Amazon: Give kids access to books
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy
With the pandemic, millions of kids across the country cannot access school and local libraries, cutting them off from physical books when they need it most. Ebooks and audiobooks can fill the gap, but the world’s largest and most profitable ebook publisher is blocking access.
Amazon controls the majority of America’s book distribution but fails to do what every other major publisher does: sell e-books and audiobooks to public libraries where kids can access them for free on apps. Amazon doesn’t just sell books, it publishes them -- including thousands of books for kids and teens and many award-winning titles. However, Amazon has refused to sell any of their e-books or audiobooks to public libraries.
Shame on Amazon for undermining libraries in order to sell more books. Amazon has raked in hundreds of billions during the pandemic, with CEO Jeff Bezos 80% richer than he was a year ago! To put it mildly, the pandemic has been a windfall for this company and its CEO. Children, on the other hand, have had school and their entire lives shut down. They need access to books more than ever.
Tell Amazon to stop stonewalling America’s libraries and give kids access to books.
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To:
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy
From:
[Your Name]
Dear Jeff Bezos and Andy Jassy,
With libraries across the country closed, millions of kids and families rely on library ebook and audiobook collections to learn and entertain themselves. By refusing to sell Amazon published e-books and audiobooks to libraries, you are cutting off access for millions of children who couldn’t otherwise afford them. Amazon’s refusal to give kids access to e-books in order to protect an industry monopoly is unacceptable. We demand Amazon work with Overdrive, makers of the Libby app most libraries use to distribute ebooks and audiobooks, to offer Amazon publishing titles to library patrons.