2012 State of America’s Library Report

In its recently released 2012 State of America’s Libraries Report, the American Library Association reports that publishers limiting library e-book lending, budget cuts, and book challenges are a few library trends of the past year that are placing free access to information in jeopardy.  The report was released in conjunction with National Library Week.

According to the report, the rapid growth of e-books has stimulated increasing demand for them in libraries, but libraries only have limited access to e-books because of restrictions placed on their use by publishers. Among the restrictions noted in the report, Macmillan Publishing, Simon and Schuster, and Hachette Book Group have refused to sell e-books to libraries; HarperCollins has imposed an arbitrary 26 loans per e-book license; and Penguin has refused to let libraries lend its new titles altogether. When Random House raised e-book prices, the ALA urged it to reconsider. “In a time of extreme financial constraint, a major price increase effectively curtails access for many libraries, and especially our communities that are hardest hit economically,” Molly Raphael, ALA president, said in a prepared statement.

The report also notes that the single-minded drive to reduce budget deficits continued to take its toll on essential services at all levels of society in 2011, with teachers and librarians sometimes seen as easy targets for layoffs. School librarians faced especially severe budgetary challenges in 2011. Cuts began at the federal level in May 2011, when the Department of Education eliminated fiscal 2011 funding for the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries program, the only federal program solely for school libraries in the United States. The effects were soon felt at the state and local levels.

The State of America’s Libraries Report is designed to document trends in library usage and detail the impact of library budget cuts, technology use, and various other challenges facing U.S. libraries.  To access the full report, please visit:

American Library Association: The 2012 State of America's Libraries Report