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