Skip to content

Exhibits·21 records

The receipts, attached.

The primary sources behind the filings: vendor announcements, court records, and what patrons run into in the wild. Dated where a date can be established, and linked to where they came from. Every document stored here is listed in the checksum file, so you can confirm the copy you downloaded is the copy I published.

OverDrive Public Library Access Agreement

Open the archived agreement (PDF, captured September 7, 2026). Source type: vendor contract form. This preserves the published terms; it does not establish which version a particular library signed or how a disputed clause would be applied.

Used in The Cost of Ebooks. Compare it with an executed agreement before drawing institution-specific conclusions.

OverDrive

The B2B distributor behind Libby and Sora, in its own words.

Related investigationRead the OverDrive Amplify record →

OverDrive's Amplify announcement describing patron reading data as aggregated, anonymized, and actionable — OD-01
A sponsored Publishers Weekly announcement for OverDrive Amplify. It describes aggregated and anonymized Libby and Sora reading activity as publisher intelligence.
Publishers Weekly, sponsored spotlight, May 18, 2026 · the original article · the filing →

Full Publishers Weekly article: Spotlight on OverDrive, announcing the Amplify data product — OD-02
The complete sponsored Publishers Weekly article announcing Amplify, preserved as it appeared in May 2026.
Publishers Weekly, May 18, 2026, captured Jun 1, 2026 · the original article · the Amplify filing →

Two PE firms

KKR and Francisco Partners, named on the corporate paperwork rather than in press coverage.

Related investigationRead the Two PE Firms record →

First page of Aragorn Holding Parent Corp's SEC Form D filing, August 2021, listing One OverDrive Way, Cleveland, Ohio as its address and Steven Potash as Chief Executive Officer and President — PE-01
Aragorn Holding Parent Corp’s August 2021 SEC filing. It connects OverDrive’s headquarters and executives with directors listed at KKR’s corporate address.
SEC EDGAR, Form D · the filing (PDF) · the Two PE Firms record → In this archive since Jul 30, 2026 · 356 KB PDF · sha256 2e0b8d0ef83e441e

First page of the joint OverDrive and Follett Content press release, December 9, 2025, announcing a sales collaboration between Sora and Follett Content — PE-02
OverDrive and Follett Content’s December 2025 announcement. It describes their Sora arrangement as a “sales collaboration” for delivering digital content to schools.
OverDrive and Follett Content, Dec. 9, 2025 · the release (PDF) · the Two PE Firms record → In this archive since Jul 30, 2026 · 325 KB PDF · sha256 e38a573785b5f4a8

Publishers Weekly article by Andrew Albanese, July 1, 2019, reporting Simon and Schuster's new library e-book terms effective August 1, 2019 — PE-03
Publishers Weekly’s July 2019 report on Simon & Schuster’s library ebook terms. It documents two-year licenses and prices of $38.99 to $52.99 for most new releases before KKR acquired the publisher.
Publishers Weekly, Jul. 1, 2019 · the article (PDF) · the Two PE Firms record → In this archive since Jul 30, 2026 · 227 KB PDF · sha256 8413430e1c450fe3 · thumbnail shows page 2; page 1 of the capture rendered blank

First page of Follett's own press release, September 1, 2021, announcing the sale of Follett School Solutions to Francisco Partners — PE-04
Follett’s September 2021 announcement of the Follett School Solutions sale to Francisco Partners. The release includes Destiny and reports its use in more than 75,000 K–12 schools.
Follett Corporation, Sep. 1, 2021 · the release (PDF) · the Two PE Firms record → In this archive since Jul 30, 2026 · 176 KB PDF · sha256 8d2eebbce5123768

Title slide of OverDrive's training deck, Getting Started with Lending Models, Part One: Lending models in OverDrive Marketplace — PE-05
OverDrive’s staff training deck on lending models. It explains four forms of Metered Access, including licenses that expire by time or number of checkouts.
OverDrive, Inc., staff training deck · the deck (PDF) · the Two PE Firms record → In this archive since Jul 30, 2026 · 483 KB PDF · sha256 715ac586245e658e

Baker & Taylor

The library wholesaler that became “A Follett Company,” the paper trail, and the view from inside.

Baker and Taylor cat mascots on a sticker reading 'Baker & Taylor, A Follett Company' — BT-01
Baker & Taylor’s mascots, Baker and Taylor, now badged “A Follett Company.”
Author photo, May 2019

Panorama of the Las Vegas Strip seen from a high floor of the Cosmopolitan hotel — BT-02
The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas during a combined Follett and Baker & Taylor sales meeting. The meeting documents the companies’ operational integration after Follett’s acquisition.
Author photo

A Baker & Taylor 'Exceptions Flag' cataloging form and a processing slip for a library book, with a handwritten note about a missing 'new' sticker — BT-03
Baker & Taylor’s shelf-ready service, up close: an “Exceptions Flag” cataloging form and the processing slip for a single library-bound book.
Author photo, undated

First page of Senator Ron Wyden's November 2021 letter to Baker and Taylor — BT-04
Sen. Ron Wyden’s November 2021 letter questioning Baker & Taylor’s proposed library ebook terms and their effect on access.
Source: full letter (PDF) → In this archive since Jun 14, 2026 · 294 KB PDF · sha256 fe807926986c63de

