Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Licensing And Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Urban Libraries Council warns licensing terms and prices are squeezing library budgets
Summary
The Urban Libraries Council told the committee that rising ebook and audiobook prices and restrictive licensing terms are forcing libraries to spend more while offering fewer titles; ULC estimated members spend roughly $300 million annually on digital materials.
Angela Goodrich, chief operating officer of the Urban Libraries Council, testified that demand for ebooks and audiobooks has risen about 35% since the COVID-19 pandemic and that licensing models are putting "an outsized pressure" on library collections budgets. "We estimate that ULC members spend $300,000,000 a year right now on eBooks and eAudiobooks," Goodrich said, adding that expenditures are likely to continue rising.
Goodrich described licensing practices that limit how libraries can use digital files: metered checkouts, time-limited licenses and clauses that prevent sharing pricing information with other libraries. She said those terms can require libraries to repurchase the same content repeatedly or lose access before the community has used the paid entitlements. "So they're using public funds to purchase items that they are not able to provide to the public because of the terms of the licensing," she told the committee.
Goodrich said the bill is intended to address unfair licensing terms rather than impose wholesale price caps and urged industry and policy solutions that preserve author and publisher revenue while enabling libraries to serve patrons. The Urban Libraries Council called the proposal "critical for all libraries" and urged adoption as part of a coordinated national effort.
