The eBook User’s Bill of Rights
The eBook User’s Bill of Rights is a statement of the basic freedoms that should be granted to all eBook users.
The eBook User’s Bill of Rights
Every eBook user should have the following rights:
- the right to use eBooks under guidelines that favor access over proprietary limitations
- the right to access eBooks on any technological platform, including the hardware and software the user chooses
- the right to annotate, quote passages, print, and share eBook content within the spirit of fair use and copyright
- the right of the first-sale doctrine extended to digital content, allowing the eBook owner the right to retain, archive, share, and re-sell purchased eBooks
I believe in the free market of information and ideas.
I believe that authors, writers, and publishers can flourish when their works are readily available on the widest range of media. I believe that authors, writers, and publishers can thrive when readers are given the maximum amount of freedom to access, annotate, and share with other readers, helping this content find new audiences and markets. I believe that eBook purchasers should enjoy the rights of the first-sale doctrine because eBooks are part of the greater cultural cornerstone of literacy, education, and information access.
Digital Rights Management (DRM), like a tariff, acts as a mechanism to inhibit this free exchange of ideas, literature, and information. Likewise, the current licensing arrangements mean that readers never possess ultimate control over their own personal reading material. These are not acceptable conditions for eBooks.
I am a reader. As a customer, I am entitled to be treated with respect and not as a potential criminal. As a consumer, I am entitled to make my own decisions about the eBooks that I buy or borrow.
I am concerned about the future of access to literature and information in eBooks. I ask readers, authors, publishers, retailers, librarians, software developers, and device manufacturers to support these eBook users’ rights.
These rights are yours. Now it is your turn to take a stand. To help spread the word, copy this entire post, add your own comments, remix it, and distribute it to others. Blog it, Tweet it (#ebookrights), Facebook it, email it, and post it on a telephone pole.
To the extent possible under law, the person who associated CC0 with this work has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work
February 28th, 2011 at 6:29 am
Right on! A few weeks ago, I tweeted “I won’t get an e-reader: 1 DRM, 2 proprietary format, 3 gadgetism & planned obsolescence, 4 single-purpose device”
February 28th, 2011 at 9:20 am
Um, you left out things:
The eBook Buyer’s Bill of Rights
http://ipadtest.wordpress.com/2010/08/04/the-ebook-buyers-bill-of-rights/
February 28th, 2011 at 9:51 am
[...] It’s prompted this Ebook user’s Bill of Rights. [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 10:06 am
[...] manière tout à fait opportune, Sarah Houghton-Jan a proposé cet énoncé que et je traduis dans son [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 10:10 am
[...] manière tout à fait opportune, Sarah Houghton-Jan a proposé cet énoncé que je traduis dans son [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 10:11 am
[...] manière tout à fait opportune, Sarah Houghton-Jan a proposé cet énoncé que je traduis dans son [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 11:02 am
[...] easy to see the eBook User’s Bill of Rights as a sign of the growing rift between libraries and content producers. Easy if you’re me, [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 11:07 am
[...] As much as we want eBooks to work like physical books, they don’t. They won’t. And they will never. I’m not sure if the first sale doctrine can even apply to this. So we need to stop treating them like physical books and come up with a new set of rules. [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 11:49 am
I think this is great. However, I would clarify the wording of the second item, “the right to access eBooks on any technological platform, including the hardware and software the user chooses”. A publisher may choose not to support certain proprietary platforms, and I think this is perfectly fine. For example, what if I don’t want to buy-in to Amazon’s platform so my eBook isn’t available on the Kindle? Your right to read my eBook shouldn’t force me to buy-in to a proprietary platform (this would be counterproductive to the freedoms you outline). I would suggest a slight rewording to either specify “open” or “open standards” platforms or, even better, modify the wording to say that the publisher cannot create arbitrary restrictions to accessing eBooks on other platforms. For example, a publisher may not support the Kindle but the license and technology shouldn’t restrict the reader from modifying the eBook to be readable on the Kindle if they have the technological know-how to make the needed modifications to the eBook.
February 28th, 2011 at 12:13 pm
Interesting post. I agree with most of what is written here – DRM technology makes me so angry I won’t even buy my books from the Sony ebook store because they are more expensive and then I don’t even “own” my book. The problem I see is with this one: “the right of the first-sale doctrine extended to digital content, allowing the eBook owner the right to retain, archive, share, and re-sell purchased eBooks”
When you purchase a print copy of a book, you can re-sell it – but only ONCE. However, an ebook can be sold any number of times. Unfortunately, there are people out there who don’t have a problem doing that. And to me, that IS a problem. It’s unfair to the author, who is attempting to make a living. No, I’m not an author.
My opinion is that one should be able to purchase an ebook, read it on ANY device they personally own, and have the ability to lend it to a friend. Beyond that, there’s too much of a chance of people profiting from someone else’s hard work.
