*E-Books Can Subvert Book Bans, But Corporate Profit-Seeking Stands in the Way* /Exorbitant costs and restrictive licenses are obstructing libraries’ efforts to resist book bans via access to e-books./ By Laura Crossett March 10, 2024 The past few years have seen record e-book lending <https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/libraries/article...> for libraries — as well as record profits <https://www.crainscleveland.com/awards/steven-potash-newsmakers-year-2021> for OverDrive, the company that provides e-books access for 95 percent of libraries in the U.S. (OverDrive’s profits have trickled up — the company was bought by <https://www.newyorker.com/news/annals-of-communications/an-app-called-libby-...> the private equity firm K.K.R. in 2015.) But as library e-book lending has taken off, so has another trend: book bans. Book bans, library board takeovers and efforts designed to remove books from school and public library shelves are rampant, with 158 bills <https://www.everylibrary.org/billtracking2023> attempting to ban everything from books to drag queen story times introduced in state legislatures in 2023. [...] continua qui: https://truthout.org/articles/e-books-can-subvert-book-bans-but-corporate-pr...