Lynda.com charges libraries a large sum of money to use their platform. My library is in a town of 72,000 people and we were quoted $15,000 for use for a year. We were able to combine with other libraries and get this price down but not much.
Many libraries may not be able to continue to use the service because of privacy laws that are enforced in their state. I know many municipal libraries that are having these contracts reviewed by their law term to see if it violates the law.
Finally, LinkedIn claimed that they need the login to assure the user was a real person. This is laughable for two reasons. The first has been mentioned that anybody who creates an account can give a fake name. The second is most libraries require a photo ID to get a library card. We have already verified that our users are real people. So this is total BS on the part of LinkedIn.
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