The Washington Digital Library Consortium (WDLC), of which Whatcom County Library System (WCLS) is a member, has chosen to boycott Blackstone Publishing’s eAudiobooks in response to Blackstone’s prohibition on library purchases. We invite other libraries to join us in this effort and offer the toolkit of materials below in case it is useful.
Note: The attached materials describe a six-month boycott, which ended January 2020. WDLC has since voted to extend the boycott as long as Blackstone continues to embargo titles.
- Detailed proposal including patron impact analysis and logistics for selectors (Word, PDF)
- Our letter to Blackstone (Word, PDF)
- Our letter to Overdrive (Word, PDF)
- Talking points for stakeholders (Word, PDF)
- Q&A for staff and patrons (Word, PDF)
- FAQs for libraries considering the boycott (Word, PDF)
- Sample press release (Word, PDF)
- Sample email to patrons who have long wait times on boycotted titles (Word, PDF)
You can also view updates on the boycott.
Participating libraries:
Washington Digital Library Consortium, representing:
- Anacortes Public Library
- Asotin County Library
- Bellingham Public Library
- Burlington Public Library
- Camas Public Library
- Carpenter Memorial (Cle Elum) Library
- Castle Rock Public Library
- Blanche Bradley Cathlamet Public Library
- Central Skagit Library
- Columbia County Rural Library District
- Davenport Public Library
- Denny Ashby (Pomeroy) Library
- East Adams Library District (Ritzville)
- Ellensburg Public Library
- Gilmour Memorial (Kittitas) Public Library
- Grandview Library
- Harrington Public Library
- Hesseltine (Wilbur) Public Library
- Jefferson County Library
- Kalama Public Library
- Kelso Public Library
- La Conner Regional Library District
- Liberty Lake Municipal Library
- Longview Public Library
- Lopez Island Library District
- Mount Vernon City Library
- Neill Public Library
- North Olympic Library System
- Ocean Shores Public Library
- Odessa Public Library
- Orcas Island Public Library
- Port Townsend Public Library
- Puyallup Public Library
- Reardan Memorial Library
- Richland Public Library
- Roslyn Public Library
- San Juan Island Library
- Sprague Public Library
- Upper Skagit Library
- Walla Walla County Rural Library District
- Walla Walla Public Library
- Weller (Waitsburg) Public Library
- Whatcom County Library System
- Whitman County Rural Library District
Schertz Public Library, Schertz, TX
Driscoll Public Library, Devine, TX
Real County Public Library, Leakey, TX
Boise Public Library, Boise, ID
Timberland Regional Library, Tumwater, WA
Tolleson Public Library, Tolleson, AZ
East Bonner County Library District, Sandpoint, ID
Seguin Public Library, Seguin, TX
Central Pennsylvania Library District, representing:
- Centre County Library
- Clearfield County Public Library
- DuBois Public Library
- Joseph & Elizabeth Shaw Library
- Juniata County Library
- Mifflin County Library
- Schlow Centre Region Library
Berks County Library System, Leesport, PA, (which also is boycotting Simon & Schuster audio) representing:
- Bernville Area Community Library
- Bethel-Tulpehocken Public Library
- Boone Area Library
- Boyertown Community Library
- Brandywine Community Library
- Exeter Community Library
- Fleetwood Area Public Library
- Hamburg Public Library
- Kutztown Community Library
- Mifflin Community Library
- Muhlenberg Community Library
- Reading Public Library (additionally boycotting Macmillan and Hachette audio)
- Robesonia Community Library
- Schuykill Valley Community Library
- Sinking Spring Public Library
- Spring Township Library
- Village Library
- Wernersville Public Library
- West Lawn-Wyomissing Hills Library
- Womelsdorf Community Library
Yolo County Library, Yolo County, CA, (which is also boycotting Macmillan) representing:
- Arthur F. Turner Community Library (West Sacramento)
- Clarksburg Branch Library
- Esparto Regional Library
- Knights Landing Branch Library
- Mary L. Stephens – Davis Branch Library
- South Davis Montgomery Library
- Winters Community Library
- Yolo Branch Library
- Shipley Walters Center for Yolo County Archives and Library Services
Nevada County Community Library, Nevada County, CA