Not my union, not my monkeys, BUT

The Authors Guild, an American union, has published a study pointing to libraries as a major contributor to the decline in income for writers, and everyone's mad about it because libraries are great.

They point to digital lending as a major driver of this as via Libby, which honestly – and I realise I'm just some idiot – feels like a wild swing in justifying why libraries are just now starting to impact authors' earnings when they've been around for fucking ages.

(There are a few controversies going on with the Authors Guild at the moment, including the fact that they've partnered with a generative AI firm, which is honestly scab behaviour, but this is not my union, I don't know the details.)

Now I have many opinions on why authors are earning less these days and I'm obviously about to list them for your reading pleasure, but just to be clear, libraries rule and authors do earn royalties from libraries. That is one of the reasons we love libraries and hate piracy – most of us want books to be freely available to anyone who wants to read them, and libraries make that possible while still ensuring our work is recognised and rewarded.