Independent Publishers Group (IPG) has paired with the Digital Public Library of America to offer “tens of thousands of ebook and audiobook titles” from a number of their publisher clients for outright purchase and perpetual access, rather than time- or usage-limited access. IPG recently sold their digital distribution business to Bookwire. Clearly welcomed by libraries, unfortunately the announcement engages in inflammatory and disingenuous rhetoric. They claim that, “Since the advent and spread of digital content, libraries have only been able to license ebooks and audiobooks from publishers and aggregators with no option to buy, trapping libraries in licensing agreements where […]
