Are libraries under attack in the UK? - Page 2

Richey79 · 10-22-2010, 05:42 AM

The internet is the largest, most free library that has ever existed.

Physical libraries (much as I loved them in my childhood) are moving towards becoming a place to rent CDs/DVDs now BlockBuster is in its dying throes, and for the deprived in society to access the internet.

This move will be about as effective as if the RIAA were to lobby government to prevent the sale of music systems able to record onto cassette tapes.

Barcey · 10-22-2010, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Retaliate and stop buying ebooks altogether. Consumers have it in their power to bring the publishers to their knees.

Boycott!!!

Yes but most people will put on their BOHICA shirts and not do anything. The publishers are probably counting on the general population blaming the libraries. If the libraries put on a effective campaign to educate the population they might change their minds.

I'm just hoping that a few additional authors will take this as a marketing opportunity and distance themselves from the pariahs when they go on their own.

astra · 10-22-2010, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Retaliate and stop buying ebooks altogether. Consumers have it in their power to bring the publishers to their knees.

Boycott!!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logseman

You just get it lent indefinitely, indefinitely meaning a) until the DRM wanes, making your book irretrievable again; b) until the real owner decides to take away your books, à la 1984; or c) until you break the DRM and acquire full ownership of the file.

add
d) until you buy a new ebook reader that doesn't read this ebook format making the book unreachable.

tubemonkey · 10-23-2010, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astra

The only books I read now are either library books or public domain. eBooks are priced too high and the lack of standardization on one format is a stumbling block to building up a library of paid content.

tubemonkey · 10-23-2010, 09:09 AM

Boycott, people! No one NEEDS to read the latest novel by their favorite author. The agency model has to go, and it won't as long as we keep buying their books.

MikeFromHC · 10-23-2010, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eGeezer

Does it also mention how they are going to force the U.S. to go metric?

Can you say "Never gonna happen"?

It should have happened over 100 years ago but it will eventually come about.
From the para-medic level up, all medicine is metric.
Many parts of your automobile are and it's on all food packages.
Some day we will catch up with the rest of the world.

JSWolf · 10-23-2010, 01:49 PM

It won't work. There's no way they can put an eBook on my reader. Adept DRM won't allow it. Also, what if my reading platform is my desktop computer? Would they want me to haul that in so they can load an eBook onto it? And then there are people who are disabled and do not have easy access to the library. They won't like it.

Can we say class action law suit?

Also, what's the difference between my downloading the eBook or going to the library to get the pBook? I'm still not paying for it.

Logseman · 10-23-2010, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Also, what's the difference between my downloading the eBook or going to the library to get the pBook? I'm still not paying for it.

You have the implicit cost of going to the library to dissuade you from having it lent. In the other hand, you have a store designed for you to make impulse buys. It's quite simple economics: they just don't want libraries to lend ebooks, but they want you to pay for them.

Graham · 10-23-2010, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephen Page

As I say, some publishers may take a more relaxed view, particularly of remote downloading, but the above criteria allow for a strong beginning that replicates physical lending.

I have no problem with them enforcing the existing geographic lending restrictions (though I'll be sad to see my account go at Essex!) but forcing people to come into a library to download the book defeats virtually the whole point of eBooks.

I'd support a highly vocal boycott of those publishers who insist on banning remote downloading, and positive support of those publishers who do not (who 'take a more relaxed view').

Graham

JSWolf · 10-23-2010, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Logseman

You have the implicit cost of going to the library to dissuade you from having it lent. In the other hand, you have a store designed for you to make impulse buys. It's quite simple economics: they just don't want libraries to lend ebooks, but they want you to pay for them.

So are they going to then stop libraries from lending pBooks? Might as well do away with libraries the way they are going.

Logseman · 10-23-2010, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So are they going to then stop libraries from lending pBooks? Might as well do away with libraries the way they are going.

Not necessarily stop them as such. They're just discouraging people to use them by lobbying for this kind of measures..

Ben Thornton · 10-23-2010, 04:42 PM

This strikes me as temporary. Once e-reading reaches a significant percentage, there will be enough pressure to restore sanity. At the moment, e-reading is atypical, and the readers are seen as luxury items, so people will have limited sympathy with their owners having to pay for content. Fast forward twenty years (say), and I suspect that people will see e-reading as more of an entitlement, so these things will get fixed.

Until then, there will be all sorts of nonsense.

SameOldStory · 10-23-2010, 11:05 PM

All ebooks de-DRMed and pirated, if I may paraphrase a little. It's as if they want to encourage people to go to the darknet.

