From the petition:
Quote:
This embargo would limit libraries’ ability to provide access to information for all. It particularly harms library patrons with disabilities or learning issues. One of the great things about eBooks is that they can become large-print books with only a few clicks, and most eBook readers offer fonts and line spacing that make reading easier for people who have dyslexia or other visual challenges. Because portable devices are light and easy to hold, eBooks are easier to use for some people who have physical disabilities.
Here's the truth: Limiting access to new titles for libraries means limiting access for readers like you.
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I'm just not feeling this; I certainly don't think it's the hill for libraries to die on.
We've had variations on this conversation before. Saying "wait eight weeks" is not at all the same as saying, "you can't have this ever." Playing the violins about disabled readers gets an eyeroll from me. The disabled as well as anyone else who wants to borrow a particular Macmillan book from OverDrive can read something else in the interim - perhaps even a book that came out eight weeks ago. Libraries have never worked on immediate access anyway, unless you were a combination of lucky and cunning.
Shrug. Ebooks are still a market in tremendous flux and I'm not surprised that the players are tinkering with their models. I don't think the Big Five are the Big Evil and my own ineradicable preference is for gateway publishing. I think the libraries are using up outrage that could be better directed at other areas, especially expiring licenses.