OCLC is launching a new project, “The Big Shift: Advancing Public Library Participation in Our Digital Future.” The purpose of the project, funded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, is to more fully understand the challenges that US public libraries face in providing ebook content to borrowers, and to ensure that all Americans … Continue reading ALA and PLA Partner with OCLC on Ebook Research Project
One charge of the Digital Content and Libraries Working Group is to help the library community better understand and adapt to the growth of digital content. To assist with this, the internal communication subgroup (subgroup five for those who follow numbers better) will be publishing a series of DCWG Tip Sheets. Written in plain English, … Continue reading Digital Content Working Group Tip Sheet: DRM
A year ago, then–ALA President Molly Raphael called for “all of us to work together and build a better future for all library communities.” As president-elect I took these words to heart and made the commitment to continue the work of Molly’s presidency during my term. Our strategic plan, ALA 2015 (PDF file), is an … Continue reading Rethinking ALA
You may have wondered whether you hold the copyright to work you’ve put many hours into creating on the job. Who holds the copyright to works created by teachers or librarians? Short answer: In general, when employees create works as a condition of employment, the copyright holder is the employer. As a school librarian or … Continue reading Copyright for Librarians and Teachers, in a Nutshell
Proposition 13, the California property tax–cap initiative that unleashed an era of fervent antitax sentiment and activism across the US, is 34 years old today. The necessary two-thirds of the voters who turned out passed the People’s Initiative to Limit Property Taxation on June 6, 1978. Stable funding for public services, including libraries, hasn’t been … Continue reading Happy Birthday, Prop. 13
Alan Inouye, Washington, D.C.–based program manager of ALA’s Digital Books and Libraries Initiative, has published a recap of his June 1 presentation during the Digital Summit organized by the New Hampshire Library Association on the latest issues at hand. Read his insights here.
ALA’s Digital Content and Libraries Working Group, which tackles ebook-related issues, is seeking feedback from individuals who experiment with the creation, publication, and preservation of digital content. The deadline to participate in the survey is Friday, June 1. We are looking for digitization effort experiments that can help ALA recommend policies, address issues, or promote … Continue reading This Week: ALA Seeking Feedback on Digital Content
“E-Content: The Digital Dialogue” is the title of a new American Libraries digital supplement in which authors explore an unprecedented and splintered landscape in which several major publishers refuse to sell ebooks to libraries; proprietary platforms fragment our cultural record; and reader privacy is endangered. Here’s a sampling of what’s included: “Publishers, distributors and libraries … Continue reading Exploring the Challenges to Equitable Access to Digital Content
Earlier this week, I led a four-person ALA delegation to New York to meet with Hachette Book Group and four national organizations that represent authors. Meeting with Hachette was a priority, as we were unable to meet with them on our last delegation trip to New York. But most of our time focused on author groups, to provide us … Continue reading Ebooks: Promising New Conversations
The librarians of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, joined the ranks of the worldwide open-access (OA) movement May 14 by voting to make their scholarly articles freely available in the university’s institutional repository, the Scholarly Commons. Based on Harvard University’s model policy, MU’s open-access principles take effect immediately and make the libraries the first department … Continue reading Open Access Spreads to Miami University
A spring proposal by District of Columbia officials to eliminate more than 50 school librarian jobs for the next academic year has triggered a public relations nightmare for the city council, where the proposal originated. “Libraries have long been one of the really weak links in the District of Columbia Public Schools,” grassroots activist Peter … Continue reading D.C. Officials Feel the Heat over Planned School Library Cuts [UPDATED]
Ebooks and the Big Six publishers was the first topic addressed at the ALA Executive Board spring meeting, held April 21–22. Because the board fully appreciates the importance of this issue to ALA members, we had planned one hour and 45 minutes for the discussion—an unusually long amount of time for the board to devote … Continue reading ALA Board Backs Intensified Ebook Advocacy
