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Tell Harvard Libraries: Speak Out Against Self-Destructing E-books
  1. Signatures
    840 out of 1,000
    Petitioning
    1. Harvard Library Administration
  2. Created By
    Elizabeth Hadaway
    Brownsville, TX
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

Books don't disappear after you read them 26 times -- but NewsCorp's HarperCollins publishing company wants ebooks to self-destruct after 26 check-outs. HarperCollins announced earlier this year that it would sell ebooks to libraries that would last for 26 check-outs. After 26, they said, the library must purchase the same exact book over and over again.

Not surprisingly, this news hasn't been welcome to cash-strapped libraries struggling to keep their doors open during the recession. Libraries from Boston to Washington State have announced they won't be buying ebooks from HarperCollins with this damaging policy attached.

Why can Harvard's library make a difference? Second only to the Library of Congress in size, Harvard's library holds immense sway and prestige in a country famous for its expansive public libraries. If Harvard speaks out against the 26-checkout rule, HarperCollins will be forced to rethink their policy and find a new solution that is good for both publishers AND libraries.

Why People Are Signing
Recent Signatures

Keep e-books at our libraries! Urge HarperCollins to rethink its 26-checkout model.

Greetings,

I am a concerned citizen asking Harvard's prestigious library system to immediately speak out against HarperCollins' 26-checkout ebook policy.

The policy, announced earlier this year, offers ebooks to libraries that self-destruct after 26 check-outs, forcing libraries to pay for a popular book over and over again. Librarians across the country have argued that this presents an impossible logistical and financial conundrum for institutions that are strapped for cash and struggling in many cases to stay open.

Second only to the Library of Congress in size, Harvard's library holds immense sway and prestige in a country famous for its expansive public libraries. If Harvard speaks out against the 26-checkout rule, HarperCollins will be forced to rethink their policy and find a new solution that is good for both publishers AND libraries.

Please release a public statement immediately urging HarperCollins to go back to the drawing board and rethink its unsustainable 26-checkout ebook model.

[Your name]

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