February 28th, 2011 at 12:13 pm
@Mike: If you feel we left things out, post your own version with any edits or additions you would like to make. It’s a public domain piece, which we hope others will modify, add to, comment on, remix, and repost to their own liking. Thank you for being part of the conversation.
@Bradley: We are asking that all involved parties, including software and hardware developers, be part of this discussion. Our sincere hope, and the goal we are working toward, is ensuring that Amazon can’t lock down its Kindle the way it does. The phrase “open standards” certainly has a place in the discussion and I’m glad you made the suggestion!
February 28th, 2011 at 12:33 pm
ALA Resolution?
February 28th, 2011 at 12:37 pm
An ALA Resolution would be a fabulous step. And since we released this into the public domain, ALA can steal what they want, edit it as they see fit, and put it forward. I encourage ALA to consider the principles outlined in the originals, as well as all of the comments that have been posted all over the net. I’m now tracking hundreds of separate conversations on blogs, Twitter, listservs, podcasts, Facebook, and elsewhere. It’s astounding!
February 28th, 2011 at 12:52 pm
[...] being reactive to active? The Librarian in Black blog is a good starting point. Check out posts on eBook User’s Bill of Rights and Library eBook Revolution, Begin. Short of getting a librarian appointed to corporate boards of [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 1:10 pm
[...] that end, librarians have started issuing statements, posting an “e-book users bill of rights” to their blogs. The statement, posted in full below, addresses “the basic freedoms [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 1:14 pm
[...] that end, librarians have started issuing statements, posting an “e-book users bill of rights” to their blogs. The statement, posted in full below, addresses “the basic freedoms [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 1:31 pm
[...] that end, librarians have started issuing statements, posting an “e-book users bill of rights” to their blogs. The statement, posted in full below, addresses “the basic freedoms [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 1:40 pm
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February 28th, 2011 at 1:47 pm
[...] that end, librarians have started issuing statements, posting an “e-book users bill of rights” to their blogs. The statement, posted in full below, addresses “the basic freedoms [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 1:55 pm
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 1:57 pm
[...] that end, librarians have started issuing statements, posting an “e-book users bill of rights” to their blogs. The statement, posted in full below, addresses “the basic freedoms [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 2:10 pm
[...] The eBook User’s Bill of Rights (Thanks, LibraryGoblin, via Submitterator!) [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 2:12 pm
[...] that end, librarians have started issuing statements, posting an “e-book users bill of rights” to their blogs. The statement, posted in full below, addresses “the basic freedoms [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 2:19 pm
[...] that end, librarians have started issuing statements, posting an “e-book users bill of rights” to their blogs. The statement, posted in full below, addresses “the basic freedoms [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 2:23 pm
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 2:32 pm
[...] The eBook User’s Bill of Rights (Thanks, LibraryGoblin, via Submitterator!) [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 3:04 pm
[...] here: The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … Comments [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
[...] The eBook User’s Bill of Rights (Thanks, LibraryGoblin, via Submitterator!) [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
[...] nagy felhajtásból azt hiszem történelem születik, legalábbis ha ezt valahol kodifikálni fogják (és amennyire vehemensen vetették bele magukat a kollégák, még [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 3:15 pm
I’m glad to see this–we’ve been working on a similar project that we call the Readers’ Bill of Rights for Digital Books http://readersbillofrights.info/ which covers many of the same issues that you’ve outlined above. The one thing, additionally, that I think is excruciatingly important for libraries lending ebooks and ebook devices is the right to privacy. With digital and networked ebook systems, it becomes increasingly simple for private companies to collect data about what readers are reading, and it is without question that companies like Amazon will not protect the right to read privately like libraries have done historically and continue to do.
Ted Striphas published a great article recently about the right to read and digital books (and specifically about the Kindle), which I recommend: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a927236543~frm=titlelink
He points out that with digital/networked reading, a company could collect more data than ever before: not only the books that patrons read, but what pages they have viewed, what notes they have made, etc.
The problems with digital restrictions and corporate regulation of reading are larger than just HarperCollins or Amazon alone. We should own what we purchase, have the ability to do what we want with what we have bought, and be free from surveillance. Thanks for your post!
February 28th, 2011 at 3:30 pm
[...] deutsche Übertragung “eBook User’s Bill of Rights” basiert auf dem Text der Librarian In Black Sarah [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 3:31 pm
[...] artykuł na: The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … Tags: basic, rights, the-basic Comments RSS [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 3:55 pm
The Free Software Foundation: http://www.fsf.org has given much thought on what freedoms a user of software should have by publishing The Free Software Definition: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/free-sw.html. I think a good eBook users bill of rights would do well to adopt core points found in this document. Richard Stallman saw this coming in 1997 when he published The Right to Read: http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html. Those interested in ending DRM may be interested in joining The Defective by Design Campaign: http://www.defectivebydesign.org/.
