Digital Content Working Group Archives | American Libraries Magazine

ALA Statement on New Macmillan Library Lending Model

July 25, 2019

The American Library Association (ALA) denounces the new library ebook lending model announced today by Macmillan Publishers. Under the new model, a library may purchase one copy upon release of a new title in ebook format, after which the publisher will impose an eight-week embargo on additional copies of that title sold to libraries. “Macmillan … Continue reading ALA Statement on New Macmillan Library Lending Model →

From left: Alan S. Inouye, director of ALA's Office for Information Technology Policy (OITP); ALA President Julie B. Todaro; Digital Content Working Group Cochair Erika Linke; Carrie Russell, Director of OITP’s Program on Public Access to Information; Digital Content Working Group Cochair Carolyn Anthony; and ALA President-Elect Jim Neal.

Finding Common Ground in New York

By Alan S. Inouye | February 28, 2017

Todaro was joined by ALA President-Elect Jim Neal; Carolyn Anthony and Erika Linke, cochairs of ALA’s Digital Content Working Group; and Carrie Russell and Alan S. Inouye of ALA’s Office for Information Technology Policy. They met with leaders at Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group, the Book Industry Study Group, Metropolitan New York Library Council, … Continue reading Finding Common Ground in New York →

Speakers at the Digital Content Working Group panel, from left: Trevor Owens, senior program officer for the national digital platform at the Institute of Museum and Library Services; DCWG cochairs Erika Linke and Carolyn Anthony; Michael Blackwell, director of the St. Mary’s County (Md.) Libraries; and Todd Carpenter, executive director of National Information Standards Organization.

Digital Content Working Group at Annual Conference

By Erika Linke | July 22, 2016

Michael Blackwell, director of the St. Mary’s County (Md.) Libraries, urged the library community to demand simplicity from content providers and platform developers by putting the user at the heart of the experience and by providing genuine integration of e-content. The e-content field is dynamic, and just as some standards and practices are implemented, new … Continue reading Digital Content Working Group at Annual Conference →

Making Progress with Digital Content

By Toby Greenwalt and Richard Kong | April 14, 2016

Carolyn Anthony, director of Skokie (Ill.) Public Library and cochair of American Library Association’s Digital Content Working Group (DCWG), kicked things off. She shared insights gained during meetings with major publishers in December 2015. For instance, publishers generally continue to show greater willingness to provide better pricing and more flexible licensing terms. Penguin Random House … Continue reading Making Progress with Digital Content →

Internet Policy Task Force Notes Library Copyright Concerns

By Carrie Russell | February 5, 2016

The task force consists of Commerce representatives from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Patent and Trademark Office, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the International Trade Administration. Formed in 2010 to “conduct a comprehensive review of the nexus between privacy policy, copyright, global free flow of information, cybersecurity, and innovation in … Continue reading Internet Policy Task Force Notes Library Copyright Concerns →

DCWG cochair Carolyn Anthony introduces the panel (from left, DCWG cochair Erika Linke; Mark Kuyper, executive director of the Book Industry Study Group (BISG); Andrew Albanese, senior writer and features editor for Publishers Weekly (PW); and Kelvin Watson, chief innovation and technology officer, Queens (N.Y.) Library).

The Ebook Glass Is Half Full

By Robert C. Maier | January 29, 2016

The panel was hosted by DCWG cochairs Erika Linke, associate dean of Carnegie Mellon University Libraries, and Carolyn Anthony, director of the Skokie (Ill.) Public Library. The panelists were Mark Kuyper, executive director of the Book Industry Study Group (BISG); Andrew Albanese, senior writer and features editor for Publishers Weekly (PW); and Kelvin Watson, chief … Continue reading The Ebook Glass Is Half Full →

Penguin Random House Ebooks Now Licensed for Perpetual Access

By Robert C. Maier | January 20, 2016

As in the past, the license is for one circulation at a time per copy. Previously, Penguin had imposed a one-year limit on library licenses, requiring the library to pay again for the title. Prior to the merger of Penguin and Random House in July 2013, the two publishers had entirely different terms for library … Continue reading Penguin Random House Ebooks Now Licensed for Perpetual Access →

What’s in Store for Ebooks?

By Alan S. Inouye | January 4, 2016

What accounts for the sudden and rapid growth? One answer: the introduction of Amazon’s Kindle in 2007. In response to the disruption that ensued—specifically for library ebook sales and lending—ALA established the a working group on libraries and digital issues (now known as the Digital Content Working Group, or DCWG) to help navigate the Association … Continue reading What’s in Store for Ebooks? →

ALA leaders meet with representatives from the Metropolitan New York Library Council (METRO), from left: ALA President Sari Feldman; Lisa Rosenblum, chief librarian, Brooklyn Public Library; Milan Hughston, chief of library and museum archives at The Museum of Modern Art; James G. Neal, university librarian emeritus at Columbia University; Kelvin Watson, chief innovation and technology officer, Queens Library; and Nate Hill, executive director, METRO.

ALA, Publishers Talk Ebook Lending Terms for Libraries

By Alan S. Inouye | December 7, 2015

ALA highlighted the valuable role of libraries in the publishing and reading ecosystems and thus why more flexible and favorable terms for library ebook lending are in everyone’s best interest. This visit represents ALA’s ninth such delegation effort over the last several years. Libraries have a prominent role in the discovery of books and authors, … Continue reading ALA, Publishers Talk Ebook Lending Terms for Libraries →

Screenshot from Queens Library's Virtual Library.

