Wayland Library May Join Growing Macmillan Boycott

WAYLAND, MA — The Wayland Free Library might join a growing nationwide boycott of the publisher Macmillan over the company's new e-book lending policy. In November, Macmillan placed a purchasing embargo on e-books that prohibits libraries from owning more than one digital copy of new release books.

Dozens of libraries around the country have joined the boycott, including Brookline and the Merrimack Valley Library Consortium. Wayland's library board will discuss and possibly vote to join the boycott at a meeting scheduled for Feb. 26.

The new Macmillan policy deems that libraries can only own one copy of an e-book for the first two months of the book's release. Typically, libraries will buy multiple copies of a popular title, or buy more copies if demand spikes.

Some libraries fear other large publishers will enact embargoes if Macmillan is successful.

"It is highly probable that more of the Big Five publishers will move to embargo content unless libraries take corrective action with Macmillan. And there is no reason to think that e-lending restrictions will stop there" the Brookline Public Library said in a recent statement.

Apart from Macmillan, the "big five" includes Simon and Schuster, Penguin-Random House, Hachette Livre, and HarperCollins. No other major publisher has an e-book embargo in place.