February 28th, 2011 at 4:07 pm
Ebook readers have already voted with their dollars, and what they said is that they will sacrifice control for convenience. Publishers have always hated libraries and the second hand market. Now they have found something to sell you that will eliminate both, and you are all only to happy to buy into ebooks. An ALA resolution has never meant a thing, and it certainly won’t in the face of the money that is to be made destroying the printed book.
There is an unfair stereotype of librarians being late to the game with technology (the new money maker is foisted on them whether they want it or not just like it is upon everyone else) but librarians really dropped the ball here. You guy’s should have been working on this ten years ago.
How many of you are still pouring money through your kindles while you whine about DRM though?
February 28th, 2011 at 4:14 pm
@bob: You’re right that librarians are late to the game on fighting against DRM and fighting for open access to digital content. Some of us have been fighting this fight that long (I remember bringing it up at the library I worked at back in 2000, and have been writing and speaking about it ever since). Libraries abdicated their responsibilities as the keepers of the cultural record and as public institutions dedicated to providing access to all information for all people. Some people have charged libraries with being complicit with DRM. I can see that argument, but I think what has happened is that we took what we were given because we had no alternative beyond simply ceasing to provide all popular, user-requested digital content. Libraries haven’t felt like they could do that. With the HarperCollins debacle, I think we will see boycotts. We will see libraries deciding to cancel contracts with eBook vendors. The movement is late, granted, but it’s still progress and I’m happy to be able to help with that process.
February 28th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
I’m curious about your usage of the term “rights” in this piece. I agree that each of these four points are important, but calling them rights could be a bit of hyperbole that weakens the overall argument. It is one thing to say that no responsible library would buy books that violate any of these four precepts, given a viable alternative at least. It is quite another thing to raise economic arguments such as extending the rights of first sale to the same level as free access to information.
Again, I don’t question that libraries should be very, very cautious about the change from an ownership model to an access model. (and by “very, very cautious” I mean fight against kicking and screaming) However, to suggest that something is a sound practice, a “best-practice”, or even the only responsible choice for our patrons is a very different thing than to claim that our patrons have the right to expect libraries to dictate the development of 21st century information business models. We should do what we can, but we don’t get to dictate the rules to content and device providers or plan the information economy.
No one, not librarians, not our patrons, and not the publishers we are used to doing business with has the right to expect the economics of information to remain the same as they were in the age of print. We don’t know how the economics of buying, selling, accessing, lending, or borrowing information to work. We. Don’t. Know. I’m afraid that phrasing the best practices for the current context of ebooks in libraries as some sort of equal with the freedom to read, the freedom to access information, or the freedom to do those two things in privacy weakens both our argument in this case and our arguments to defend actual rights.
So, while these four first principles, these four best-practices, these four things no self-respecting library would violate on pain of appearing professionally negligent are good, necessary, and important; they are not rights. They are not inalienable, not self-evident and can not be derived from any first principles. They are a reasonable and clear guide for librarians to approach our responsibility to protect our patrons from the abuses of big content. That is enough. I’m afraid that over-stating our case will only make it easier for our detractors to use Mr. Ashcroft’s “hysterical librarian” line to dismiss us and our arguments. We are not hysterical, but wouldn’t it be a good idea to avoid hyperbole as well?
February 28th, 2011 at 4:36 pm
[...] that end, librarians have started issuing statements, posting an “e-book users bill of rights” to their blogs. The statement, posted in full below, addresses “the basic freedoms [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 4:46 pm
Not everyone who has a commercial ebook reader buys DRM-locked content. I disagree with Digital Restriction Management (I will not say “rights”; DRM manages rights like prisons manage freedom) and refuse to buy any DRM-locked ebook, even though stripping the DRM would be fairly trivial for me, because I will not support a business model that hurts the honest customers and does not even slow down the dishonest ones. I buy DRM-free ebooks, and I real public-domain classics. I can confidently say that no DRM-locked ebook has ever touched my Sony, and it never will.
I am an ebook reader. I have not “voted” for DRM. I have not voted for user-hostile, restricted ebooks. I refuse to trade essential liberties for a little temporary convenience. And I resent someone telling me that I have done otherwise.
