As book bans sweep across the nation, state legislatures are taking action, but concerns over the potential impact on libraries are surfacing alongside these efforts. According to a recent report from the American Library Association (ALA), the number of banned books surged by nearly two-thirds in 2023, totaling over 4,200 titles, NBCNews reported. Alarming figures reveal that approximately 30% of challenged books in schools featured characters of color or addressed race-related themes, while another 30% depicted LGBTQ characters or discussed related topics. Moreover, nearly half of the banne ..read more

Scribd, the file-sharing platform that also hosts e-books and audiobooks is no more. To put it in the right perspective, the company is now renamed as Everand. Earlier, there used to be three separate entities – Everand, Scribd, and SlideShare that users had access to. Also, each was confined to their respective domains. For instance, user-uploaded documents used to be available via Scribd while Everand provided access to e-books, audiobooks, podcasts, and such. SlideShare provided access to ad-free content such as download presentations and professional content. Now, under the changed scheme ..read more

According to a new report released today by OverDrive digital reading is surging in K12 schools nationwide. The State of K-12 Digital Reading is based on data from Sora and reveals some fascinating insights into the reading habits of students across different age groups. The Sora student reading app is available in more than 62,000 K-12 schools worldwide; Sora offers the industry’s most extensive catalogue of ebooks, audiobooks, digital magazines, and other content to support the need for required curriculum titles, class sets, and pleasure reading. During the 2022-23 school year, most titles ..read more

In a concerning turn of events, the renowned shadow library platform, Z-Library, finds itself embroiled in a battle against fraudsters capitalizing on its latest fundraising campaign. The initiative, aimed at securing crucial funds that the library said it needs for project maintenance and development, has inadvertently become a target for scammers looking to deceive unsuspecting users, TorrentFreak reported. Z-Library, which has weathered legal challenges and domain seizures in recent years, initiated the campaign to sustain its operations and enhance user experience. However, amidst the gen ..read more

In a landmark ruling, book publishers have secured a significant legal victory against the Internet Archive (IA), marking a pivotal moment in the ongoing war against copyright violators. As TorrentFreak reported, the decision, handed down by a New York federal court, underscores the critical importance of protecting intellectual property rights in the digital age. The dispute centered around IA’s contentious practice of controlled digital lending (CDL), which publishers alleged amounted to blatant copyright infringement. Unlike traditional library lending models or licensed agreements, IA’s s ..read more

In a significant development in the ongoing battle against online piracy, two major shadow libraries, Anna’s Archive and Library Genesis (LibGen), have been blocked following a court order issued by the Rotterdam District Court in Denmark, TorrentFreak reported. These shadow libraries, notorious for hosting vast collections of copyrighted material without authorization, have long been a concern for copyright holders and anti-piracy organizations. The recent court order, obtained by the local anti-piracy group BREIN on behalf of the publishing industry, marks a significant step in curtailing t ..read more

Libraries are renowned for their innovative community outreach programs. From painting workshops, to teen book clubs, to ESL classes and engaging public speakers, there is no end to what a library may offer. A unique and adorable program out of Massachusetts is garnering a large amount of feel-good press. March Meowness is happening now, and it’s the purrfect combination of quirky public relations, and positive community engagement. For the month of March, Worcester Public Library (WPL) is forgiving fines for patrons, if they share their cute cat photos. As shared on the WPL website, “We und ..read more

In the ever-expanding digital landscape, a concerning reality emerges: millions of scholarly articles risk fading into obscurity due to inadequate efforts to preserve the same. A recent study, as Nature.com reported, examining over seven million digital publications, revealed a disconcerting trend – more than a quarter of these valuable works are not being adequately archived and safeguarded. Published in the Journal of Librarianship and Scholarly Communication on January 24th, these findings shed light on the growing gap between research output and preservation infrastructure. Martin Eve, a ..read more

Overdrive is the most prominent digital distributor of audiobooks and ebooks to public libraries worldwide. They have just signed an agreement with Storytel, quickly becoming one of the best audiobook companies. They recently entered the North American market by purchasing audiobooks.com. This new agreement will offer access to an unparalleled and culturally diverse selection of tens of thousands of premium audiobooks in 20 languages. The collaboration enables all 92,000 libraries and schools in the OverDrive global network to make the catalogue available to millions of readers in their commu ..read more

In a bid to enhance the reading experience of its patrons, the Lafayette Public Library is set to revolutionize its digital lending platform. With the introduction of cloudLibrary by Bibliotheca, readers will soon have access to an extensive array of literary treasures, nearly doubling the current collection size, the website Kpel965 reported. This initiative is poised to redefine how readers engage with digital content, offering a diverse selection that includes not only e-books and audiobooks but also comic books, graphic novels, magazines, and newspapers. As part of the Bayouland E-Library ..read more