Discovery and Delivery: Keep Calm and Make It Real

By Larra Clark | December 7, 2015

Watson joined Queens three years ago as chief innovation and technology officer under his motto of “keep calm and make it real.” Learning about the progress he and his team have made over that time was exhilarating. Taking lessons from his time at Ingram, Borders, and the US Department of Agriculture, Watson focused on breaking … Continue reading Discovery and Delivery: Keep Calm and Make It Real →

ALA leaders gathered in New York to meet with several publishers. Back row, from left: ALA Past President Courtney Young; Erika Linke, DCWG cochair and Associate Dean and Director of Research and Academic Services at Carnegie Mellon University Libraries; DCWG cochair and director of Skokie (Ill.) Public Library Carolyn Anthony; and ALA Executive Director Keith Michael Fiels. Front row, from left: Julie Todaro, dean of library services at Austin (Tex.) Community College and 2016-2017 ALA President; OITP Director Alan Inouye; ALA President Sari Feldman; and OITP Program Director Carrie Russell.

ALA Responds to Penguin Random House Ebook Licensing Announcement

By Alan S. Inouye | December 3, 2015

The new structure will phase out the Penguin model of one-year lending and reduce the price for some previous Random House titles with a $65 cap on all Penguin Random House e-titles starting January 1, 2016. “Libraries will be pleased that the combined Penguin Random House license will ensure perpetual access to e-titles, and all will … Continue reading ALA Responds to Penguin Random House Ebook Licensing Announcement →

DCL Ebook Report, August 2015

By Robert C. Maier | August 13, 2015

How does that happen if publishers fix the price libraries pay? It’s time for transparency on library ebook pricing from both publishers and distributors. This blog has maintained a chart comparing the price a library pays OverDrive to the consumer ebook price from Amazon as a ratio. For example, in February libraries paid six times … Continue reading DCL Ebook Report, August 2015 →

Latest Library Links

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Many members know Bill Ladewski as executive director of the Reference and User Services Association, an ALA position he has held since 2019. In early September, Ladewski added another title to his CV: director of Member Relations and Services. In this role, he and his team are charged with providing service and information to the Association’s nearly 50,000 members. Ladewski answered our 11 Questions to reintroduce himself to the ALA community.

AL: The Scoop, Nov. 19
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John Warner writes: “I understand what people mean when they invoke the term ‘institutional neutrality,’ but I don’t know how it’s workable in today’s world. Higher education institutions are built upon a foundation of actual values, values that are, by definition, not neutral. The Kalven report, the Rosetta Stone of institutional neutrality produced by a faculty committee at the University of Chicago in 1967, is not a call to make all work emanating from an institution ‘neutral,’ but is instead a call to make the atmosphere for scholarly inquiry and debate as free as possible.”

Inside Higher Ed, Nov. 15
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Angela Hursh writes: “Ever wondered how your library’s email performance compares to others? Benchmarks help you understand how well your emails perform in key areas and identify opportunities for improvement. They also allow you to compare your email marketing performance, set goals, and stay on top of trends. However, the lack of industry benchmarks for email marketing metrics specific to libraries has been bugging me. Metrics from similar industries don’t fully capture the unique aspects of promoting a library. To help libraries accurately measure their email effectiveness, we’ve created the first-ever library email benchmark report.”

NoveList, Oct. 22
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Rachel Hendrick writes: “Students and library vendors are pushing artificial intelligence (AI) adoption in higher education, but there are very few resources that help librarians and scholars separate the wheat from the chaff. Luckily, we here at Choice love a good assessment rubric. (In fact, we made a PDF of our assessment rubric.) Even the least tech-savvy of us can use a very simple AI literacy framework to think critically about whether an AI application is worth your time.”

Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Nov. 13
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Rowana Miller writes: “In my experience, many young library-goers identify as storytellers but not writers. These are the kids who draw Captain-Underpants-style cartoons, who craft meticulous Minecraft universes, and who plot elaborate Dungeons and Dragons campaigns, but who believe that ‘writing’ is limited to five-paragraph essays. But when children draw the connections between their natural storytelling proclivities and the written word, they can become self-motivated to develop the communication skills that will help them for the rest of their lives. Libraries, I believe, are uniquely positioned to help children make this connection.”

ALSC Blog, Nov. 15
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ALA has reopened its search for an executive director in partnership with executive search firm Isaacson, Miller. A committee of ALA member leaders will oversee the search. The selected candidate will succeed Interim Executive Director Leslie Burger, who was appointed in November 2023. “We are excited to embark on our search for a new executive director,” said ALA President Cindy Hohl. “This leadership position is critical as we navigate the years ahead. We seek candidates who have knowledge of the library community and the urgent issues we face.”

ALA Communications, Marketing, and Media Relations Office, Nov. 14
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Emily Weak writes: “Something I always hear from hiring managers is that they want to build a resilient, diverse workforce. Sometimes we say we want a resilient workforce, but what we mean is that we want staffers who are willing to go above and beyond, or to do more with less. These concepts are deeply entrenched in librarianship, but I think we’re beginning to see how they can cause problems. Instead of trying to hire people who will do more with less and who will thrive amid adversity, let’s think about resilience as an organizational feature.”

American Libraries column, Nov./Dec.

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