February 28th, 2011 at 5:18 pm
Well-said, Worldwalker. And I would add that I don’t feel like I’m “destroying the written word” by reading ebooks. In my opinion there will always be printed books, regardless of how many people choose to read ebooks. It’s about choices, and yes, convenience. Another consideration – there are people, like myself, who live a minimum of two hours from the nearest bookstore. The options then become (for me, at least) 1. drive the two or more hours, and HOPE the book I want is there (or call and find out, and order it in if they don’t have it – which means extra waiting time) 2. order the book online, and pay more because of shipping costs (I have to do this more often than I’d like) 3. purchase DRM-free ebooks
February 28th, 2011 at 5:27 pm
[...] is a statement of the basic freedoms that should be granted to all eBook users. It was initiated by Sarah Houghton-Jan and Andy Woodworth. I heartily endorse and support this effort, and hope you’ll help spread [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
[...] to Librarian in Black for kicking this [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
[...] interest in the future of eBooks to organize and step up to the advocacy plate. This weekend, Sarah Houghton-Jan (Librarian in Black) and Andy Woodworth wrote this eBook User’s Bill of Rights, which I found [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 7:16 pm
[...] http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/2011/02/ebookrights.html via [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 7:30 pm
[...] Librarian in Black’s eBook User’s Bill of Rights is making the rounds. This sounds good to me: The eBook User’s Bill of Rights is a statement of [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 7:53 pm
[...] aren’t our bread and butter… yet. We are all of us standing on the edge of a major sea change in publishing, reading, and writing. The annual fee structure isn’t good for libraries or [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 9:25 pm
@Nicholas Schiller
I completely agree. The use of ‘rights’ here is hyperbole and weakens the overall argument. I agree with a lot of the sentiment of the four points, but they are not a Bill Of Rights. It belittles the actual Bill Of Rights to try to apply those terms here.
I happen to think that the Free Software Foundation goes overboard in this respect too. There is always an economic driver behind these things, unless we all go and live off the grid in a barter-based economy. It’s the same with e-books. Publishers won’t make their existing catalog available in electronic formats unless there’s money in it for them. Implicit in most of these ‘rights’ is the removal of DRM and that’s not going to be achieved by wishful thinking. It might be achieved if there’s a mass avoidance of any DRM formats, but that seems unlikely to happen given that for most of the people, for most of the time, DRM is not that intrusive. If people try to enact these ‘rights’ for themselves by stripping DRM from e-book formats, that will only serve to strengthen the industry view that e-books are prone to theft and copying.
I hope technology will develop a way to re-sell or give away e-books that the industry can get behind but if it had been practical and zero cost to photocopy printed books, do you think the first-sale doctrine would have existed for print?
I’m pretty sure the publishers will end up changing significantly or being cut out of the loop all together. Already musicians are starting to produce and sell their product direct to fans. E-books will allow authors the same opportunity. If they’re producing their work using a computer-based word processor and their readers want an e-book, what role is there for the print-and-distribute publishing house?
February 28th, 2011 at 9:56 pm
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 10:10 pm
[...] of Harper Collins is being organized. Two, Sarah Houghton-Jan (aka The Librarian in Black) has drafted an eBook Users Bill of Rights. (Full text appear at the bottom of this [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
February 28th, 2011 at 11:57 pm
This is great, and exactly what we need.
Let’s try to get this some attention!
March 1st, 2011 at 12:36 am
[...] Librarian in Black outlines an excellent eBook user’s Bill of Rights. [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 1:06 am
Very interesting topics.. I’m going to post it on my facebook page… I will try to translate in Italian too..
I perfectly agree, thanks to share
March 1st, 2011 at 2:43 am
First sale doctrine should not apply to digital files. It doesn’t make sense and it isn’t enforceable like real world physical objects.
It is time to embrace the properties of digital files and recognize that the cost to copy is 0 but you don’t have the license to copy, that belongs to the copyright holder. If you strip them of this ability, why bother with copyright.
If instead of these silly lending rights and first sale rights and fair use rights you instead require that I must not be restricted from:
* transform the work
* format shift the work
* access the content unhindered by active DRM (usually just encryption, but watermarking would be an example of DRM that is passive and doesn’t get in the way of my accessing the content)
* Produce metadata about the content (index it, search it, summarize it automatically)
If those are the rights then it means your ebooks are active DRM free, you still can leverage all of your fair use rights, publishers and authors still have their copyrights and you as an ebook reader are capable are just fine.
Lending and first sale try to apply economically broken metaphors to a digital world where the cost of copying is 0. Therefore practically it does not work, and I’d argue morally it does not work because it deprives authors of their copyright rights.
* ACCESS
* TRANSFORM
* ANALYZE
March 1st, 2011 at 2:54 am
I bought a Nook. It has DRM. I rooted the nook (it goes way faster now). The rooting did nothing. All I do is read papers on it. I don’t buy commercial fiction content but I read scientific papers. So there are legit use cases that involve not purchasing anything (university pays for subscriptions).
March 1st, 2011 at 2:57 am
Your make believe “Bill of Rights,” is meaningless. You will not overcome the legal rights of the creator of this intellectual property. In fact, the law, both U.S. and international is becoming stricter to protect we authors who toil and produce that which you seek to steal. Forget it, you will never win this debate.
