Current Investigations · all filings
Every filing, sourced.
Investigations into who owns library technology and what it takes from your patrons. Each one links to the primary documents.
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001
OverDrive Is Selling Publishers the Data of How Deep Your Patrons Read
OverDrive’s own sponsored announcement says Amplify draws on hundreds of millions of monthly reading sessions across Libby and Sora. Here’s what that means on the library side of the desk.
Vendor / Privacy Action items -
002
The More Your Patrons Read, the More Your Library Pays OverDrive.
A Utah library’s own board record shows the bill and how it’s calculated: the more your patrons read on OverDrive, the more you owe OverDrive. $122,640.39, broken down.
Vendor / Spending Action items -
003
Libraries Are “Going Digital” on Four Cents of the Dollar
Follow the money and the digital collection everyone fights about — the waitlists, the licensing — is four cents of every dollar. Even those four cents vanish into a private-equity black box.
Vendor / Spending FYI -
004
One Utah Married Couple Sells the “This Book Is Porn” Report and the AI That Writes It.
The Utah nonprofit that popularized the AI “this book is porn” report and the for-profit that sells the $5 scanner behind it file from the same household. Straight from the corporate record.
AI / Censorship Action items -
005
OverDrive’s Waitlist Isn’t a Shortage. It’s a Licensing Cap.
You place a hold and see a friendly app. You don’t see the private-equity owner, the license that expires, or where the money goes. Start here: what the screen hides, and why that’s the point.
Vendor / Ownership FYI -
006
Libby Isn’t Your Library. It’s a Private Equity Asset.
The app patrons think is the library is owned by KKR, the same private-equity firm that owns Simon & Schuster. One owner, both sides of the deal.
Ownership Action items -
007
The Startup That Told Schools Its AI Was “Intelligent Enough to Not Need a Trained Librarian”
What Librar Labs is, who’s behind it, where the money came from, and what to ask before your district signs a contract with an AI startup pitching school libraries. Following Elissa Malespina’s reporting.
AI Action items -
008
Baker & Taylor Sold Its Library Ebook Platform for $750,000. The Buyers Are the Team That Ran It.
Straight from the bankruptcy filings: B&T sold its digital library-lending platform for less than a warehouse building, to a new company run by the B&T team that built it.
Bankruptcy Action items -
009
Follett Is on a Leak Site. It Hasn’t Said a Word.
A hacking group claims it took 4 million records from your school library vendor. It’s unverified, the confirmed sibling breach hit Canvas, and Follett still hasn’t said a word.
Security Developing -
010
You Can’t Run a Library Like a Business
Businesses count widgets, not life events. So why are healthy libraries cutting staff to look lean?
Labor / Governance FYI -
011
Vet a Vendor Before You Sign
A five-minute, no-terminal way to check what an ed-tech or library vendor’s website is really doing — who it tracks, whether it’s secure, and whether its claims hold up. Free tools, plain steps.
Guide / DIY How-to