Comments on: The trouble with digital books http://library.hunter.cuny.edu/blog/research/the-trouble-with-digital-books/ The Blog of the Hunter College Libraries Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:03:34 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: tony doyle http://library.hunter.cuny.edu/blog/research/the-trouble-with-digital-books/comment-page-1/#comment-5351 tony doyle Mon, 06 Oct 2008 14:06:20 +0000 http://library.hunter.cuny.edu/blog/?p=427#comment-5351 Herman Tavani (whom I mentioned in my previous post) talks about how the so called information commons is being adversely affected by digitization and legislation devised to protect the “rights” of copyright owners of digital material. He’s especially critical of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which restricts access and use of digital information. He adduces interlibrary loan as one example: “ . . . consider the case of interlibrary loan practices involving physical books. Such practices have not only benefitted individuals, but arguably also have contributed to the public good by supporting the ideal of an information-sharing community. If the books that we were so easily able to borrow in the past become available only in digitized form in the future, it may no longer be possible to access them freely through an interlibrary loan system. By granting copyright holders of digital media the exclusive right to control how electronic (versions of) books are access and used, the DMCA can easily discourage the sharing of information between libraries. So as more books become available only in digital form, the information they contain may be less accessible to ordinary individuals in the future, which will further diminish the info commons” (“Locke, Intellectual Property Rights, and the Information Commons,” Ethics and Information Technology (2005) 7: P. 94). Herman Tavani (whom I mentioned in my previous post) talks about how the so called information commons is being adversely affected by digitization and legislation devised to protect the “rights” of copyright owners of digital material. He’s especially critical of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which restricts access and use of digital information. He adduces interlibrary loan as one example:

“ . . . consider the case of interlibrary loan practices involving physical books. Such practices have not only benefitted individuals, but arguably also have contributed to the public good by supporting the ideal of an information-sharing community. If the books that we were so easily able to borrow in the past become available only in digitized form in the future, it may no longer be possible to access them freely through an interlibrary loan system. By granting copyright holders of digital media the exclusive right to control how electronic (versions of) books are access and used, the DMCA can easily discourage the sharing of information between libraries. So as more books become available only in digital form, the information they contain may be less accessible to ordinary individuals in the future, which will further diminish the info commons” (“Locke, Intellectual Property Rights, and the Information Commons,” Ethics and Information Technology (2005) 7: P. 94).

]]> By: Hal Grossman http://library.hunter.cuny.edu/blog/research/the-trouble-with-digital-books/comment-page-1/#comment-5288 Hal Grossman Sun, 05 Oct 2008 18:40:58 +0000 http://library.hunter.cuny.edu/blog/?p=427#comment-5288 Thank you for raising a timely topic. As libraries come to view digital access to a book as a substitute for buying the book in print, access for outsiders can actually narrow. A library has the right to lend a print copy of a book that it owns to anyone. That copy is then unavailable to the library's other users. This arrangement breaks down when it comes to digital books. I wonder what other university systems comparable to CUNY are doing, for example SUNY or the Cal State system. Thank you for raising a timely topic. As libraries come to view digital access to a book as a substitute for buying the book in print, access for outsiders can actually narrow. A library has the right to lend a print copy of a book that it owns to anyone. That copy is then unavailable to the library’s other users. This arrangement breaks down when it comes to digital books.

I wonder what other university systems comparable to CUNY are doing, for example SUNY or the Cal State system.

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