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Libraries
ALA Accepting Applications for $2 Million in NEH-Funded Covid-19 Relief Grants
Up to 200 U.S. libraries of all types will be selected to receive $10,000 grants to support, restore, and sustain their core activities.
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Publisher News
Educational Publishers Win Another Injunction Against Pirate Sites
The injunction is the fourth successful action in two years for the group, known as the Educational Publishers Enforcement Group, which consists of Cengage, Elsevier, Macmillan Learning, McGraw Hill and Pearson.
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Libraries
ALA Kicks Off Banned Books Week 2021
The theme for this year's event is "Books Unite Us, Censorship Divides Us," and comes as LGBTQIA+ books and books that focus on racism and racial justice are being challenged in alarming numbers.
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Libraries
Wyden, Eshoo Question Big Five Publishers Over Their Library E-book Practices
The lawmakers seek a wide range of information not only on the publishers’ digital library practices, but also on the economics of the market.
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Publisher News
Publishers, Amazon Ask Court to Dismiss ‘Illogical’ E-book Price-Fixing Suit
In separate filings, lawyers for Amazon and the Big Five publishers insist that there is no evidence of any coordination or agreement to fix prices, and, more to the point, that the alleged conspiracy itself—in which the five largest American trade publishers are alleged to have banded together to give Amazon monopoly power—simply makes no sense.
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Awards & Prizes
Joy Williams Awarded 2021 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction
Williams accepted the prize at an award ceremony during the National Book Festival on September 17.
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Libraries
In Deal with LibraryPass, TKO Studios Makes Full Digital Catalog Available to Libraries
The distribution deal includes day & date access to new releases.
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Libraries
Covid-19 Forces ALA to Make Inaugural LibLearnX Conference Virtual Only
The ALA's plans to hold the in-person portion of its new LibLearnX conference in San Antonio have been shelved due to the Covid-19 surge, coupled with the size, scope and location of the event, the ALA said.
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Copyright
Pearson Education Sues Chegg, Alleging 'Massive' Copyright Infringement
The suit accuses a Chegg subscription study service of illegally appropriating end-of-chapter questions from various textbooks.
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Publisher News
Publishers, Amazon Move to Dismiss Booksellers’ Antitrust Suit
In separate motions this week, lawyers for both Amazon and the Big Five publishers asked a federal court to dismiss the latest iteration of a potential class-action price-fixing claim filed on behalf of indie booksellers involving print trade books.
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Copyright
Discovery Extension Requested in Internet Archive Book Scanning Suit
Just weeks after the parties asked a judge to settle a significant discovery dispute, the parties in a closely watched copyright case over the scanning and lending of print library books have asked for a three-month extension for discovery.
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Libraries
New PLA Survey Illustrates Critical Digital Role Played by Public Libraries
The report, '2020 Public Library Technology Survey,' provides a current, detailed snapshot of how libraries serve as digital equity hubs.
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Libraries
ALA Expands Award for Books, Articles on Intellectual Freedom
The award will now honor journal articles in even number years and books in odd number years, with the Oboler committee now seeking nominations for the 2022 journal article award.
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Promotional
Editor's Note: Preview for Librarians Will Be Back on September 17
PW Preview for Librarians is taking a week off. Happy Labor Day!
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Copyright
Copyright Office Weighs in on Maryland Library E-book Law
In an opinion issued this week, U.S. Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter concluded that Maryland’s new library e-book law is “likely” preempted by federal copyright law.
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Libraries
It’s Crunch Time for Library Supporters After $3.5 Trillion Budget Bill Passes House
With a September 15 deadline looming for legislators to earmark how to spend $3.5 trillion approved by Congress this week, library supporters are mounting their most critical advocacy effort in a generation.
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Libraries
Macmillan Learning Launches Employee-Created Program to Recruit Diverse Talent
A new paid externship program aims to entice students from underrepresented groups to consider a career in educational publishing.
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Libraries
Senator Wants Copyright Office to Weigh in on Maryland Library E-book Law
In a May 26 letter North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis asked the Copyright Office to offer an opinion on whether Maryland’s library e-book law “encroaches on the exclusive domain” of federal copyright law.
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Libraries
Define 'Reasonable': Can Maryland's New E-book Law Help Change the Marketplace?
Maryland's recently passed library e-book law will require any publisher offering to license "an electronic literary product" to consumers in the state to also offer to license the content to public libraries "on reasonable terms." The question now is: what are reasonable terms?
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Copyright
Publishers Blast Internet Archive’s ‘Extraordinary’ Demand for Sales Data
Lawyers say the Internet Archive's sweeping demand for 10 years' worth of monthly sales data is "burdensome in the extreme" and legally "irrelevant."