries are expected to have continued access to Penguin ebooks already included in their catalogs, the effect today is that readers will have less access to Penguin titles through their local libraries.
Despite this discouraging development, we are hopeful that Penguin will continue to seek a solution to make its titles available to libraries. As Penguin stated, “It is vital that we forge relationships with libraries and build a future together.” We are committed to helping build this future.
This is a radically dynamic time of change, and we look forward to crafting stable and sustainable business models that enable libraries and publishers to connect readers and authors in the digital age as successfully as we have done since Gutenberg. We all need to work together—and quickly—to bring about full access to ebooks in libraries for everyone, and especially for those readers who depend on libraries as their only source of reading material.
Molly Raphael
ALA President