5 ms·

This may be a stupid question: how do you borrow a digital book? And why is it called borrowing? Can't you just make infinite copies?

by sturza 7y ago

catalogia 7y ago
Basically it's DRM used to avoid offending the book publishing industry. I recommend checking Library Genesis first.
- sturza 7y ago
  I understood. So it's basically getting a book with some code that will invalidate the content after x days. Another probably stupid question: can an infinite number of people borrow the same book? Or do they have a limited number of "copies" to give out?
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - f_allwein 7y ago
    > During the waitlist suspension, users will be able to borrow books from the National Emergency Library without joining a waitlist Normally, digital libraries have a limited number of "copies" (I suppose that's what they mean by "waitlist"). In this case, it seems like they suspended the limitation.
  - wccrawford 7y ago
    Generally, no. My mother is on the waitlist on "Libby" for borrowing an ebook from her local library. She's 104th in line.
  - deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
  - harshreality 7y ago
    That depends on the publisher and the specific license. Since ebooks are licensed, and not transferable, ebook publishers set arbitrary license requirements and prices depending on whom they're selling to and for what purpose. Some publishers will sell libraries the same book, under multiple license options/restrictions, charging different prices for different options. Ebooks sold to libraries can be much more expensive than the same ebook sold on amazon or kobo. The license criteria can also state that the book can only be lent out X times before the book must be re-purchased or re-licensed. The argument is that physical books degrade and are not infinitely lendable, so these measures are intended to level the playing field. That is an issue, but it exposes the flawed underpinnings of the capitalist copyright system as it interacts with the socialist library system. Specifically, the result is that which books you have access to through libraries depends on where you live, whether you have access to a good university's libraries or whether you're in NYC or Seattle or Los Angeles. Sometimes it's completely random and some obscure library has stocked an ebook, it's just a matter of where someone's requested it and where that request has gotten to the top of the list somehow. This is absurd in the 21st century. So, libraries are dying as a source of books. A lot of people who are into books have migrated to pirate ebook sites, or have ebook clubs or friends who share books among themselves. Libraries stock all the major popular fiction and nonfiction books, at least as ebooks, but they tend to have ridiculous wait lists. They can't buy enough copies initially, and then if the popularity ever dies down that's a sign that it's not worth reading anyway. Only popular books destined to become classics eventually stabilize at a point where they're worth reading and the waitlist isn't too bad... if you wait the months or years for it to get to that point. I don't know why anyone would put up with it except for pure entertainment reading (for instance, unless you're reading it for a book club, it doesn't matter if you wait for a year or two before you read the latest Oprah book club recommendation). And that's a small portion of a library's holdings; the vast majority are obscure books that aren't really that great, whether fiction or non-fiction. They just have them because of random requests. Popular books and unpopular fillers both crowd out obscure but potentially valuable books.

This may be a stupid question: how do you borrow a digital book? And why is it called borrowing? Can't you just make infinite copies?

by sturza 7y ago

This may be a stupid question: how do you borrow a digital book? And why is it called borrowing? Can't you just make infinite copies?

catalogia 7y ago

Basically it's DRM used to avoid offending the book publishing industry. I recommend checking Library Genesis first.

sturza 7y ago
I understood. So it's basically getting a book with some code that will invalidate the content after x days. Another probably stupid question: can an infinite number of people borrow the same book? Or do they have a limited number of "copies" to give out?
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- f_allwein 7y ago
  > During the waitlist suspension, users will be able to borrow books from the National Emergency Library without joining a waitlist Normally, digital libraries have a limited number of "copies" (I suppose that's what they mean by "waitlist"). In this case, it seems like they suspended the limitation.
- wccrawford 7y ago
  Generally, no. My mother is on the waitlist on "Libby" for borrowing an ebook from her local library. She's 104th in line.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- harshreality 7y ago
  That depends on the publisher and the specific license. Since ebooks are licensed, and not transferable, ebook publishers set arbitrary license requirements and prices depending on whom they're selling to and for what purpose. Some publishers will sell libraries the same book, under multiple license options/restrictions, charging different prices for different options. Ebooks sold to libraries can be much more expensive than the same ebook sold on amazon or kobo. The license criteria can also state that the book can only be lent out X times before the book must be re-purchased or re-licensed. The argument is that physical books degrade and are not infinitely lendable, so these measures are intended to level the playing field. That is an issue, but it exposes the flawed underpinnings of the capitalist copyright system as it interacts with the socialist library system. Specifically, the result is that which books you have access to through libraries depends on where you live, whether you have access to a good university's libraries or whether you're in NYC or Seattle or Los Angeles. Sometimes it's completely random and some obscure library has stocked an ebook, it's just a matter of where someone's requested it and where that request has gotten to the top of the list somehow. This is absurd in the 21st century. So, libraries are dying as a source of books. A lot of people who are into books have migrated to pirate ebook sites, or have ebook clubs or friends who share books among themselves. Libraries stock all the major popular fiction and nonfiction books, at least as ebooks, but they tend to have ridiculous wait lists. They can't buy enough copies initially, and then if the popularity ever dies down that's a sign that it's not worth reading anyway. Only popular books destined to become classics eventually stabilize at a point where they're worth reading and the waitlist isn't too bad... if you wait the months or years for it to get to that point. I don't know why anyone would put up with it except for pure entertainment reading (for instance, unless you're reading it for a book club, it doesn't matter if you wait for a year or two before you read the latest Oprah book club recommendation). And that's a small portion of a library's holdings; the vast majority are obscure books that aren't really that great, whether fiction or non-fiction. They just have them because of random requests. Popular books and unpopular fillers both crowd out obscure but potentially valuable books.