Responses to
Letter to the Boston Public Library
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/07/09/08/1739235.shtml
Overdrive. Our libraries come up short.
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/07/09/08/1739235.shtml
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Libraries Defend Open Access |
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Overdrive. Our libraries come up short.
(Score:4, Interesting)
by dsaklad (162420) on Sunday September 09,
@05:38AM (#20527215)
(http://zork.net/~dsaklad)
Our libraries come up short with regard to
overdrive...
Letter to the Boston Public Library
http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/bpl.html [fsf.org]
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To the Management of the Boston Public Library,
Don Saklad forwarded me your message which
reports that OverDrive Audio Books use "copyright
protection technology" made by Microsoft.
The technology in question is an example of
Digital Restrictions Management (DRM)--technology
designed to restrict the public. Describing it as
"copyright protection" puts a favorable spin on a
mechanism intended to deny the public the
exercise of those rights which copyright law has
not yet denied them.
The use of that format for distributing books is
not a fact of nature; it is a choice. When a
choice leads to bad consequences, it ought to be
changed, and that is the case here. I
respectfully submit that the Boston Public
Library has a responsibility to refuse to
distribute anything in this format, even if it
seems "convenient" to some in the short term.
By making the choice to use this format, the
Boston Public Library gives additional power to a
corporation already twice convicted of unfair
competition.
This choice excludes more than just Macintosh
users. The users of the GNU/Linux system, an
operating system made up of free/libre software,
are excluded as well. Since these audiobooks are
locked up with Digital Restrictions Management
(DRM), it is illegal in the US to release
free/libre software capable of reading these
audiobooks. Apple may make some sort of
arrangement to include capable software in MacOS
(which is, itself, non-free software for which
users cannot get source code). But we in the free
software community will never be allowed to
provide software to play them, unless laws are
changed.
There is another, deeper issue at stake here. The
tendency of digitalization is to convert public
libraries into retail stores for vendors of
digital works. The choice to distribute
information in a secret format--information
designed to evaporate and become unreadable--is
the antithesis of the spirit of the public
library. Libraries which participate in this have
lost their hearts.
I therefore urge the Boston Public Library to
terminate its association with OverDrive Audio
Books, and adopt a policy of refusing to be
agents for the propagation of Digital
Restrictions Management.
Sincerely
Richard Stallman
President, Free Software Foundation
MacArthur Fellow
http://www.fsf.org/campaigns/bpl.html [fsf.org]
[ Reply to This ]
+
Re:Overdrive. Our libraries come up short.
(Score:5, Interesting)
by shalla (642644) on Sunday September 09,
@09:35AM (#20528063)
I have a response to this. Instead of
haranguing the libraries, bug the hell out
of the publishers. As it stands there are
currently ZERO library vendors that offer
eAudiobook downloads that are compatible
with Mac or GNU/Linux because of the DRM on
the files. This is certainly NOT the choice
of the libraries.
I'm a librarian for a public library in
Pittsburgh. We get requests all the time for
downloadable audiobooks. We got requests
before we had any options, and we get them
now that we offer both OverDrive and
Netlibrary downloads. At least OverDrive has
the option to (in some cases, if the
publisher has allowed it) burn the book to
CD. After that, you can then import it to
iTunes and transfer it over to your iPod.
It's stupid clunky and you're better off
just getting the CDs in the first place to
listen that way, but it can be done and
OverDrive's CEO has been known to tell
people that.
Now, here's the question from the library's
point of view. Is it better to not offer ANY
eAudiobooks at all, despite the many
requests for them, than to offer ones that
can only be used by those with the dominant
operating system? (We have to make the same
decision with video games, too. What formats
do we buy in?) With all due respect to the
parent poster and to Mr. Stallman, my job is
not to take a stand on DRM. It's to provide
materials to the public in the formats they
want, and that means that in some cases,
like it or not, we're going to decide to
offer eAudiobooks that cannot be used by all
computer users. Just as DVDs cannot be
watched by VCR owners, and CDs cannot be
listened to by those with merely a tape
deck, and Mac software cannot be run on a
Windows machine. We're going to have to
judiciously apportion an appropriate part of
the budget according to demand for the
items.
Now, would libraries love to change this?
Yes. I personally have a list of free,
non-DRM sites that allow you to download
eAudiobooks for free that I hand out along
with instructions on how the
library-accessible eAudiobooks work. The
problem is that those sites (such as
Librivox [librivox.org] or AudiobooksForFree
[audiobooksforfree.com]) don't offer Janet
Evanovich or John Patterson or the other
bestsellers. They're generally things in the
public domain (obviously), and our patrons
usually want newer items.
Every chance I get, I complain to our
Recorded Books representative (who works
with Netlibrary) about the DRM limitations
and make the case that should another
company come along that offers downloads
without DRM, we're gone to them no matter
the cost. The libraries that have told
OverDrive to buzz off in the past have just
gotten shrugs. It doesn't change anything.
(This includes the library located right
next to Apple Headquarters, by the way. They
finally gave in to demand.)
