Posted on June 8, 2021 at 2:00 PM by Sadye Scott-Hainchek
The state of Maryland has passed a bill that should boost public libraries’ digital lending abilities.
Publishers Weekly reports that the bill requires any publisher licensing “an electronic literary product" to consumers in the state to also offer to license the content to public libraries "on reasonable terms.”
While most publishers already offer library lending, the bill would potentially prevent them from charging exorbitant fees or putting embargoes on new releases, as Macmillan did before the pandemic, says PW.
It’s unclear, however, how the bill — which takes effect January 2022 — will affect Amazon’s exclusive content.
You can read more about Maryland's library e-lending bill and see why the Association of American Publishers opposed it in PW.
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Categories: Today in Books