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