Hello, and welcome to the blog! I'm glad you decided to stop by, even though today's post is a downer of epic proportions. We're talking about the potential dissolution of libraries as we know them. I don't know about you, but this makes me ultra sad. Libraries are the backbone of society, and you can find things at libraries you can't find elsewhere (yes, even with the advent of the internet and Google). If you're ready to get going, grab a blanket and a warm cup of coffee, and let's do this thing.
Well, they're the guys who sell books to libraries at crazy low prices. ReaderLink was set to buy them, but that deal seems to have fallen through, so Baker & Taylor is apparently now bankrupt. ReaderLink is the channel a ton of retail businesses purchase books through. That would've been an amazing sale, if you ask me.
With the rise of OverDrive, an apparently huge cyberattack, and the years of the Covid-19 pandemic, libraries were already struggling, but with this new shuttering of their book supplier, libraries are going to be in deep shit.
To add to Baker & Taylor's financial woes, OCLC issued a lawsuit you can find all the details of here. Apparently, there was some shady stuff going on, and they weren't okay with it. They'd reportedly issued a cease and desist regarding their WorldCat libraries, and they say it was ignored. Here's Baker & Taylor's response. Selling copies of books to libraries has always been a small-profit business, and if you ask me, that lawsuit is what shoved them over the edge.
Good job, guys! *eye roll*
I'm gutted. I know I spent many hours at the library while I was in college because it was resourceful and quiet, and they had books I needed to complete things like research papers. Checking stuff out is always free, and when I was growing up, it was a huge deal to get a library card. My sister worked at our local library when I was little, and she used to bring me in to check out books all the time (of course, I blazed through them like a possessed child). I believe I still have a couple of books we bought at one of their shelf-cleaning sales.
My daughter uses the library weekly. She reads like a glutton, too.
What will we do if libraries dissolve? Is anyone else worried about this, or is it just me? Is everyone depending on digital libraries? I can't read an ebook. My eyes hate them. I have to have a hard copy. What then? Do we all need to start building our own libraries? Should we resist selling copies of books we bought and start donating them?
WHAT IS THE ANSWER??
I'm sure I don't know. Any suggestions?
Thank you for stopping by! If this was your first time here, I apologize for the downer of a post. I promise you, they're not all like this. *yikes*
Well, that's all for today, folks!
Until next time, WRITE ON!
Jo
