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A 9625

Enacts the facilitating access to e-books for libraries act

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Robert Carroll

A.9625 lets libraries form cooperative purchasing to negotiate e-book and digital audiobook licenses together, with license terms shareable for transparency.

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Bill Summary · A 9625

Overview

A.9625, introduced in the New York Assembly (Session 2025-2026) by Assemblymember R. Carroll, is titled the “facilitating access to e-books for libraries act.” The bill aims to promote access to electronic books (e-books) and digital audiobooks for libraries by enabling cooperative purchasing arrangements and ensuring transparency in licensing terms.

Purpose and Intent

  • Improve libraries’ ability to acquire electronic literary materials (e-books and digital audiobooks) by enabling cooperative purchasing among libraries and library systems.
  • Remove barriers related to licensing negotiations by allowing libraries to share terms and leverage collective buying power.
  • Ensure libraries can disclose license terms to other libraries or systems, fostering greater transparency and potentially more favorable negotiation outcomes.

Key Provisions

  1. Definitions (new § 286)

    • Digital audiobook: a voice-narrated published work in digital audio file form.
    • Electronic book: a written published work released as a digital text file.
    • Electronic literary materials: both electronic books and digital audiobooks.
    • Libraries: broad definition including public, school (elementary/secondary), tribal, academic, research libraries, and archives.
    • Public library system: entities serving multiple counties or a group of libraries within or across counties, including city libraries and cooperative systems.
    • School library system: libraries serving a school district.
    • Publisher: entity engaged in creating and selling/licensing literary materials, including electronic formats.
    • Aggregator: entity licensing access to collections of electronic literary materials from multiple publishers.
    • Cooperative purchasing agreement: agreement among governing bodies of libraries/systems to jointly negotiate and contract with publishers/aggregators.

  2. Cooperative Purchasing (new § 286, subsections 2–3)

    • Libraries, public library systems, and school library systems may form cooperative purchasing agreements to negotiate and contract with publishers or aggregators for electronic literary materials.
  • Any contract offered by a publisher or aggregator to a library/system may not prohibit disclosure of its purchase or license terms to other libraries or library systems.

Practical Impact

  • Enables collective bargaining: Libraries can band together to negotiate licenses for e-books and digital audiobooks, potentially securing better terms, pricing, or access conditions.
  • Promotes transparency: License terms disclosed to other libraries/systems are protected in the sense that publishers/aggregators cannot forbids such disclosure, facilitating greater market transparency.
  • Broad applicability: The definitions encompass a wide range of library types (public, academic, tribal, school, archives), encouraging cross-institution collaboration.

Affected Parties

  • Libraries, public library systems, and school library systems in New York State.
  • Publishers and aggregators that license or sell electronic literary materials (e-books and digital audiobooks).

Timelines and Procedure

  • Effective Date: Immediate upon enactment.
  • Legislative path: Referred to the Committee on Libraries and Education Technology; amended and recomitted multiple times (as reflected in action history) before final consideration.

Potential Impacts and Considerations

  • Access: May increase library access to a broader range of electronic materials through better pricing or more favorable licensing terms.
  • Equity: Could help smaller or under-resourced libraries participate in cooperative licensing, reducing disparities in digital holdings.
  • Competition and Contracts: Encourages transparency in licensing terms, which could influence competitive dynamics among publishers and aggregators.

Summary

A.9625 would authorize and encourage cooperative purchasing among various types of libraries to negotiate licenses for electronic books and digital audiobooks, while ensuring license terms can be shared among libraries. By clarifying definitions and expanding the scope of eligible libraries, the act aims to enhance access to digital materials, promote transparency in licensing, and leverage collective purchasing power to secure better terms. The measure takes effect immediately upon enactment.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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