Massachusetts (Re)Joins the Effort — Readers First

"On Friday January 20th, Ruth Balser of the 12th Middlesex district filed “An Act empowering library access to electronic books and digital audiobooks.”

So, Rhode Island now has company and two states are showing the bravery that characterized the Tea Party (in Boston Harbor, not the more recent and very much less illustrious political movement) and the American Revolution.

The bill is different than most previous library ebook legislative efforts and is likely to have benefitted from the expert advice of Mr. Kyle Courtney....

But this is to pick nits a little ignoble—for the bill is bold, cogent, and important. Love its provision that libraries can’t be restricted from talking about what we pay for licensing from publishers/vendors. That anti-competitive restriction needs to be rejected in every state. The part about severability—if one provision is ever struck down, the rest still stand—is important for all state efforts as well...."