What we have is a country where;
Many, if not most, of the ebooks from major publishers cost more than the paperback books.
Some authors from the UK find their ebooks geo-restricted from the UK itself!
Libraries are about to be subjected to unreasonable requirements for ebooks.

Please support your local authors and ebook sellers, especially those without DRMed ebooks.

If you have any DRMed books from the major publishers, I would say that you should find out how to remove the DRM. MR can not permit the dissemination of that information. But if you want to go outside of MR to help friends protect their purchases please do so.

Your personal e-library may be at risk from such publishers. They may decide that the current DRM is not restrictive enough, and force ereader manufacturers to comply with their demands for even tighter restrictions.

The ONLY way we can win is if the people who write and sell non-DRMed books become very successful.

Support non-DRM / Boycott DRM.

And if you should get caught with a pirated ebook, I won’t tell.

HarryT · 10-24-2010, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

So are they going to then stop libraries from lending pBooks? Might as well do away with libraries the way they are going.

This is why (in most western countries) authors get paid when their books are borrowed from libraries. It's compensation for the lost sales caused by the library.

SameOldStory · 10-24-2010, 11:31 AM

"This is why (in most western countries) authors get paid ...."

Does the author get paid, or the publisher and then the author, getting a much smaller percentage?

10-23-2010, 01:49 PM	#22
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,727 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	It won't work. There's no way they can put an eBook on my reader. Adept DRM won't allow it. Also, what if my reading platform is my desktop computer? Would they want me to haul that in so they can load an eBook onto it? And then there are people who are disabled and do not have easy access to the library. They won't like it. Can we say class action law suit? Also, what's the difference between my downloading the eBook or going to the library to get the pBook? I'm still not paying for it. Last edited by JSWolf; 10-23-2010 at 01:54 PM.

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10-22-2010, 05:42 AM	#16
Richey79 mrkrgnao Posts: 241 Karma: 237248 Join Date: May 2010 Device: PRS650, K3 Wireless, Galaxy S3, iPad 3.	The internet is the largest, most free library that has ever existed. Physical libraries (much as I loved them in my childhood) are moving towards becoming a place to rent CDs/DVDs now BlockBuster is in its dying throes, and for the deprived in society to access the internet. This move will be about as effective as if the RIAA were to lobby government to prevent the sale of music systems able to record onto cassette tapes.

10-23-2010, 09:09 AM	#20
tubemonkey monkey on the fringe Posts: 45,851 Karma: 158733736 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Seattle Metro Device: Moto E6, Echo Show	Boycott, people! No one NEEDS to read the latest novel by their favorite author. The agency model has to go, and it won't as long as we keep buying their books.

10-23-2010, 04:42 PM	#27
Ben Thornton Guru Posts: 900 Karma: 779635 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: UK Device: Kindle 3, iPad 2 (but not for e-books)	This strikes me as temporary. Once e-reading reaches a significant percentage, there will be enough pressure to restore sanity. At the moment, e-reading is atypical, and the readers are seen as luxury items, so people will have limited sympathy with their owners having to pay for content. Fast forward twenty years (say), and I suspect that people will see e-reading as more of an entitlement, so these things will get fixed. Until then, there will be all sorts of nonsense.

10-23-2010, 11:05 PM	#28
SameOldStory My True Self Posts: 3,126 Karma: 66242098 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Trantor, Galactic Center Device: Galaxy Tab 2 7.0	All ebooks de-DRMed and pirated, if I may paraphrase a little. It's as if they want to encourage people to go to the darknet. What we have is a country where; Many, if not most, of the ebooks from major publishers cost more than the paperback books. Some authors from the UK find their ebooks geo-restricted from the UK itself! Libraries are about to be subjected to unreasonable requirements for ebooks. Please support your local authors and ebook sellers, especially those without DRMed ebooks. If you have any DRMed books from the major publishers, I would say that you should find out how to remove the DRM. MR can not permit the dissemination of that information. But if you want to go outside of MR to help friends protect their purchases please do so. Your personal e-library may be at risk from such publishers. They may decide that the current DRM is not restrictive enough, and force ereader manufacturers to comply with their demands for even tighter restrictions. The ONLY way we can win is if the people who write and sell non-DRMed books become very successful. Support non-DRM / Boycott DRM. And if you should get caught with a pirated ebook, I won’t tell.

10-24-2010, 11:31 AM	#30
SameOldStory My True Self Posts: 3,126 Karma: 66242098 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Trantor, Galactic Center Device: Galaxy Tab 2 7.0	"This is why (in most western countries) authors get paid ...." Does the author get paid, or the publisher and then the author, getting a much smaller percentage?