From: Sandy Thatcher <[log in to unmask]> Date: Thu, 8 Dec 2011 11:59:52 -0600 A very interesting and provocative article! There is a discussion going on over at The Scholarly Kitchen under the heading "The Costs of Print" that relates to some of the major points raised in Chuck's article: http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2011/12/07/the-costs-of-print/#comments. See, in particular, the comment by Pete Brewster and the responses thereto. Sandy Thatcher > 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