If you live in Seattle, you should have gotten your ballot by now. You should also know that the Seattle Review of Books Editorial Board endorses a "yes" vote in favor of the library levy on this year's ballot. I even wrote an editorial at Crosscut about it. If you haven't gotten your ballot yet but you are registered to vote, follow the instructions on the King County Elections website..

The most "controversial" aspect of the Library Levy, by which I mean the one thing conservative anti-government dimwits are using to protest the levy, is the idea that the library will end overdue fees. This should not be controversial at all. As Daniel Beekman reports at the Seattle Times, Snohomish County's library system hasn't had late fees for decades, and it's been great for everyone.

Speaking of the library, Seattle Public Library is showing off parts of their Zine Archive and Publishing Project in a new exhibit.

There is a war against library ebook lending, and Amazon just joined in. In the most Amazon move ever, the online retailer is trying to pit indie bookstores, publishers, authors, and libraries against each other.

“Amazon continues to put pressure on publishers by sharing data with authors indicating libraries are the cause of lost digital retail sales,” [digital lending company Senior Vice President Thomas] Mercer said. “Their argument is that every loan at a library is a lost sale. While I don’t believe this to be true, and I don’t think many publishers believe this to be true, the pressure is causing major publishers to reconsider their library model.”