Microsoft is closing its employee library and cutting back on subscriptions

The Verge [no paywall]: “Microsoft’s library of books is so heavy that it once caused a campus building to sink, according to an unproven legend among employees. Now those physical books, journals, and reports, and many of Microsoft’s digital subscriptions to leading US newspapers, are disappearing in a shift described inside Microsoft as an “AI-powered learning experience.” Microsoft started cutting back on its employee subscriptions to news and reports services in November, with some publishers receiving an automated email cancellation of a contract. “This correspondence serves as official notification that Microsoft will not renew any existing contracts upon their respective expiration dates,” reads an email from Microsoft’s vendor management team. “We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation for your partnership, collaboration, and continued support throughout our engagement.” Strategic News Service (SNS), which has provided global reports to Microsoft’s roughly 220,000 employees and executives for more than 20 years, is no longer part of Microsoft’s subscription list. In an email to Microsoft employees that relied on SNS reports, the publisher notes that “Microsoft has just released an automated announcement that all library contracts, of which the SNS Global Report is perhaps the most strategic for your own use, are to be turned off.”

• Microsoft employees I’ve spoken to recently have lost access to digital publications like The Information. They’re also unable to perform digital checkouts of business books from the Microsoft Library. While Microsoft often rotates the publishers it uses in its Library service, this time it’s part of a much broader change that seems like corporate cost cutting mixed with the continued push for AI. In an internal FAQ about the changes, Microsoft notes that subscriptions aren’t being renewed as “part of Microsoft’s shift to a more modern, AI-powered learning experience through the Skilling Hub.” This means the physical library space is changing, too. “The Library closed as part of Microsoft’s move toward a more modern, connected learning experience through the Skilling Hub,” notes the FAQ. “We know this change affects a space many people valued.”
• Microsoft is now in the middle of transitioning from its library to whatever this “AI-powered learning experience” is. I understand the company will maintain some digital subscriptions, but it’s not yet clear which ones will remain after this transition period is complete…”