Librarians put out urgent call for lawmakers to regulate Ebook licensing agreements

Every year, millions of taxpayer’s dollars are spent by libraries to pay publishers for access to eBooks and audiobooks. On December 5th, a panel representing the state’s 1000+ libraries, was held in Hartford Connecticut. The session called on state lawmakers to focus on two pressing issues; eBook licensing, and the sharp increase in book bans.

As opposed to when libraries buy physical books that stay on their shelves, most titles in digital collections are rented- meaning they can completely vanish after only a year or two. Librarians want that to stop.

Ellen Paul, Executive Director of the Connecticut Library Consortium shared, “This has been an issue facing librarians for more than a decade, and quite frankly, it gets worse every year. Connecticut libraries… can’t keep up.” Paul continued, “The wait lists for our eBooks are over six months long, our budgets are strained because we have to keep re-renting Harry Potter at the same exorbitant prices over and over again.”

Paul explained that when it comes to print books, libraries are able to negotiate discounted contracts. This gives them access to titles at less than 50% of the cost when compared to what the average consumer pays. However with eBooks, “It’s just a completely different story.”

Currently, libraries in Connecticut and across the country are locked in to fixed eBook pricing that’s 10x more than what the public pays. As reported by, digitaledition.courant.com, these contracts restrict the library’s ability to shop around for cheaper options or renegotiate their contract.

Paul shared that they have been trying to bring publishers to the negotiation table for 20 years without any success. As such, librarians have no choice but to turn to the state for help, “We can’t do this on our own.”

Rep. Christine Palm, who along with Paul, helped to organize last Tuesday’s panel, shared she that was taken aback by the “enormity of the wasted taxpayer” funds. “At the Capitol, we talk a lot about taxpayer money and government waste and being more efficient. We are literally asking and allowing and forcing our libraries to dump tens of thousands down the drain because of a monopoly on the part of some publishers.” Palm went on to say that when she realized this was happening, it very “eye opening” for her sharing, “That was a big revelation, I think, for a lot of us.”

Palm promised that when the legislature reconvenes in February, eBook licensing will be a top priority.

Last session, there was a Bill which prohibited certain contract agreements between libraries and publishers. The bill was a bipartisan effort, led by State Sen. Tony Hwang, R-Fairfield and State Rep. Eleni Kavros DeGraw, D-Avon. The bill passed with bipartisan support by the Government Administration, Elections Committee and the Judiciary Committee, however, it was later killed on the House floor.

As reported by, CT Examiner, Rep. DeGraw said passage was stalled on the final day of the 2023 session when an unrelated amendment concerning campaign contributions “was slapped” on it. This lead to a “passed temporarily designation”, which is a legal red tape measure which essentially stops legislation without going to a vote.

According to DeGraw, “The publishers do not want to come to the table on this. They have no interest in negotiating whatsoever. It is a challenge, as a small state, that we would be the ones bringing this forward and trying to be the first of many states to put this forward.”

With last weeks pannel in Hartford bringing new energy to the issue, DeGraw said that she, Sen. Tony Hwang and Rep. Matt Blumenthal are, “committed to bringing the bill back in 2024.”

Fight for Fair Access on Multiple Fronts

Earlier this year, a coalition of library workers and advocates, including the Internet Archive, Public Knowledge, Fight for the Future, Library Futures, and EveryLibrary, organized a March of Action in response to the growing concern about fair access to digital rights. The coalition launched a series of virtual Congressional briefings, which began in March 2023, in regards to the future of digital rights in libraries.

Along a similar vein, a UK campaign #ebookSOS was launched in 2020 after three concerned academic librarians, Yohanna Anderson, Caroline Ball and Rachel Bickley, raised the alarm regarding the unreasonable restrictive license practices and extreme high rates of digital materials by publishers.

In an interview we conducted with Anderson in February, she shared, “Ebook versions are often not available, publisher’s prices of ebooks can be as much as 500% more than the price of their hardcopy equivalent, and the ebooks are licensed and not owned; so publishers can, and do, withdraw titles or change the licensing terms without any notice.”

After appealing to publishers to rethink their practices with no success, the group decided that the only thing they could do was campaign for changes to the market.

#ebookSOS shared a document on their website highlighting examples of some astonishing eBook price increases. For example, the print version of Good Practices in the Early Years, by Janet Kay, is only £25.99, and yet, the Ebook format is £1,052.00.

In a time when exhausted librarians are already at war due to free speech censorship, funding constraints, an increase of threats to their staff and patrons, as well as, an onslaught of fake AI generated materials, the fight for fair access to digital materials has opened up yet another battle front for them.

However, if Anderson is any indication of a librarian’s deep passion – they are ready to defend this line too.

When I asked Anderson about what drives her to push on against such odds, she responded, “Information is power. I have always been concerned about social justice. Fair access to information is one great leveler. We can’t have a fair society when many are blocked from engaging fully due to barriers. The central remit of libraries and librarians is to facilitate fair access; hence it is my professional duty to fight for that.”

“Librarians are the secret masters of the world. They control information. Don’t ever piss one off. ”- Spider Robinson

An avid book reader and proud library card holder, Angela is new to the world of e-Readers. She has a background in education, emergency response, fitness, loves to be in nature, traveling and exploring. With an honours science degree in anthropology, Angela also studied writing after graduation. She has contributed work to The London Free Press, The Gazette, The Londoner, Best Version Media, Lifeliner, and Citymedia.ca.