A Letter from Mary Hastler, Director, Harford County Public Library:
Recently Penguin Group publishing stopped offering new eBooks and digital audiobooks to public libraries and ended its relationship with the digital library distributor, Overdrive. From the website paidcontent.org "With this move, Random House becomes the only big-six publisher to allow unrestricted access to its eBooks in libraries-though it will raise prices beginning in March."
Harford County Public Library customers are savvy readers and demand for books in eBook format has increased dramatically over the past year. It is discouraging that publishers are refusing to sell eBooks to public libraries, but we remain hopeful that they are committed to finding a workable solution so that eBooks are available to our customers.
In spite of the restrictions placed by the big six publishers, Harford County Public Library continues to provide access to an array of eBooks and eAudiobooks through Maryland's Digital eLibrary Consortium and Recorded Books OneClickdigital through its website at HCPLonline.org.
In the meantime, please feel free to contact the following publishers and share with them your disappointment and frustration with not being able to borrow eBooks through your tax funded public library.
Macmillan Publishing, 75 Varick Street, New York, N.Y., 10013; 1-646-307-5151, customerservice@mpsvirginia.com
Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, N.Y., 10020, 212-698-7000, http://www.simonandschuster.com/about/contact_us
Hachette Book Group, 466 Lexington Avenue #131, New York, N.Y., 10017, 212-364-1100, Customer.service@hbgusa.com
Penguin Group, 375 Hudson Street, New York, N.Y., 10014, 212-366-2000, ecommerce@us.penguingroup.com
Brilliance Audio, 1704 Eaton Drive, Grand Haven, MI, 49417, 616-846-5256, libsales@brillianceaudio.com.