Dan Gillmor
Terrific column by LA Times' @hiltzikm looks with appropriate distaste at Big Publishing's campaign to ban book ownership (what it all boils down to), especially by libraries, in the e-book era. https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-12-08/which-last-longer-ebooks-or-physical-books-the-answer-may-surprise-you
Hiltzik: The technology of ebooks sows confusion and lawsuits

Publishers and authors rightly fear that they'll lose out financially from the digitization of books; but it's also quite possible that, properly managed, the technological revolution will make them more money.

Los Angeles Times
Dec 16, 2022 at 5:34amWeb
Show threadchristina bDec 16, 2022

@dangillmor @hiltzikm

They want a subscription-only model for books 📚
🤦‍♀️thanks for sharing this article.

Show threadOliverCDec 16, 2022
@dangillmor @hiltzikm He's wrong, IMO, that Controlled Digital Lending relies on the Fair Use exception. Rather, it is a digital equivalent to what libraries already do with physical books, which relies on a doctrine known as "first sale".
Show threadOliverCDec 16, 2022
@dangillmor @hiltzikm The end game for publishers is to phase out physical books and transform the industry to a rental model.
Show threadMacCruiskeenDec 16, 2022
@OliverC @dangillmor @hiltzikm Except that for the moment what really scares them is that ebooks will cannabalize print sales, and they don't know how to adjust to that.
Show threadOliverCDec 16, 2022
@maccruiskeen @dangillmor @hiltzikm I would say more that they see an opportunity to fatten their margins a lot. The price they charge libraries for a limited time (eg two years) licence is a multiple of what they charge for one paper copy that the library can keep and lend out for ever. It has been a trend for tech companies ever since Adobe started renting out its software rather than selling a perpetual licence.
Show threadMacCruiskeenDec 16, 2022
@OliverC @dangillmor @hiltzikm Yeah, although I've been in publishing for 30 years and I'm involved in ebook production. I've actually had these conversations.
Show threadOliverCDec 17, 2022

@maccruiskeen @dangillmor @hiltzikm Listen to what a librarian has to say:

https://vimeo.com/768242265

brick house - library leaders presentation

Vimeo
Show threadNicolas PettiauxDec 16, 2022
@dangillmor @hiltzikm i love « when we buy an ebook we want to have the same rights as when we buy a book » eg, own for ever, resell, share, lend...
Show threadrubenDec 16, 2022
@dangillmor @hiltzikm it reminds me so much of Richard Stalman's "The Right to Read" in 1997!!! https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.en.html
The Right to Read - GNU Project - Free Software Foundation

Show threadMacCruiskeenDec 16, 2022

@dangillmor @hiltzikm I would quibble with the idea that books are generally durable for centuries. They can be, when made with good materials and cared for. Books that have survived for centuries are the exception, not the rule. Especially current trade books. There's a lot of acid out there now. But most aren't.

But I would agree that these publishers are trying to squeeze blood from a stone, and it's not going to work out for them they way they want.

Show threadcsharDec 16, 2022

@dangillmor @hiltzikm

This is an insidious trend and such an Orwellian development. Soon, people will own none of their own entertainment -- music, books, motion pictures and television shows. This is a method of financial and intellectual enslavement!

Show threadLindsey MeeksDec 16, 2022
@dangillmor @hiltzikm Reminds me of a recent podcast from #planetmoney on #ebooks https://www.npr.org/2022/11/09/1135639385/libraries-publishers-ebooks-e-books-macmillan-protest-amazon-bezos
The E-Book Wars

In 2019, a group of librarians (quietly) stormed the offices of a major publisher, Macmillan, to protest a controversial policy on e-books. On this show, how a tiny change - a book on a screen - threw an industry into war with itself.<br/><br/>Subscribe to Planet Money+ in <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/podcast/290783428">Apple Podcasts</a> or at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/planetmoney">plus.npr.org/planetmoney</a>a

NPR
Show threadJohn ShirleyJan 1, 2023
@dangillmor @hiltzikm You think libraries are part of a conspiracy against books? Perhaps I misunderstood. I do agree that authors are afraid they'll lose the rights to their ebooks. Because the rights to ebooks have been murky all along. Like, can I demonstrate that the rights should be reverted to me ever? When is an ebook out of print, exactly? Anyway I'd like to read this but it's behind a paywall and I already subscribe to a major newspaper.
Show threadDan GillmorJan 1, 2023
@JohnShirley2023 You clearly do misunderstand. Libraries want to remain libraries, and Big Publishing is working hard to make them irrelevant. @hiltzikm
Show threadJohn ShirleyJan 1, 2023
@dangillmor @hiltzikm I see. It's the way you put it. And I was unable to get to the article itself, as it's behind a paywall. And I didn't see a way to pay for just that article.