The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project’s new report shows that e-reader and tablet ownership nearly doubled nationally over the holidays from 18% to 29%.  So, what does this mean to libraries?  An increased demand for e-books and library instruction on using various e-readers.  Sadly, due to publisher restrictions and limits, library users will not find the wide variety of titles they’ve enjoyed in print in e-book format.  ALA’s new Digital Content and Libraries Working Group, is working to push back against publishers who refuse to give libraries rights to their digital content.

Larra Clark of the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy writes “In addition to the content divide that currently exists for those seeking e-books through their libraries, the Pew report also surfaces a new “device divide.”  While 36 percent of people from families with annual incomes greater than $75,000 have a mobile reading device, only 8 percent of those with incomes below $30,000 report this is the case. In our effort to create and support a nation of readers and lifelong learners, these divides pose significant challenges to our values and ability to meet community needs.”  The Pew report reenforces how integral it is for libraries to stay current and keep thinking about new strategies to engage with their communities.

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From ALA Washington Office:

“Three copyright-related bills are currently in play at the start of 2012 – all of which take aim at any website beyond U.S. borders that distribute counterfeit or copyright infringing products. All three bills operate under the assumption that there is a problem that needs to be solved – and the best, or only, way to combatonline infringement overseas is with more law targeted at foreign websites. These bills have the potential to negatively impact fundamental library principles. The following  chart is for quick reference (not meant to be comprehensive), and outlines the primary issues and concerns of interest to the library community and those who use the Internet.”

SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) is due for markup on January 17, and a Senate vote on PIPA (Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act) is slated for January 24. Meanwhile, the OPEN (Online Protection and Enforcement of Digital Trade) Act, which would cut payment to foreign websites dedicated to piracy and is proposed as an alternative to PIPA, is currently in committee.

From Overdrive, December 12, 2011:

From time to time, to support the needs of our supplying publishers, updates are made to the permissions associated with content or the format of content offered. In many cases, this results in content being available in formats with wider compatibility (MP3), while in other less frequent cases, permissions become more restrictive. Recently, an update has been made to select eBooks previously offered as DRM-free to add DRM. While DRM has now been applied, expansive print and copy permissions have also been enabled to permit the broadest use of the content by your patrons.

As always, our goal is to maintain a diverse catalog, while balancing the needs of both our library and publisher partners.