Library Futures Receives $2.5 Million Arcadia Foundation Grant

Library Futures is honored to be the recipient of a $2.5 million grant from Arcadia that will both fund our ongoing research and advocacy efforts on behalf of libraries in the digital age and expand our work on fighting corporate control of libraries by negotiating better contracts for libraries.

“Public information institutions should not have to ‘take what we can get’ while negotiating with vendors and rightsholders in contractual situations. Our project will reset the expectations around negotiation and contractual obligations in order to empower institutions to take control of their collections through direct negotiation and advocacy,” says Library Futures Executive Director Jennie Rose Halperin.

Libraries increasingly rely on outside corporations to supply, host, and manage their digital collections, and that leaves them open to abusive contract terms. Our work on vendor accountability and our roots in both the library and legal communities make us uniquely situated to address equity in library-vendor relationships.

With the generous support of the Arcadia Foundation, we will be able to add an attorney to our staff to aid library clients in the present as we help build the future of library technology. Our sincere thanks to Arcadia’s trust in our work – we’re looking forward to our next phase with excitement, enthusiasm, and fire.

About Arcadia

Arcadia helps people to record cultural heritage, to conserve and restore nature, and to promote open access to knowledge. Since 2002 Arcadia has awarded more than $1.3 billion to organizations around the world.

About Library Futures

Library Futures is the vanguard nonprofit organization uncovering and confronting the fundamental policy issues that threaten libraries in the digital age. We believe librarians, policymakers, and community leaders deserve a new approach to digital rights so they can protect, advocate for, and advance a fair digital future for libraries and the communities they serve. Library Futures meets this need with fresh research, visionary policy and advocacy initiatives, and engaging education programs.