March 1st, 2011 at 3:16 am
[...] The eBook User’s Bill of Rights (Thanks, LibraryGoblin, via Submitterator!) via boingboing.net [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 4:47 am
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 5:03 am
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 5:52 am
[...] Proclamación de los derechos del lector de libros electrónicos[ENG] librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/2011/02/ebookrights… por fmorondo hace 2 segundos [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 6:38 am
[...] Originally posted here: The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 6:43 am
[...] Sarah Houghton-Jan a proposé cet énoncé que j’ai traduit dans son intégralité et auquel j’ai maintenant décidé d’apporter quelques légères modifications contextuelles. J’ai bien lu les commentaires dans le billet que j’ai précédemment publié et je remercie F Bon, Hubert Guillaud, NumerikLivres, Luc Loubier, Nicolas Ancion pour avoir partagé leurs points de vue. Voici ce que je tente comme réponse après m’être donné un peu de temps pour y penser et pour consulter. [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 7:44 am
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 7:50 am
[...] eBook Bill of Rights (via [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 8:07 am
Into the future… as a potential ex-paper book reader.. for the nomadic.. The eBook User’s Bill of Rights.. [....]
March 1st, 2011 at 9:41 am
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 10:01 am
[...] here’s a link for “The eBook User’s Bill of Rights” sent to me by one of our authors, Taylor [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 10:29 am
[...] HarperCollins news has caused a storm of protests from librarians, and an E-Book Reader’s Bill of Rights is now in e-circulation as a [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 10:57 am
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 11:22 am
[...] The eBook User’s Bill of Rights Every eBook user should have the following rights: [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 11:42 am
[...] Houghton-Jan wrote an eBooks User’s Bill of Rights that I think is a great jumping off point for some of these conversations. I believe this is the [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 12:26 pm
@Ezio: Thank you for translating this into Italian!
@GadgetGav and @NicholasSchiller: I totally disagree that the use of the word “rights” belittles the actual Bill of Rights. To be helpful in making this document better, please tell us what you think we should call it instead.
@bob: I do have a Kindle but the first thing I did was hack the hell out of it and the content I have on it is now all non-DRMed. Bring it on, Amazon.
And finally, to everyone: Please realize that in writing this I have a dual perspective as both a librarian and an author. I have a published book (yes, from a “real” publisher with a real ISBN): Technology Training in Libraries. The publisher, Neal-Schuman, did not release it as an eBook in any format, which is a bad decision given the topic. I have a stake in what people do with my published works. I care about that. But I have also decided, as an author, to follow Cory Doctorow’s excellent lead and ensure that all of my future books are released as free, DRM-free eBooks. I’ll find a publisher to print copies for those who want to purchase something on paper, and if I can’t find a publisher to do that I’ll do it myself. But the information and ideas in my future books will need to be made freely available. So yes — my money is where my mouth is. Writing, and giving away my writing, helps others–which is why I got into libraries in the first place. It also even helps me by raising my profile and exposure, which leads to other paid engagements (like speaking and training). This blog, which has always been free and CC-licensed, helped me get more paid gigs than anything I was ever paid to write and that’s a fact.
I believe that DRM cannot survive very long. The world won’t have it. Authors and publishers can fight it, and I can understand the economic realities that they believe are driving them. Some of us see different realities as possibilities, though. I encourage authors and publishers to consider that their ideal scenario isn’t likely to play out, and come to the table to work out a solution together.
March 1st, 2011 at 12:27 pm
[...] I stand in solidarity with my librarian brothers and sisters by passing along this, an Ebook User’s Bill of Rights (via the Librarian in Black): [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 12:30 pm
[...] loaning cap, however, a sizable contingent of librarians have had it. See “The Ebook User Bill of Rights” issued this week by a set of advocates led by Andy Woodworth and Sarah Houghton-Jan, and the [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 1:27 pm
A quick thought on DRM:
As far as I can tell, most folks who read eBooks have no idea what DRM is, and they could really care less. It is not intrusive in their experience. They buy a Kindle and can find most any book they look for from Amazon. They click once and buy it, then can read it in a matter of seconds. Heck, now they can even lend it to their sister-in-law when they’re finished. Or they buy an iPad and do the same through Apple. Or a nook through B&N, or a Sony reader, etc.
It is only a small percentage of the population, perhaps just us geeks and librarians, that cares about DRM. DRM only seems intrusive when we try to move our files around to different devices or to lend them to our customers. Sadly, I don’t see libraries having much influence in the matter. Amazon’s making a killing without accommodating us. I think we’ll have to find a way to play in their world…they don’t feel any obligation to find a way to play in ours.
I realize this isn’t offering any feedback on the eBook User’s Bill of Rights, but it’s just something I was thinking of while reading the comments.
March 1st, 2011 at 1:30 pm
[...] So you know how librarians are awesome right? And you’ve heard of DRM and the ACTA treaty right? Well DRM is applied to, among other things, ebooks. Including ebooks lent out by libraries. One brave librarian- Sarah Houghton-Jan – has decided we don’t need to take it anymore. She wrote up a great little document called The eBook User’s Bill of Rights. [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 2:05 pm
DRM free does not mean a free book. It means you can actually read the book you bought!
