Toward information equity among academic libraries

Abstract

For two decades, publishers and vendors have used e-book licenses to back academic libraries into a corner. These rightsholders and intermediaries lease rather than sell content, and they dictate what constitutes permitted downstream usages. Libraries have historically used interlibrary loans to fill gaps in collections, but publishers and vendors unilaterally claim that interlibrary loans of entire e-books infringe on their exclusive rights. As a result, libraries at small and mid-sized colleges and universities are constrained to providing patrons access only to e-books that fall within the limits of modest collections budgets. Grounded on the premise that e-book interlibrary loans are needed to advance and protect information equity in higher education, this presentation invites interdisciplinary discussions and collaboration with respect to the future of resource sharing in academic libraries.