This is something that gets discussed all
the time amongst librarians and on library
blogs. My feeling is that complaining to the
libraries is useless. We agree with you in
spirit, but in practice, we're going to
offer the product because our patrons want
it. What we WILL support you in is
complaining to the companies themselves, and
in pushing the publishers to reach for a
broader market. Instead of writing letters
to libraries, spend your time convincing the
publishers that they'll have wider
listenership (without losing sales) if they
hit the non-DRM market and convincing
OverDrive and Netlibrary to begin offering
other options than the protected WMA files.
From OverDrive's Web site, here's their
contact information:
OverDrive, Inc.
Valley Tech Center - Suite N
8555 Sweet Valley Drive
Cleveland, OH 44125 USA
Phone: (216) 573-6886
Fax: (216) 573-6888
Email: [log in to unmask]
info at overdrive.com
And from NetLibrary's Web site:
NetLibrary Division Office
4888 Pearl East Circle, Ste. 103
Boulder, CO 80301
USA
[log in to unmask]
info at NetLibrary.com
Or, since NetLibrary is a division of OCLC:
Headquarters
OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc.
6565 Frantz Road
Dublin, OH 43017-3395
USA
[log in to unmask]
oclc at oclc.org
I hope this helps you look at the issue from
another point of view, and that in a few
years we can cheer the end of DRM in
libraries together.
Cheers,
shalla
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
o
shalla (Score:5)
Starting Score: 1 point
Moderation +3
30% Interesting
40% Insightful
30% Informative
Extra 'Interesting' Modifier 0
Karma-Bonus Modifier +1
Total Score: 5
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Re:Overdrive. Our libraries come up short.
(Score:2)
by shalla (642644) on Sunday September
09, @09:41AM (#20528099)
Yes, replying to my own post. *sigh*
I forgot to mention that Audible.com
[audible.com] offers audiobooks for
download, and I'm under the impression
that they're DRM-free and work with
Macs. I haven't tried it, though, so I
could be wrong. So a third option would
be to somehow convince them (and have
them convince their publishers) to
enter the library market without adding
DRM.
And yes, I _DO_ sit around all day and
think about things like this and make
up lists of where people can get free
audiobook downloads. It's not like we
don't care. :P
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
#
Re:Overdrive. Our libraries come up short.
(Score:2)
by DrgnDancer (137700) on Sunday
September 09, @10:28AM (#20528303)
(http://www.feyknight.com/)
Audible.com files are not DRM
free, but they have a DRM agent
for Mac. I've used their services
and can verify that their content
works on Mac exactly the same way
as it works in Windows. I don't
know about FOSS operating systems;
I seriously doubt it works with
them.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
@
Re:Overdrive. Our libraries come up short.
(Score:2)
by shalla (642644) on Sunday
September 09, @12:42PM
(#20529245)
Excellent. Thank you for
posting that. So they're only
a slightly better option,
then. Essentially, we're
going to have to push the
publishers to allow DRM-free
downloads, I think.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
o
Re:Overdrive. Our libraries come up short.
(Score:1)
by skeeto (1138903) on Sunday September
09, @11:12AM (#20528535)
(http://www.cse.psu.edu/~wellons)
I'm a librarian for a public library in
Pittsburgh.
I bet your library has "Carnegie" in
the name.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
#
Re:Overdrive. Our libraries come up short.
(Score:2)
by shalla (642644) on Sunday
September 09, @12:38PM (#20529223)
You'd be wrong, actually, though
it was a nice guess. Very good
chance, statistically speaking.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
o
Re:Overdrive. Our libraries come up short.
(Score:0)
by Anonymous Coward on Sunday September
09, @04:59PM (#20531347)
Two points:
1. A public library or publicly funded
library (university or otherwise) has a
financial obligation regarding how it
spends money.
2. An ALA affiliated librarian supports
the "right to read" as defined in the
ALA constitution.
Both of these are in conflict with
paying for restricted digital
materials. If the ALA were effective it
would leverage its influence with
publishers to eliminate the issue.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
o
Re:Overdrive. Our libraries come up short.
(Score:3, Insightful)
by Chandon Seldon (43083) on Sunday
September 09, @10:11PM (#20533637)
(http://www.ferrus.net/)
With all due respect to the parent poster and to
Mr. Stallman, my job is not to take a stand on
DRM.
As a librarian, it absolutely is your
ethical/professional responsibility to
evaluate the social implications of DRM
technology and potentially take a stand
on the issue. DRM acceptance has the
potential to define the level of access
to human knowledge people have. DRM use
today has a direct impact on the extent
to which libraries can archive
information for the future.
The model for libraries has always been
that the library actually controls a
copy of the book / CD / tape and can
lend it to anyone at any time.
DRM-encumbered files give the publisher
complete control - with a default of
"deny access". That default is utterly
incompatible with the mission of a
public library.
[ Reply to This | Parent ]
#
http://yro.slashdot.org/yro/07/09/08/1739235.shtml
Overdrive. Our libraries come up short.
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