An interesting Authors Guild consumer survey sheds light on the true size and richness of demand for books, reminding us that the market may be far larger than what common sales statistics reflect. Unfortunately, the headline—”Only 25 Percent of Readers Paid for a New Copy of a Print Book or Ebook Read in the Previous Month”—positioned the results as suggesting that authors are getting cheated by the many legal ways in which books can be acquired and read, and seemed to criticize people who love their local libraries. (“The study upends a common assumption about library borrowing: the readers most […]
Libraries
Follett Street Date Program to Deliver Titles Before Publication
Follett has launched a program that aims to get libraries highly-anticipated new releases in advance of their on-sale dates. The Follett Street Date Program allows libraries to preorder select titles, which will be delivered in advance and held until the book publishes, the company states. “Patron expectations have never been higher,” ceo Britten Follett said in the release “When a title debuts on a to-be-watched list or gets major media momentum, libraries need to be ready to respond. The Follett Street Date Program helps our library partners do exactly that – reliably, affordably, and at scale.” Follett has also increased […]
ALA Employees Vote on Unionization
Starting April 24, workers at the American Library Association have been voting on unionization after the organization declined to voluntarily recognize their union, American Libraries magazine (which is published by the ALA) reports. Of 161 staff members, 101 are eligible to join ALA Workers United, which would be part of American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 31 in Illinois. The ALA has gone through a series of cuts to staff over the past year, including layoffs and voluntary buyouts, and put a cap on raises for 2026 as the association aims to address a financial deficit, […]
Appropriations Bills Pass With Library Funding
After dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Sciences, which was later reinstated by a federal court, President Trump signed appropriations bills this month that increase funding for libraries, American Libraries magazine reports. The legislation allocates $212.5 million—a $1.4 million increase—for “library programs run by IMLS through the Library Services and Technology Act,” according to the ALA. Though funding for the IMLS itself decreased slightly, due to the reduction in staffing there. Funding for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program, which is run predominantly through school libraries, was flat at $30 million. The office that administers the program was […]
NYPL Offers Immediate ‘Game Changers’ Downloads
The New York Public Library is offering ebooks and audiobooks of all six books in Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” series, the inspiration for the Heated Rivalry series on Crave and HBO, without a wait. Starting Saturday January 24 and running through February 14, anyone with an NYPL library card can download the books immediately through the Libby app. Previously, Heated Rivalry had a wait list of approximately 3,000, the Cut reports, and the NYPL tells PL that as of this morning there were more than 13,000 downloads for the series, and counting. The NYPL said on their website that they are […]
OverDrive Responds to Proposed DC Library Bill
OverDrive ceo Steve Potash has submitted extensive testimony in response to a proposed bill that would loosen restrictions on digital book lending in Washington, D.C. The “Library E-book Pricing Fairness Amendment Act of 2025,” proposed by some district council members, aims to prohibit libraries from paying more to license an item than the public would and avoid limiting the number of licenses and loans the library can engage in. Because many publishers will simply decline to license ebooks at all under such conditions, this bill would only go into effect if “10 other jurisdictions with a combined population of at […]