Toledo Library Joins ReadersFirst Initiative
The Toledo-Lucas County Public Library joined some 70 library systems from the United States and Canada to issue a joint statement on Tuesday, June 5 demanding improved e-book services for library users in North America.
The statement, ReadersFirst Initiative, outlines four principles the libraries want e-content providers — the middlemen between publishers and libraries — to follow in order to lift content restrictions and also make the borrowing experience less cumbersome, according to a Library Journal article posted on The Digital Shift.com.
“Libraries have a responsibility to fight for the public and ensure that users have the same open, easy and free access to ebooks that they have come to rely on with physical books,” the statement reads. “They face two major challenges. The first is that, unlike print books, publishers are not required to sell e-books to libraries – and many do not. This is a complex and evolving issue. The second, addressed here, is that the products currently offered by e-content distributors, the middlemen from whom libraries buy ebooks, create a fragmented, disjointed and cumbersome user experience.”
The four principles outlined in the letter, which is going to be sent to various distributors, were drafted and circulated by the New York Public Library (NYPL).
The four principles demand that library users be able to:
Search and browse a single comprehensive catalog with all of a library’s offerings at once, including all e-books, physical collections, programs, blogs, and donor opportunities. Currently, content providers often only allow searches within the products they sell, depriving users of the comprehensive library experience.
Place holds, check-out items, view availability, manage fines and receive communications within individual library catalogs or in the venue the library believes will serve them best, without having to visit separate websites (libraries, not distributors, should be enabled to manage all interactions with users).
Seamlessly enjoy a variety of e-content. To do this, libraries must be able to choose content, devices and apps from any provider or from multiple providers, without bundling that limits a library’s ability to serve content they purchase on platforms of their choice.
Download e-books that are compatible with all readers, from the Kindle to the Nook to the iPad and so on.
The confirmed signatories of the statement so far are:
Alameda County Library
Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Libraries
Arlington Public Library
Austin Public Library
Barrie Public Library
Bibliotheque de Gatineau
Bibliotheque de Montreal
Boston Public Library
Brooklyn Public Library
Burlington Public Library
Califa Library Group
Cambridge Libraries
Canadian Urban Libraries Council
CCS – Cooperative Computer Services
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
Chicago Public Library
Columbus Metropolitan Library
County of Los Angeles Public Library
Daniel Boone Regional Library
Dekalb County Public Library
Denver Public Library
District of Columbia Public Library
DPLA Steering Committee
Durham County Library
Edmonton Public Library
Fraser Valley Regional Library
Free Library of Philadelphia
Georgetown County Library
Greater Victoria Public Library
Halifax Regional Library
Hamilton Public Library
Hartford Public Library
King County Library System
Kitchener Public Library
Lincoln City Libraries
Los Angeles Public Library
Madison Public Library
Markham Public Library
Memphis Public library
Mid-Continent Public Library
Mississauga Public Library
Multnomah County Library
Nashville Public Library
New Orleans Public Library
The New York Public Library
Omaha Public Library
Ottawa Public Library
Peninsula Library System
Pierce County Library System
Pima County Public Library
Prince George’s County Memorial Library
Princeton Public Library
Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County
Queens Library
Sacramento Public Library
Salt Lake City Library
Salt Lake County Library
San Diego County Library
San Diego Public Library
San Francisco Public Library
Santa Clara County Library
Saskatoon Library
The Seattle Public Library
Sno-Isle Libraries
Thunder Bay Public Library
Toledo-Lucas County Public Library
Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
Toronto Public Library
Whitby Public Library
Wichita Public Library
Vancouver Island Regional Library
Vancouver Public Library
Vaughan Public Library
For additional information visit toledolibrary.org, or 419.259.5200
Press Release Contact Name: Rhonda Sewell
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Organization Name: Toledo-Lucas County Public Library
Organization Address: Toledo, OH