#JudyBlumeForever . . . Unless You Are a Library

July 10, 2012

Today, Simon and Schuster is trying to drum up a bit of social media attention for the release of the first Judy Blume ebook, her 1975 classic Forever. The tweets are rolling in at #JudyBlumeForever but many of them reveal a darker side of this ebook release. For example, this tweet from YA author Jenny Han:

Today’s the ebook release of #JudyBlumeForever! I remember finding it in my school library and hiding in the stacks reading it

Sadly, students today won’t find the ebook version of Forever in the digital stacks of their libraries. Simon and Schuster refuses to sell their ebooks to libraries for lending. So along with congratulations to @JudyBlume for the e-release of her amazing book, I also have to ask if she is even aware that the electronic version of Forever is forever locked away from libraries. Maybe if Judy Blume, Jenny Han, and other authors start speaking up for their audiences, we can open up more ebook reading.

So take to Twitter and share your stories, not only about #JudyBlumeForever, but also about #LibrariesForever.