4 ms·

What we need is a library that focuses only on out of print out difficult to get books. We don't need Harry Potter and likes on it. There are a million legal/il

What we need is a library that focuses only on out of print out difficult to get books. We don't need Harry Potter and likes on it. There are a million legal/illegal ways to get them.

andai 4y ago
Gutenberg? At least, if it's old enough!
- hkt 4y ago
  Not everything though. There are some books I've only ever found through antiquarian shops and private libraries (eg http://londonlibrary.co.uk/ http://londonlibrary.co.uk/ ) which are of historical and cultural value but which will probably never be digitised. Unless I do it, anyway. There's also a whole world of professional texts in law and other subjects which I've had to access by taking the £200 train down to London to physically sit in the British Library and read (and often, photograph). The more interesting the thing you're doing, the more likely it is that you'll need to venture to an actual library, often one of considerable age. That's not even to mention the historical archives etc, indexes of which are held centrally but the materials are scattered all over.
  - beej71 4y ago
    I'm amazed at both what I can find and what I can't find at Anna's Archive. Part of me dies inside when rare books like that become effectively dead due to loss. It sucks when the copyright holders would prefer that to letting the book be free, but what possible incentive could they have for freeing a book?
    - andai 4y ago
      >what possible incentive could they have for freeing a book? Free PR? :) That sounds like the sort of thing that would get a lot of attention and goodwill, and maybe even some new loyal customers.
Mezzie 4y ago
Unfortunately, books aren't abandonware. Legally, sitting on the rights to something is allowed. The odds of such a thing being allowed are low, particularly in this age of reboots, adaptations, etc. One of my favorite book series is basically book abandonware and the rights have always been retained so that things like graphic novels, shitty TV shows, etc. are a possibility. Allowing out of print, difficult to get books to be lent or shared freely means that you can't reprint them to turn the money machine back on, or try to modernize them. It's the age of books as "IP" instead of books.
- vba616 4y ago
  Used books appear to me to be largely unaffordable these days due to the internet creating a global market. If an obscure out of print book costs $500, because (my hypothesis is) it is priced for the single most desperate buyer in the world, then the market for used books no longer has any relationship to my life or needs. On the other hand, if there are only a dozen people who would buy it at say $5 then it's not in anyone's interest to reprint it. And if someone did reprint it but didn't do the labor intensive part of editing the scan, it would hardly be worth it - so I'm sure even free isn't cheap. So, I mean, I will do without. Just like I did without Napster back in the day. But people should ask themselves if this is the dystopia we want, and who is serving who. If the Patent and Copyright Clause verbiage in the US Constitution meant what it said, and if markets serve society too.
  - beej71 4y ago
    In addition, there's this crazy effect: "How A Book About Flies Came To Be Priced $24 Million On Amazon" https://www.wired.com/2011/04/amazon-flies-24-million/ https://www.wired.com/2011/04/amazon-flies-24-million/
    - vba616 4y ago
      I think I remember that, but I don't see it as a problem, just an amusing glitch. I don't see how it could be economically rational.
- 4y ago
jerojero 4y ago
Well it would be interesting to see who is using the libraries that we have and what are the book they're renting. The purpose of a library should be to give access to reading materials to everyone, and I think the reality is that the majority of people do want to read Harry Potter. I think ultimately what we need is more funding for libraries so that they can get more books, which obviously include hard to find books. In any case, most libraries allow you to request books and they can get these from the network of other state/country libraries. And if they don't have a hard to find book, maybe you could consider donating it to them, libraries take very good care of their hard to find books.

What we need is a library that focuses only on out of print out difficult to get books. We don't need Harry Potter and likes on it. There are a million legal/illegal ways to get them.

andai 4y ago

Gutenberg? At least, if it's old enough!

hkt 4y ago
Not everything though. There are some books I've only ever found through antiquarian shops and private libraries (eg http://londonlibrary.co.uk/ http://londonlibrary.co.uk/ ) which are of historical and cultural value but which will probably never be digitised. Unless I do it, anyway. There's also a whole world of professional texts in law and other subjects which I've had to access by taking the £200 train down to London to physically sit in the British Library and read (and often, photograph). The more interesting the thing you're doing, the more likely it is that you'll need to venture to an actual library, often one of considerable age. That's not even to mention the historical archives etc, indexes of which are held centrally but the materials are scattered all over.
- beej71 4y ago
  I'm amazed at both what I can find and what I can't find at Anna's Archive. Part of me dies inside when rare books like that become effectively dead due to loss. It sucks when the copyright holders would prefer that to letting the book be free, but what possible incentive could they have for freeing a book?
  - andai 4y ago
    >what possible incentive could they have for freeing a book? Free PR? :) That sounds like the sort of thing that would get a lot of attention and goodwill, and maybe even some new loyal customers.

Mezzie 4y ago

Unfortunately, books aren't abandonware. Legally, sitting on the rights to something is allowed. The odds of such a thing being allowed are low, particularly in this age of reboots, adaptations, etc. One of my favorite book series is basically book abandonware and the rights have always been retained so that things like graphic novels, shitty TV shows, etc. are a possibility. Allowing out of print, difficult to get books to be lent or shared freely means that you can't reprint them to turn the money machine back on, or try to modernize them. It's the age of books as "IP" instead of books.

vba616 4y ago
Used books appear to me to be largely unaffordable these days due to the internet creating a global market. If an obscure out of print book costs $500, because (my hypothesis is) it is priced for the single most desperate buyer in the world, then the market for used books no longer has any relationship to my life or needs. On the other hand, if there are only a dozen people who would buy it at say $5 then it's not in anyone's interest to reprint it. And if someone did reprint it but didn't do the labor intensive part of editing the scan, it would hardly be worth it - so I'm sure even free isn't cheap. So, I mean, I will do without. Just like I did without Napster back in the day. But people should ask themselves if this is the dystopia we want, and who is serving who. If the Patent and Copyright Clause verbiage in the US Constitution meant what it said, and if markets serve society too.
- beej71 4y ago
  In addition, there's this crazy effect: "How A Book About Flies Came To Be Priced $24 Million On Amazon" https://www.wired.com/2011/04/amazon-flies-24-million/ https://www.wired.com/2011/04/amazon-flies-24-million/
  - vba616 4y ago
    I think I remember that, but I don't see it as a problem, just an amusing glitch. I don't see how it could be economically rational.
4y ago

jerojero 4y ago

Well it would be interesting to see who is using the libraries that we have and what are the book they're renting. The purpose of a library should be to give access to reading materials to everyone, and I think the reality is that the majority of people do want to read Harry Potter. I think ultimately what we need is more funding for libraries so that they can get more books, which obviously include hard to find books. In any case, most libraries allow you to request books and they can get these from the network of other state/country libraries. And if they don't have a hard to find book, maybe you could consider donating it to them, libraries take very good care of their hard to find books.