MLOL: what it is and why it scares us so much
Back in 2017, an incredulous journalist gave the following definition of MLOL: an inexplicably well-kept secret. Yes, because the first digital library system (Media Library Online) has never been properly publicised. And not because it offers the usual fluff service, but rather for the opposite reason. With its multimedia catalogue, it invites citizens to read, listen to and view eBooks, newspapers, audio books, music and films for free (you got it right). In short, it makes information available to all and sundry at no cost. Scary, huh?
The birth of MLOL
The project is the result of a collaboration between the Bologna-based company Horizons Unlimited, the Province of Reggio Emilia and the Consorzio Sistema Bibliotecario Nord-Ovest (CSBNO). The actual launch of the platform took place in 2009, after four years of work, with a catalogue of 28,000 eBooks and the adhesion of 350 libraries in Lombardy, Tuscany, Emilia Romagna and Umbria. However, to date the MLOL network counts more than 6,000 member libraries in 20 Italian regions and 10 foreign countries.
If we then consider that in the first ten months of 2019, a little less than 630,000 eBooks were borrowed through the MLOL platform, the figure for 2021 is rather impressive: 1.6 million. The number is encouraging, especially – and it has to be said here – thanks to the still ongoing pandemic. After all, MLOL is nothing more than the website of the library next door, but ‘bigger’. There is nothing stopping us from walking over to borrow a fragrant paper book. But if by chance it rains, we live far away or there is a lockdown in progress, here is the virtual world to help us out.
The failure
So why has this project never been a real success?
Not everyone has the time or the inclination. Certainly many do not like reading in front of a screen. However, one of MLOL’s biggest problems has always been DRM management. Digital Rights Management are systems to protect copyright and ensure that eBooks cannot be copied, changed format or borrowed for more than two weeks.
Until a few days ago, anyone wishing to borrow an eBook through the digital library system would have had to go through Adobe Digital Editions. This reading application, which among other things requires an additional user registration, has caused quite a few problems in recent years, making ePub3 eBooks unreadable to eReaders. A bit discouraging, even for avid readers.
As of 28 October 2021, however, MLOL has also adhered to the open source technology Readium LCP, which has already been used for years in many European countries. By downloading and installing the MLOL Reader app, therefore, users can log into their account and borrow eBooks without further hassle. However, the app only works for smartphones, computers and tablets. There is no way around Adobe Digital Editions if you want to continue using your eReader.
Not to mention Kindle fans. The MOBI format is currently not available on the platform, because it is not DRM-compatible. Fortunately, there are other possibilities. No surprises, however, despite some bitterness. MLOL statistics speak for themselves. 60 per cent of users do not use eReaders for reading.
The advantages
There has been an improvement, then, even if the whole structure is still in danger of not being attractive enough to catch on. Yet, the advantages of MLOL are undeniable. Depending on library availability, the MLOL network provides a catalogue of tens of thousands of eBooks from major publishers, as well as a newsstand with 7,000 newspapers and periodicals from all over the world, audio books, films, music and databases.
Of course, if what we are looking for is not available, we can reserve it just like in a brick-and-mortar library. The real wealth, however, lies in the network of open resources, i.e. more than 2 million eBooks, audio books, sheet music, manuscripts, maps, e-learning resources, audio and video archives and much more that is not protected by copyright.
In addition, there is also the MLOL Scuola platform, designed precisely for Italian schools of all levels, and MLOL Plus, the premium version of the Media Library Online base, which I had already mentioned in a previous article.
In conclusion, all that glitters may not be gold, but it glitters a lot nonetheless. Suffice it to say that, even without having one’s own reference library, it is possible to join MLOL via one of the many online subscription services. This means that, wherever we are, we can read, inform ourselves, listen to music, enjoy art or, more generally, ‘get educated’. We no longer have excuses of laziness, remoteness, lack of time. Everything is at our fingertips.
And so it is perhaps for this reason that MLOL still scares us so much. A service that should be at the centre of our everyday life turns out instead to be almost subversive, when it puts us with our backs to the wall and leaves us no escape from our disinformation.
