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The headline strikes me as a little sensational (but hey, what are headlines for?) since "the future of libraries" isn't really at stake. If the Internet Archiv
by pcaharrier 2y ago
The headline strikes me as a little sensational (but hey, what are headlines for?) since "the future of libraries" isn't really at stake. If the Internet Archive decision stands it certainly could end other controlled digital lending programs of works that are still under copyright. But (at least for now) that seems a far cry from being the end of libraries as we know them.
- toomuchtodo 2y agoIf publishers don’t sell libraries paper books, and control digital licensing, libraries are no longer libraries: they are affiliate marketing for publishers funded with taxpayer dollars. Publishers then control distribution, whereas libraries do with paper books and first sale doctrine. With copyright where it is at, we will have to decide which is more important: libraries, or publisher profits and copyright rent seeking. Otherwise, bits will get shipped out of the US to more favorable jurisdictions, and those in the know will know how to get them. The situation will suck until enough cohort turnover occurs that copyright reform can occur in Congress. This could take years, or decades even, depending on how long it takes for existing congressional reps to age out and younger reps to take their place. An archive preserves culture for the future, a library shares it freely with the present. They are both important. Writers should still be paid, but the argument is over control. Why should publishers and copyright creators have this much control?