By Sam Chada · updated June 5, 2026
The companies behind it, what they take from your patrons, and what it costs you. Vendor contracts, AI governance, library labor, and the open alternatives, each with the source attached.
OverDrive’s own sponsored announcement says Amplify draws on hundreds of millions of monthly reading sessions across Libby and Sora. Here’s what that means on the library side of the desk.
The Utah nonprofit that popularized the AI “this book is porn” report and the for-profit that sells the $5 scanner behind it file from the same household. Straight from the corporate record.
Read the investigation →
You place a hold and see a friendly app. You don’t see the private-equity owner, the license that expires, or where the money goes.
Ownership FYI
Owned by KKR, the same firm that owns Simon & Schuster. One owner, both sides of the deal.
Ownership Sourced
What Librar Labs is, who’s behind it, and what to ask before your district signs with an AI startup pitching school libraries.
AI Sourced
Less than a warehouse building, to a new company run by the team that built it. Straight from the bankruptcy filings.
Bankruptcy Court docket
A group claims 4 million records from your school library vendor. Unverified; the confirmed sibling breach hit Canvas.
Security UnverifiedWho sits above the app
KKRPrivate equity
One owner, both sides of the desk.
Read the filing →Baker & TaylorChapter 11
A digital lending platform for less than a warehouse building.
Read the filing →Francisco PartnersPrivate equity
The catalog most schools run on, owned by a PE firm.
Source: School Library Journal →