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Old 10-02-2007, 04:32 PM   #12
andym
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Studio717 View Post
Don't know about the books, but the 18th century collection is locked down to university access. Nothing "public" about it, unfortunately. (Unless maybe you go to a university library and read them online.)

I hope - but don't expect - the books to be truly available to the public. I have no idea why they feel they have to lock down knowledge. It's very frustrating sometimes.
The British government's policy (rightly or wrongly, there are good arguments on both sides) is to encourage public bodies like the British Library to maximise income. Another example is our Ordnance Survey which licences mapping date (which in the US is, I think, in the public domain) on expensive and restrictive terms.
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