Just weeks ago, he notes, t here was a major 'summit' around digital content held at the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, which Blackwell says Macmillan reps were invited to, but did not attend. Michael Blackwell, director of St Mary's County Library (Maryland), and a ReadersFirst member, told PW he was disappointed that Tor officials chose not to discuss any concerns with librarians ahead of the move. “Instead, you chose with no advance notice to disadvantage our readers, many of whom discover your products through libraries.” 'You could have expressed your worry about lost revenue, offered us evidence, and engaged us in dialogue about solutions,” reads a communication directed to Tor officials on the ReadersFirst site. Notably, after years of relative stability in the library e-book market and improved relations between publishers and libraries, the move caught librarians by surprise. The post said ReadersFirst members are considering 'different courses of action' in response, and encouraged librarians and library patrons to email Macmillan reps with their feedback.

In a post on its website, ReadersFirst, a coalition of some 300 libraries dedicated to improving e-book access and services for public library users, called the move a 'giant leap backwards' for libraries, and disputed the idea that library e-book lending is hurting Tor's retail e-book sales. Since 2014, like all the Big Five publishers, Macmillan has made its full catalog of e-book titles available to libraries for lending. The publisher told PW that there are no plans 'at the moment' to add other divisions to the pilot, and that they will run the test 'until we have enough data to judge the efficacy of the program and its impact on our retail sales.'

'We have been seeing an adverse impact on our e-book sales over a period of time,' Macmillan executives told PW, 'and are using this test to determine if library e-book lending is one of the contributing factors.'

In a statement to PW on Wednesday, Macmillan officials confirmed the change to their library terms, but stressed again that the move was part of a 'pilot,' and softened its previous statement to libraries that directly connected e-book lending to a drop in Tor's retail e-book sales.

Tor books catalogue