At the Wednesday, December 18, qathet Regional District meeting, directors voted to send a letter in support of public access to e-books.
The regional district received a letter from Rebecca Burbank, chief librarian of the Powell River Public Library, asking that the regional district sign the joint statement on equitable public access to e-books from the Canadian Urban Libraries Council.
In her letter, Burbank stated that the circulation of audio books and e-books has increased 99 per cent in the past four years, and that 22,000 digital books will be circulated to the library’s patrons in 2019. She stated that the libraries are facing obstacles from publishers, including elevated pricing, restrictive licences and now an embargo of all e-books purchased from book publisher Macmillan.
“Libraries are a cornerstone of an open democratic society where citizens educate themselves to vote,” stated Burbank. “Providing free and equitable access to information, regardless of its format, is the core purpose of a public library, and precisely what is being hindered by the publishers who provide our digital content.”
