[Harmon]

Well, it's easy enough to deal with publishers refusing to sell ebooks to libraries, if that's what we want to do.

All we need is a simple legislative act: "No publisher, author, seller or reseller of ebooks may refuse to sell to a public library any copy of an ebook offered for sale to the general public." Or maybe: "There will be a 100% sales tax on the sale of any ebook which is not offered for sale to public libraries." Or: "DRM may not be used on any ebook not offered for sale to public libraries." Or: "The protection of copyright shall not extend to any ebook not offered for sale to public libraries at the same price as offered to other buyers." Or: "It being against public policy to restrict sales of books to libraries, no publisher which does so may, directly or indirectly, enforce such restriction in a court of law."

It's not that I don't recognize the legitimate concerns of the publishers about feeding what amounts to a competitor the ability to lend out multiple ebooks at the same time for free, based on the purchase of only one ebook. But there are ways to handle that concern.

I don't see any reason that ebooks can't be dealt with by libraries on the same footing as pbooks are. The publishers are way overreaching in their refusal to sell ebooks to public libraries.

So if the publishers insist on continuing in that vein, maybe we should start pushing for a law stating that libraries may purchase ebooks from any source, and lend them without restriction on any terms they see fit, including without DRM.