March 1st, 2011 at 2:43 pm
[...] more here: The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … Read more from Ebook eBook, rights, the-basic Click here to cancel [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 3:50 pm
[...] The Librarian in Black says; Every eBook user should have the following rights: [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 4:19 pm
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 4:23 pm
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 5:04 pm
[...] that end, librarians have started issuing statements, posting an “e-book users bill of rights” to their blogs. The statement, posted in full below, addresses “the basic freedoms [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 5:37 pm
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 7:42 pm
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 9:44 pm
[...] in the library/publishing world. Librarian in Black has a similar call to action, called the eBook User’s Bill of Rights: Digital Rights Management (DRM), like a tariff, acts as a mechanism to inhibit this free exchange [...]
March 1st, 2011 at 11:21 pm
[...] The eBook User’s Bill of Rights (librarianinblack.net) [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 12:07 am
I wrote a blog post about my view as both author and reader, inspired by yours: http://feralintensity.com/2011/03/01/rights-of-readers-and-authors/
March 2nd, 2011 at 12:43 am
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 2:43 am
Sarah, I don’t feel that referring to you best practices for ebooks belittles the bill of rights. I did suggest that overstating our case weakens our argument at a time when libraries need to be at their strongest.
I listed some alternatives in my comment above, there were: goals, points, principles, precepts, best-practices, or: “four things no self-respecting library would violate on pain of appearing professionally negligent”.
I support libraries going after these goals, I think they are noble, reasonable, and necessary. However, rights are a different sort of thing than a list of things that we think would be best. I also happen to think that libraries are beacons of reason and critical thinking. In order to live up to this legacy, we should be very careful to logically justify our claims and avoid rhetorical excesses.
March 2nd, 2011 at 4:38 am
[...] días, otro blog, esta vez el de una bibliotecaria –y no ha sido el único desde este gremio-, señalaba unos derechos mínimos similares, que deberían poder compartir todos los usuarios de ebooks: favorecer el acceso a los [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 4:47 am
[...] found this over at Librarian in Black and I completely [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 5:31 am
Great initiative. I have the same objections to buying e-books as Mugabo. This should be discussed at a higher level. I would be interested to know what IFLA’s FAIFE (Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression) thinks about this.
March 2nd, 2011 at 6:01 am
[...] PDF to ePub Converter-Convert PDF to ePub eBook for iPad, PDF to iPhone 4, PDF to iTouch on Mac OS hiphone 4 from [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 9:06 am
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 9:06 am
I am anti-DRM, and I agree with you that far. I think a lot of people are clueless about how the tech really works, since there are very few cases where you can’t move your books to whatever you own. Even as an author, access is one of my primary concerns, let alone as a reader.
I don’t agree with geographic limitations on sale…nor do I agree with Amazon’s policy of giving a lower percentage rate to authors, when an overseas reader purchases an ebook. That is complete bull! But that’s what we deal with from them. Is it any wonder that some publishers turn it off, when we get shafted just by having an overseas sale?
I don’t agree with using DRM, since it doesn’t work anyway and only inconveniences honest readers in the first place. Beyond that, it’s not difficult to break DRM to enjoy full access. I’ve told the senators and Justice Dept that the focus shouldn’t be on DRM breaking. It should be on piracy, where it rightly belongs. The circuit court seems to agree somewhat, since the newest case law (on software…not ebooks specifically) established a line between breaking DRM to access and breaking DRM to pirate. That’s something I’ve asked for for years.
Luckily, most indies don’t use geographical restrictions or DRM. NY Conglomerate is your #1 offender there. Can you force them to change? Maybe. Maybe not. It’s worth it to try. I’d jump on the bandwagon of any organized effort, because it gets really lonely over here telling them they are screwing up. Make them see their readers are upset by their actions.
Now…where do I part from seeing eye to eye with you?
I do not and will never agree that there should be first sale doctrine on ebooks, since you make copies of ebooks automatically (backups of your hard drive, for instance…saved in your download files…and sometimes the library saved for you on an ebook sale site, which you cannot delete, so you are making an illegal copy to sell the ebook in the first place). With paper books, you pass the book to someone else, and it’s gone from your hands…no extra copies. That’s not so with ebooks. There are dozens of possible places you still own a copy of one when you “sell” or “pass it along.”
For instance… Physically emailing the ebook to someone temporarily makes 6 or more copies of the book…the one on your C drive (assuming you don’t also have copies on handheld devices, other laptops and desktop machines you own, you didn’t copy it from one place on your machine to another and leave the first…), the one in your sent files, the one your ISP stores for a period of time, the one in the received file on the other end, the one their ISP saves for a period of time, and the one/s they ultimately save to their device/s. So, even if you don’t have any backups stored anywhere (on your machine or off), you’re making illegal copies to pass it. Since most people don’t even know all of those copies exist to remove them, and some can’t be removed (backups on CD/DVD, libraries on sale sites…), it’s almost a given you are making copies you can later access, even if you scrub the one from your C drive and the one from your sent mail file. Legislators took that into account when making laws for ebooks.
