ALA denounces Amazon, Macmillan in response to Congressional inquiry on competition in digital markets

Current practices by content publishers and distributors in digital markets limit libraries’ ability to deliver core services, according to a new report from the American Library Association (ALA). Submitted in response to an inquiry from the House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law, ALA’s report underscores practices by companies like Amazon and Macmillan Publishers that threaten Americans’ right to read what and how they choose and imperil other fundamental First Amendment freedoms. The report urges lawmakers to curb anti-competitive practices of digital market actors. The report addresses publishers’ abusive pricing and restrictive licensing terms for libraries. Over the past 10 years, libraries have spent more than $40 billion acquiring e-books as well as streamed music and audiovisual content from publishers. For popular e-book titles libraries pay up to five times the price an individual consumer pays and, unlike the individual, libraries typically have access to an e-book title for only two years. Restrictive license terms for streamed music and audiovisual content present libraries with similar access challenges. Streaming licenses are typically constrained to personal use and do not permit library lending or preservation. The report also notes the market for libraries that purchase academic and research content is particularly dismal. Like many other publications, scholarly journals essential for research have largely transitioned to digital formats over the past 25 years. At the same time, the market for scholarly journals has seen tremendous consolidation. In the college textbook market, three companies—Pearson, Cengage and McGraw-Hill—account for 85 percent of the industry. Furthermore, despite the cost improvements digital technology affords, textbook prices have risen three times the rate of inflation over the past two decades. Plans to merge Cengage and McGraw-Hill Education will create even further industry concentration, says ALA.