“We’ve been signing away our rights one click at a time…. If we want to take them back, libraries are the most powerful place we can start.”
Our ED @littlewow.online in @techdirt.com.web.brid.gy
www.techdirt.com/2026/04/21/y...
Believe me, we get it (said Library Futures comms, posting from their phone). After we solve ebooks we solve newspapers!
New From @libraryfutures.bsky.social: "Understanding #Confidentiality and Risk Assessment A Reference Guide for Everyone, Everywhere" www.libraryfutures.net/publications...
File under Things We Know That Bear Repeating: Library ebook licensing models suck.
www.cranstononline.com/opinion/gues...
"[T]he third circuit upheld the district court’s conclusion that UpCodes’s use is transformative because it 'achieves the distinct objective of making the law freely accessible and educating the public on the contents of binding laws.'"
Right on, third circuit!
www.arl.org/blog/court-r...
And for more on link taxes and libraries, we've got an oldie but goodie from former LF student fellow Spencer Izen!
www.libraryfutures.net/post/link-ta...
Looking for some model ebook legislation? We've got that, too. Join us! /end
www.libraryfutures.net/post/library...
Want more history on how ebooks and libraries got to this point? We've got a podcast for that! /2
www.libraryfutures.net/post/library...
"The problem we must address is that we have a market that was never designed for public institutions at scale."
@wordsandmoney.bsky.social on the latest with the library ebook market. /1
www.wordsandmoney.com/librarians-s...
Library Futures Vendors and Libraries Survey / people approaching a library from the mountains and a city
Vendors and libraries survey! Dr. Barbara Alvarez (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) and Dr. Eleanor "Nora" Mattern (University of Pittsburgh) invite you to participate as part of their work with the Library Futures Research Network.
pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
Library Futures AI Policies Working Group Survey. For public librarians. Open through April 13! / bust with fragments of text coming from its ear
Public librarians are invited to take this anonymous survey to inform the work of our AI Policies Working Group.
nyu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
"This is a triumph for everyone who values access to information, education and opportunity." --ALA President Sam Helmick--who also notes that despite this victory, the battle is not over.
www.ala.org/news/2026/04...
Ink Knows No Borders with Kaveh Akbar April 22, 2026, 6:30pm - 7:30pm Library Teen, Adult Celebrate Poetry Month with local and renowned author Kaveh Akbar. Akbar is a poet and author of Martyr!, one New York Times' top 10 books of 2024. He will discuss his process of writing poetry and the inspiration for his poem in the collection, Ink Knows No Borders, have a Q&A session, and book signing. His books can be pre-ordered through Sidekick Coffee & Books and picked up at the event. They will have limited quantities of the books for sale at the event and preordering ahead of time is ideal. Register.
Stay tuned for more from Library Futures on Ink Knows No Borders--and in the meantime, if you're in or near the fine town of North Liberty, Iowa, check out this event with Kaveh Akbar!
northlibertylibrary.org/programs/eve...
"How the § 1201 Process Ate Itself"
@nyuengelberg.org has a full explainer on the "streamlined" 12-step process for petitioning the government for permission to do what you're already allowed to do under copyright law.
www.nyuengelberg.org/outputs/unba...
eAudio for libraries (OverDrive) In contrast to the eAudio prices at retail, the prices on library eAudio licenses increased with all five publishers, ranging from a YOY jump of 2.9% from Penguin Random House to a 36% increase from Hachette. The annualized average increase over the last four years is 6.8%, a marked difference from the annualized rate for retail eAudio of -3.6%.
Libraries pay more. Continued.
More from @readersfirst.bsky.social!
www.readersfirst.org/publisher-pr...
How to Read a Contract (Part 2) with Library Futures Staff Attorney Layla Maurer April 7, 1 pm ET/10 am PT / mobsters holding a contract in front of a suspicious librarian
We'll be disclosing non-disclosure at How to Read a Contract Part 2 (The Confidentiality Edition) tomorrow 4/7!
Register now to hear from LF Staff Attorney Layla Maurer and get a sneak preview of our confidentiality and NDA guides!
nyu.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
"Challenges to intellectual freedom in public libraries commonly play out via direct confrontations with patrons."
Library Futures's own Siena Oristaglio takes to @bookriot.bsky.social to explain how Imagine IF: The Game is here to help.
bookriot.com/library-futu...
Imagine IF: The Game / Library Futures / an intellectual freedom adventure / horde of angry animals chasing librarian cat
Imagine IF: A Game-Based Introduction to Intellectual Freedom Friday, Apr 3, 2026 8:00 AM - 9:00 AM Intellectual Freedom 200 D-G Building on ALA President Sam Helmick's "Choose Your Own Adventure Intellectual Freedom Edition" presentation, this session roduces an engaging and interactive digital resource to
And hey, are YOU in Minneapolis for PLA? Don't forget to get up early on Friday so you can catch our own Michelle Reed and ALA President Sam Helmick!
www.placonference.org/confschedule
Would you like to be part of a shirt someday? Check out our Research Network!
www.libraryfutures.net/research-net...
woman in a graphic tshirt depicting a person with a bullhorn
back of woman in graphic tshirt with handrawn illustrations
people standing around a conference poster from Library Futures
What do you do with your conference poster when it's no longer a conference poster? You turn it into a shirt, of course! LF Comms person Laura steps to the other side of the camera at PLA!
SharkTank: E-Book Licensing Models, Moderated by Micah May, Lyrasis Ellen Paul, Connecticut Library Consortium Michael Blackwell, St Mary's County Library, ReadersFirst Amy Mikel, Brooklyn Public Library
Panel of three speakers
Shark tank at IndieLib!
IndieLib Forum program with list of sponsors and dedication to Fobazi Ettarh, author of "Vocational Awe and Librarianship"
"The bells and whistles on our digital products take power away from humans."
We're thrilled to be at IndieLib with @sarahlamdan.bsky.social giving power BACK to human librarians and independent publishers.
indiepubs.regfox.com/indielib-for...
Or, in the words of former student fellow Bella Wetherington:
"Libraries thrive when they are able to engage openly with the communities they serve, but they can only do so when there is protection from legal repercussions created by citizen contributions."
www.libraryfutures.net/post/section...
"As long as there have been libraries, they have organized, curated, and provided platforms for others to speak. Today, libraries engage in these activities online—the very activities Section 230 protects."
www.ala.org/news/2026/03...
Are you a public librarian? Please take this survey from our AI Model Policy Workgroup. Responses will help inform their recommendations.
Survey closes 4/13!
nyu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...
News From Library Futures March 26, 2026 Our partners and friends at Library Futures have released their annual report for 2025. Check it out for a review of their important publications and research, book talks, and webinars. Their advocacy for the freedom to read and better library digital content terms is as inspiring as their work on the proliferation of A.I. slop into into publishing is chilling. Congrats to the Library Futures team on a great year.
And thanks to our friends @readersfirst.bsky.social for their kind words on our work and for all the fine work they do on behalf of readers and libraries!
www.readersfirst.org/news/2026/3/...
And have we mentioned that our annual report is out? We believe we're going to win. Thanks to all of you who've joined us!
www.libraryfutures.net/annual-repor...
How to Read a Contract (Part 2) with Library Futures Staff Attorney Layla Maurer April 7, 1 pm ET/10 am PT / mobsters holding a contract in front of a suspicious librarian
We're back... with more contracts! Grab your spot now for How to Read a Contract Part 2 (Confidentiality Edition) with Library Futures Staff Attorney Layla Maurer and learn all about confidentiality, NDAs, and what you can and can't say about that contract.
nyu.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
