Appellate Division Law Library

From the Monroe County Library System

We pass along this news release from the Monroe County Library System.

Monroe County Library System Joins Macmillan Boycott

(Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2019) Rochester, NY — Effective immediately, the Monroe County Library System (MCLS) and all public libraries in Monroe County will no longer purchase eBooks from Macmillan Publishers or any of its imprints. This decision comes in reaction to Macmillan’s new library eBook embargo, which went into effect Nov. 1. Under these new terms, public libraries are only allowed to purchase one copy of a new eBook for the first eight weeks after release.

To provide access to new titles, MCLS purchases multiple copies to help reduce wait times. Under the new model, MCLS would only have a single copy to share among the 744,344 residents of Monroe County.

“In some instances, this embargo will force readers to wait a year or more to borrow an e-book published by Macmillan, whose authors include J.D. Robb, Liane Moriarty, Bill O'Reilly and Louise Penny,” said Patty Uttaro, Director of MCLS and the Rochester Public Library.

MCLS joins concerned patrons, libraries and library systems across the nation in boycotting Macmillan eBooks, urging Macmillan to reverse its decision to embargo new titles.

The American Library Association (ALA) has also denounced Macmillan’s decision, and asks that the public express their concerns to press.inquiries@macmillan.com, or ALA’s Public Policy and Advocacy Office at alawash@alawash.org. More information, along with a petition requesting Macmillan to reverse their decision, are both available at https://ebooksforall.org/.