And don’t get me started on the pirates out there who misrepresent that burning a copy onto a CD makes the work their IP/copyright, so they can sell them. Rolling eyes. Back to the subject…
To boot, there is no wear and tear on ebooks. Where popular library books in mass market might wear out in a year of heavy use, that will never happen with an ebook. Backward compatibility makes this impossible, and programs like Calibre make it possible to keep reconverting the book into more useful formats. Another reason I say a lot of people are clueless about the tech. Unless the book is DRMd (in which case you’d have to break DRM first), you can convert nearly any format into any other format. I routinely do this for work. Piece of cake.
If you don’t want to invest in ebooks as a finalized transaction, that’s fine. There are legal library systems for ebooks that authors support. There are also sharing systems for ebooks on the Nook and Kindle. Get together with friends that own the same reader and have similar reading tastes and set up a system where you become each other’s share partners. That’s what the system is there for. Instead of screaming that you can’t resell an ebook, try using these methods to invest less money in them, which would (monetarily) work out the same for you as reselling the ebook after purchasing it…and less up front money and less hassle for you, in the long run.
Brenna
March 2nd, 2011 at 9:11 am
This is telling, Sarah. Thank you for sharing your true motivation.
“Writing, and giving away my writing, helps others–which is why I got into libraries in the first place. It also even helps me by raising my profile and exposure, which leads to other paid engagements (like speaking and training). This blog, which has always been free and CC-licensed, helped me get more paid gigs than anything I was ever paid to write and that’s a fact.”
For you, writing isn’t a career. It is an advertisement for your paid services.
That is all very well, but some authors don’t share your desire to make their living as paid speakers and trainers. They want to write books, and be paid a fairly and freely negotiated fraction of the price for which each copy of those books is legally sold.
Each copy.
Legally sold.
In pursuit of your own paid career as a speaker and trainer, you arrogate to yourself the right to demand that authors’ private contracts are unilaterally renegotiated without their consent.
Why should anyone pay to be trained by you, or to hear you speak? Doesn’t knowledge want to be free? Doesn’t everyone in the world have the right to benefit from your wisdom regardless of their ability to pay for the experience? Do you allow your audiences to make audio and video recordings of your paid speeches and training sessions, and to then sell or “share” those recordings of your paid work … without paying you?
Possibly, you do. You might consider that great publicity, and for a time it could be.
March 2nd, 2011 at 9:18 am
[...] “в чёрном” (The eBook User’s Bill of Rights) предложил “Биль о правах” читателей е-книг [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 9:49 am
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 10:15 am
[...] livre numérique (ebook)” une traduction de la déclaration diffusée sur les blogues de la LibrarianInBlack et du Digital Reader. Voici le texte de la déclaration en entier, à laquelle nous souscrivons : [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 10:32 am
[...] zdroj : The eBook User’s Bill of Rights – Librarian in Black, šířeno v rámci CC0. , český rychlý a nedokonalý překlad [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 10:56 am
Let’s see…if I have the “right” to re-sell ebooks, then why in the world would any author want to write them? I am a writer, I don’t make much, I don’t have the giant sales of big name writers…Hmm, let’s see, so I can buy one of those big name author’s books, I’ll make it a good one, an expensive one. Say it’s $20. Okay, no big deal, a one time investment. I buy. I’ll resell it for $10. I might have read it, I might not, it doesn’t matter- it is still in “new” condition. What a bargain for the buyer, and the next, and the next. Each time I re-sell it, it is new. And I make money. Again and again. The author won’t, but why would I care about that? I HAVE RIGHTS! I don’t need to write anymore, I can just make money off of what other people have written!
I can make an unlimited amount of money from one purchase. I can burn CD’s of the book I purchased and sell them at IOffer and Ebay, over and over. Maybe I’ll start my own website selling ebooks for half price!
The author? Screw them, they can buy a hamburger and since they were smart enough to write the book I’m making money off of, maybe they will be smart enough to replicate that hamburger over and over so they aren’t hungry.
There is no way that “the right of the first-sale doctrine extended to digital content, allowing the eBook owner the right to retain, archive, share, and re-sell purchased eBooks” would do anything but harm the authors that readers profess to love.
It’s not a paperback, it won’t wear out, it can be copied without limits, and when it is there will not be anyone willing to write it.
March 2nd, 2011 at 11:10 am
[...] such voice, Sarah Houghton-Jan, has posted what is effectively a call to arms on her blog, The Librarian in Black. The eBook User’s Bill of [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 11:28 am
First sale is needed, also a system for sending monies to creator from recurring sales is needed, cake.
