This is the timeline of how library ebook access went from "open standard" (2007) to "walled garden monopoly" (2025). Three private equity buyouts. Five major publisher consolidations. One company now controls books, audio, and video. Libraries went from owning their collections to renting them on terms they can't negotiate. This is the timeline of why.
Libraries begin lending cassette audiobooks. The First Sale Doctrine, a copyright protection, allows libraries to lend physical media indefinitely without publisher approval or licensing fees.
Libraries own what they buy. No artificial expiration dates. No circulation limits. Publishers are powerless to stop lending.
VictoryMPEG releases the MP3 standard, compressing audio by 90% without losing quality.
The foundation for digital audiobooks is laid.
NeutralOverDrive launches its download service for libraries. First sale doctrine does not apply to digital licenses, so publishers can now attach terms, restrictions, and expiration dates to digital files.
One company becomes the de facto middleman. The enshittification begins: convenient service, moderate pricing, then aggressive extraction.
GrowthThe IDPF releases ePub (Electronic Publication). It becomes the open standard for reflowable ebooks.
Libraries gain a non-proprietary format to champion.
VictoryOverDrive kicks off a national tour with a digital bookmobile, traveling to libraries and events to promote their digital lending platform. The initiative symbolizes the shift from library-owned collections to platform-dependent access.
The marketing begins. Libraries become dependent on a single vendor for digital access.
GrowthU.S. Court of Appeals rules that software and digital files are licenses, not purchases. First Sale Doctrine does not apply. Publishers can now legally restrict what libraries do with digital content.
The legal foundation for library vendor lock-in is established. Control shifts from libraries to publishers.
BlockedHachette and other major publishers stop selling ebooks to libraries entirely. Simon & Schuster and Macmillan will not allow library lending of digital titles.
Publishers assert control over the digital market. Libraries begin facing an access crisis.
BlockedPrivate equity firm Insight Venture Partners takes majority control. OverDrive shifts from "library partner" to "profit extraction." PE playbook: improve operations, then squeeze every dollar out.
The first of three PE buyouts. Libraries transition from customers to captive revenue sources. The pressure to extract maximum value from locked-in libraries begins.
GrowthHarperCollins announces library ebook licenses expire after 26 checkouts. They claim this matches physical book "wear and tear." It\'s a lie. Digital files don\'t degrade. Libraries must repurchase the same file endlessly.
This is the moment the system breaks. One publisher creates a precedent. Every publisher follows. Libraries trapped in infinite repurchase cycles for files that never wear out.
GrowthIn response to publisher restrictions, Unglue.it is founded as an open-source, crowdfunding platform for library ebook lending. The mission: make ebooks freely available to libraries without vendor lock-in or licensing restrictions.
Libraries gain an alternative path. A reminder that digital lending could be different.
VictoryDouglas County Libraries launches its homegrown digital warehouse after 13 months of planning. They build their own platform to purchase ebooks directly from independent publishers and authors, bypassing Big Publishers and OverDrive. Cost: $200K. Annual savings: $200K+.
Libraries prove an ownership model is possible. But it requires massive upfront investment and technical expertise most libraries don't have.
VictoryPenguin and Random House merge, reducing competition among the Big Five publishers.
Fewer competitors allow stricter pricing and restrictive licensing models.
GrowthRakuten buys OverDrive for $410M. A Japanese tech company now controls American library ebook access. Library lending is no longer a service; it's a profit center.
The global consolidation play begins. OverDrive shifts from American library company to global extraction engine.
GrowthMacmillan bans libraries from buying bestsellers for 8 weeks. Only 1 copy allowed when it finally goes on sale. Patron demand is irrelevant. Publisher control is total.
Libraries cave. They pay higher prices and accept metered access just to get access back. Publishers learn: libraries will accept anything.
GrowthKKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) buys OverDrive for $775M. Private equity takes control. The strategy becomes simple: trap libraries in, extract maximum profit.
OverDrive now operates on PE math: libraries are locked in with no real alternatives. Every decision is about squeezing margin from a captive customer base.
GrowthOverDrive acquires RBdigital, its only real audiobook competitor. The platform is killed. Users forced to migrate. Libraries have nowhere else to go.
The last lever of market competition disappears. Libraries are now completely dependent on one company for ebook AND audiobook access.
GrowthOverDrive buys Kanopy, the leading video streaming platform for libraries. Now they control books, audio, AND video.
Complete vertical integration. One company controls every type of digital content your library offers. Your negotiating power: zero.
GrowthFirst state law requiring publishers to license to libraries on "reasonable terms".
A brief moment of hope for fair pricing.
VictoryAssociation of American Publishers sues Maryland. Federal judge agrees: copyright is federal. State laws protecting libraries are unconstitutional.
Legislative resistance is dead. Libraries can't negotiate through law. Publishers win. Libraries lose all leverage.
GrowthAfter copyright courts fail libraries, states pivot to consumer protection laws. They target the "Buy Now" button itself, targeting not copyright but deceptive pricing practices.
A new legal strategy emerges. It might actually work.
NeutralPandemic-era licenses expire en masse. Budgets can't absorb the cliff. Collections shrink. Waiting lists explode. Patron demand is at a peak. Libraries can fulfill none of it.
The system breaks. Digital access, once promised as liberation, becomes scarcity management.
Growth