From: Darby Orcutt <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2011 08:12:30 -0500
Chuck,
This is an excellent summation of the issues, and deserving of a
broader audience. (For my part, I'll be assigning it the next time I
teach my Collection Development course.)
Thank you,
Darby
Darby Orcutt
Assistant Head
Collection Management
North Carolina State University Libraries
Box 7111
Raleigh, NC 27695-7111
On Wed, Dec 7, 2011 at 11:05 PM, LIBLICENSE <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> From: "Hamaker, Charles" <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2011 03:51:00 +0000
>
>
> Since Ebooks are creatures of licenses, some of you might be
> interested in this article just published in Searcher Magazine:
> http://www.infotoday.com/searcher/dec11/Hamaker.shtml
>
> Ebooks on Fire:Controversies Surrounding Ebooks in Libraries
>
> Perhaps the greatest impediment for the transition from the tradition
> of the printed book to the ebook comes from the malleability of the
> etext. While it might not matter to the occasional or recreational
> reader, the ebook presents a host of challenges for the role of the
> book as transmitter, carrier, and shaper of our written word cultural
> heritage.
> Ubiquitous web and print ads tell individuals and libraries to “buy”
> ebooks. But long-term preservation and retention rights to stable
> content are not the norm, because many resellers and vendors don’t
> possess those rights from the publisher or author. Instead of true
> ownership, most ebook “purchases” are more like leases, and leases
> with few residual rights at that. The only way to assure continuing
> access and storage for an ebook is a permanent download to a device
> with rights not governed by strict DRM (Digital Rights Management)
> systems. With content delivered from a hosted service on the web (aka
> the cloud), the “purchaser” has no control over the content. Even
> Google Books bears the disclaimer:
>
> [I]f Google or the applicable copyright holder loses the rights to
> provide you any Digital Content, Google will cease serving such
> Digital Content to you and you may lose the ability to use such
> Digital Content
>
> I'd be interested in seeing any reactions or comments anyone might
> have to this article and the points it raises.
>
> Chuck Hamaker
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