First page of Baker & Taylor's court response to OCLC's motion for a temporary restraining order — BT-05
Baker & Taylor’s September 2025 court response to OCLC’s request for a restraining order. The filing records the companies’ dispute in Baker & Taylor’s final operating period.
Source: court filing (PDF) → In this archive since Jun 14, 2026 · 1.4 MB PDF · sha256 8923cbfc1c9b3db5

First page of LibraryOne Digital Inc.'s Articles of Incorporation, North Carolina Secretary of State, SOSID 3186012, date filed 12/8/2025 — BT-06
LibraryOne Digital Inc.’s December 2025 Articles of Incorporation. The filing identifies the company formed shortly before the first Baker & Taylor purchase agreement closed.
NC Secretary of State, SOSID 3186012 · the filing (PDF) In this archive since Jul 7, 2026 · 91 KB PDF · sha256 1ccc4d637f7193e8

A redacted r/Libraries comment from a laid-off Baker & Taylor employee describing layoffs with no communication and grieving the company's decline — BT-07
A former Baker & Taylor employee’s public account of the company’s collapse and layoffs.
r/Libraries, on or around October 2025 (exact date not recovered), username redacted

Redacted r/Libraries comments from a Baker & Taylor India employee describing toxicity and being told to work on releases that would never ship — BT-08
A Baker & Taylor India employee’s public account of working on releases they were told would not ship.
r/Libraries, usernames redacted

Redacted r/Libraries comments from librarians asking what happens to their Axis 360 titles during the Baker & Taylor collapse — BT-09
A public librarian discussion about whether existing Axis 360 titles would remain available during Baker & Taylor’s collapse.
r/Libraries, on or around October 2025 (exact date not recovered), usernames redacted

The Baker & Taylor bankruptcy

What the company told a federal judge it owes libraries, in its own CEO’s sworn words.

First page of the Declaration of Amandeep Kochar in support of Baker and Taylor's Chapter 11 petition and first day motions, filed 03/16/26 in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, case 26-12863-CMG — BK-01
Baker & Taylor’s March 2026 bankruptcy declaration. Paragraph 48 reports approximately $120 million in unsecured obligations, including about $33 million owed to library customers for prepaid materials the company could not deliver.
In re Baker & Taylor, LLC, No. 26-12863-CMG (Bankr. D.N.J.), Doc. 9 · the declaration (PDF) In this archive since Jul 30, 2026 · 710 KB PDF · sha256 dd9b1ef243a43da3 · obtained from the RECAP Archive

Follett

The Francisco Partners-owned company behind the school library catalog, and a claim made about it that nobody has confirmed.

A ransomware.live tracker page for Follett Software LLC, follettsoftware.com, showing group Shinyhunters, discovered 2026-04-30 22:27 UTC, estimated attack date 2026-04-30, country United States, and a description claiming over 4 million Salesforce records containing PII were compromised with a final warning to respond by 4 May 2026 — FL-01
An April 2026 ransomware.live entry reproducing ShinyHunters’ claim about Follett Software. It verifies that the claim was posted; it does not verify that a breach occurred.
ransomware.live listing · screenshot captured Jun 2, 2026

Digital rights management

How libraries have explained the disappearing ebook to their own patrons.

Related explainerRead what DRM actually is →

First page of a Halifax Public Libraries patron handout titled eBooks and Audiobooks, explaining what an ebook is and how to download one from the library's OverDrive collection — DR-01
A 2010 Halifax Public Libraries handout explaining OverDrive and Adobe Digital Editions. It tells patrons that borrowed files expire automatically and stop working when the loan ends.
Halifax Public Libraries, 2010 · the handout (PDF) · the DRM explainer → In this archive since Jul 30, 2026 · 994 KB PDF · sha256 93fa44ec12dbaf18

Library spending records

What libraries actually pay the vendors, straight from the public board packets.

Related investigationFollow the dollar through library ebook pricing →

Davis County Commissioners agenda item approving a $122,640.39 payment to the Utah State Library for 2026 access to the OverDrive Beehive Library Consortium — LS-01
Davis County (UT) library board, Nov. 2025: approving a $122,640.39 payment to the Utah State Library for 2026 access to the OverDrive Beehive Library Consortium. The agreement notes the library’s 2024 OverDrive circulation was 1,127,583.
Davis County Library Board packet, Nov. 13, 2025 · the Nov. 13, 2025 notice on Utah’s Public Notice Website · the agreement excerpt (PDF) → In this archive since Jul 7, 2026 · 523 KB PDF · sha256 76181105fa5bdbd8

Federal library data

How the US government counts what libraries spend and collect, in its own definitions.

Related investigationRead the digital lending pricing record →

The IMLS Public Libraries Survey FY2023 data dictionary, data element #354, Electronic Materials Expenditures (ELMATEXP). The definition reads: Report all operating expenditures for electronic (digital) materials. Types of electronic materials include e-books, audio, and video downloadables, e-serials (including journals), government documents, databases (including locally mounted, full text or not), electronic files, reference tools, scores, maps, or pictures in electronic or digital format, including materials digitized by the library. It adds that expenditures for database licenses are included, based on the ISO 2789 definition. — FD-01
IMLS counts ebooks, e-audio, and database subscriptions in one “electronic materials” line: about four cents of every operating dollar.
IMLS PLS FY2023, Data Element Definitions #354 · documentation (PDF) · archived copy · the pricing record →