The concept of an embargo on one or more forms of distribution of information is increasingly familiar, but this one appears to have a new twist: a publisher embargoing licensed content to libraries for a period of time on the hypothesis that library use is cutting into sales.
There's no technical reason why such an embargo could not be applied to library print book sales, but in fact libraries have been outlets for hot new best selling fiction from date of publication for a long time. The same hypothesis might apply. The alternate hypothesis, of course, is that multiplying distribution channels increases demand rather than thinning it out.
Jim O'Donnell
Arizona State University