BPL’s Social Justice Mission Statement reads: “We are working on breaking down barriers to access every day.” The latest cause in which we are engaged is access to ebooks. Two bills in the state legislature aim to set fair terms and pricing for library e-books and downloadable audiobooks. An op-ed in The Hartford Courant on March 12, 2023 written by Laura Irmscher, West Hartford Public Library; Elizabeth Lane, Bloomfield Public Library; Sarah Kline Morgan, East Hartford Public Library; and Bridget Quinn, Hartford Public Library outlines the following issues.

Did you know that Libraries pay up to six times more than consumers for the same digital books? Libraries must also repurchase those titles they already paid for when their licenses expire after a certain amount of time or number of checkouts - typically 24 months or 26 checkouts. Publishers can also choose not to sell certain titles to libraries or delay library sales well after the release date. This is the opposite of how libraries have purchased print books for decades, and it's harming libraries and their patrons. 

E-books and downloadable audiobooks serve people with visual or reading impairments. Digital audiobooks serve people who struggle to read and provide literature where there might not otherwise be access. Digital books also serve people with limited mobility. When publishers decide libraries cannot purchase some books, that means only people who can afford to pay for a book can have access to the content. That is the antithesis of what libraries stand for.