Decoders for deliberately obscured systems
You\'re not bad at contracts. The contracts are designed to be confusing. You\'re not missing something in the licensing terms. The licensing terms are deliberately layered. You\'re not wrong that something feels off about the vendor relationship. It\'s designed to extract incrementally so you don\'t notice. These aren\'t tips. They're decoders for systems built to obscure.
Pick your problem. I\'ve built something that addresses it because I\'ve lived through it.
New to the site? Start here. Walks you through the pattern of vendor capture, why it keeps repeating, how to maintain agency, and where to find the specific tools you need for your role.
Start the guided pathExplore 55 years of library ebook history from Project Gutenberg (1971) through OverDrive\'s PE acquisition (2020+). Track corporate decisions, publisher embargoes, and the consolidation that created today\'s library ebook crisis. Searchable and filterable by topic.
Open the timelineQuick self-assessment to figure out if you need help. Read through six scenarios, find yours, and get a straight answer about whether to hire consulting or handle it yourself. Takes 5 minutes and saves you from guessing.
Do the assessmentThe vendor isn\'t explaining the terms. Your director doesn\'t understand what you're afraid of. Use the 6-step audit that cuts through the jargon, the red-flag patterns I\'ve seen across institutions, and exact language that works when you negotiate.
Open contract toolkitYour vendor is copying patron data into their training sets. Or selling it. Or both. Here are scripts for data requests that actually work, removal processes that hold up, and the legal language that makes vendors stop pretending they "can't" comply.
Open data removal guideThey\'re asking you to adopt AI without understanding what it means. Without protecting patron privacy. Without understanding the liability. Here\'s templated policies that actually mean something, staff training that doesn\'t gloss over the risks, and board language that names what\'s actually at stake.
Track AI policy changesMoving costs more than staying. That\'s by design. Here\'s what the transition actually involves, the questions to ask, and how to cost it so your board understands why the "easy" vendor switch suddenly costs $100K. I've documented what worked when we did it.
See transition toolkitThe discourse gives you engage-or-refuse. This field guide gives you a third option: decision trees that work, equity frameworks that matter, case studies with real outcomes, and actual sample policies you can adapt. Built for librarians who don't have time to read 50 pages about AI.
Get the field guide15 vendor-replacement alternatives for library technology. Explore systems for circulation, discovery, lending, publishing, and archives with setup timelines, implementation guides, and direct links to communities already doing this work.
Browse the tools directoryHow OverDrive monetizes circulation data. Why libraries should publish their own market intelligence. A practical call to action: publish your monthly circulation stats. No permission needed. 15 minutes. One CSV.
Read the caseLine-by-line analysis of OverDrive CEO testimony to DC Council. What claims are verifiable, what's unsourced, what structural conflicts exist, and the 20+ questions that should have been asked about vendor ownership, financial incentives, and data practices.
Read the analysisYour library has a legal right to lend digital books the same way you lend physical ones. Here's what CDL is, why publishers are fighting it, the legal precedent that supports it, and how libraries can implement CDL without waiting for vendor permission.
Read the CDL guideThe American Library Association\'s positions are shaped by vendor relationships, conference sponsorships, and funded initiatives. Here\'s how to track conflicts of interest within the ALA, understand how vendor relationships influence policy, and advocate for stronger conflicts-of-interest safeguards.
Track ALA relationshipsYour library's digital spending is invisible. Track vendor costs, calculate cost-per-use, identify price trends, and use the data to negotiate better terms. Includes templates for monthly tracking, year-over-year comparison, and peer benchmarking.
Get the budget trackerUnderstand what you're actually buying with different licensing models: simultaneous-user, metered, subscription, and perpetual access. Compare major vendors side-by-side on price, DRM, ownership, and portability.
Compare licensing modelsTrack digital library rights legislation across all US states. See which states have passed patron privacy laws, CDL protections, and vendor accountability measures. Find model legislation and strategies for your state.
Track state billsReal case study of how a mid-sized library broke free from an expensive ebook vendor, renegotiated terms, and reduced costs by 40%. Timeline, costs, lessons learned, and a roadmap for your library's migration.
Read the case studyWhy library circulation and spending data is valuable market intelligence. What happens when vendors control that data. Why libraries should publish their own data instead of letting vendors profit from it. Templates for starting your library's data publication.
Understand the dataCopy-paste frameworks for the conversations you keep having. AI scorecards, board memo templates, case study narratives, and contract audit checklists, all ready to customize for your library.
Browse templatesDeep analysis of OverDrive's research claims about library lending driving bookstore sales. The evidence grid, the timeline, and what the data actually shows versus what was presented.
Read the investigationThree curated entry points into the site's content. Understand the systemic challenges, Act on practical guidance, and Track legislation and compliance, each with hand-picked articles organized by theme.
Start with UnderstandTwo-page summary of January 2026 developments plus the script you can use to brief your board.