Turn your readers into your publisher/distributor
March 2nd, 2011 at 11:29 am
[...] Collins as it has been tweeted by seemingly every librarian on Twitter and has even spawned the The eBook User’s Bill of Rights. So, yeah, don’t really have much to add to that conversation. Instead I have some bits of [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 12:38 pm
@RowenaCherry: I am not saying no author should make a living by just writing. Trust me, I understand the desire to do so. I’d love to write full time. And I do allow people to record my presentations and put them up for free if they want to. I wish more people would do that, actually. And to your question about why I charge for speaking/consulting and not for my writing, here’s the answer. I do make my knowledge and expertise freely available in many ways. I’ve been offered a buy-out for my blog (to be folded into a publisher’s site or corporate sponsorship) and I’ve said “no” all 4 times unequivocally.
All of my time I spend writing for *everyone* I happily give away for free. I don’t have ads on my site and never will. I don’t collect personal data to share with others for profit and never will. I put my blog posts out there for free, which I also do with all of my slides and presentations, including those gigs for which I am paid.
Why do I charge to actually go somewhere and speak or consult, or provide a webinar for a group? Because to consult, I have to take days off of work from my full time job–especially when there is travel involved. I lose vacation days for each consulting job I engage in, meaning I have less actual vacation time for myself. More importantly, for paid engagements I am almost always asked to create a customized presentation and materials — meaning I spend hours and hours working to make something just right for one particular institution or group. All of that time, dedicated just to you, is worth $. Additionally, I’m not charging the kinds of fees we see other professional speakers charging, in or out of the library field. For anyone who’s interested, this past year for all of my speaking and teaching jobs, after taxes I ended up taking home about $12/hour. So yeah, I am not rolling in dough. But I still dedicate most waking hours to this profession and the challenges it faces – and I take pride in that.
March 2nd, 2011 at 2:49 pm
“More importantly, for paid engagements I am almost always asked to create a customized presentation and materials — meaning I spend hours and hours working to make something just right for one particular institution or group. All of that time, dedicated just to you, is worth $. Additionally, I’m not charging the kinds of fees we see other professional speakers charging, in or out of the library field.”
Writers spend hours, days, years working to make something just right. That, too, is worth $
March 2nd, 2011 at 3:19 pm
[...] Sarah Houghton-Jan hat als Erwiderung auf den Schritt von Harper Collins eine vielbeachtete „E-boks users bill of rights“ verfasst Sie fordert: Jeder E-Book-Nutzer sollte folgende Rechte besitzen: • das Recht, E-Books [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 3:30 pm
[...] will negatively affect libraries and eBook users. Several librarians are now calling for an eBook User’s Bill of Rights to oppose HarperCollins’ decision. This statement calls for the right to use any technological [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 4:11 pm
[...] version originale du manifeste, en anglais, a été trouvée sur le blog Librarian in Black. Pour lire une traduction française, rendez-vous sur Bibliomancienne et n’oubliez pas de jeter [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 4:37 pm
[...] such voice, Sarah Houghton-Jan, has posted what is effectively a call to arms on her blog, The Librarian in Black. The eBook User’s Bill of [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 4:45 pm
There is another disturbing side effect to digital content and that is where the license agreeent and fair use collide. As more content goes digital (books and films) how that content can be shared with students for education purposes is affected. I manage course reserves at UConn and I see a disturbing trend, the born digital book or film which can only be accessed via a license agreement which dictates how the material can be shared with others. Many license agreements state unequivocally that they are for single users. This limits its use for educational purposes and keeps libraries from purchasing them. Increasingly, publishers want to sell their content directly to the end user. They do not consider the value that libraries add in aggregating material on a topic from different vendors to make teaching and learning easier.
March 2nd, 2011 at 7:09 pm
[...] LibrarianInBlack Sarah Houghton-Jan and Andy Woodworth have released The eBook User’s Bill of Rights. This timely and thought-provoking document is “a statement of the basic freedoms that should [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 8:48 pm
[...] vous invite aussi à jeter un coup d’oeil sur la centaine de commentaires sur le blogue de Sara Houghton-Lan, d’où provient la mouture originale de cette proposition, et dont la teneur, culture oblige [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 9:21 pm
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 9:34 pm
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 2nd, 2011 at 10:26 pm
[...] uniting behind a collective “wtf?” and writing open letters to publishers and posting e-book user’s Bill of Rights. It’s all kind of exciting. Hopefully HarperCollins realizes their mistake — and it is [...]
March 3rd, 2011 at 2:12 am
[...] hinaus wird in den amerikanischen Blogs zum Thema jetzt eine Bill of Rights für E-Book-Leser diskutiert (unter anderem bei Meredith Farkas, Confessions of a Science Librarian und [...]
March 3rd, 2011 at 5:57 am
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 3rd, 2011 at 12:05 pm
[...] in on the “event” regarding HarperCollins setting a loan limit on its eBooks. Monday she Posted The eBook User’s Bill of Rights that proposed the following. The eBook User’s Bill of Rights Every eBook user should have the [...]
March 3rd, 2011 at 1:58 pm
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 3rd, 2011 at 7:06 pm
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 3rd, 2011 at 10:09 pm
[...] your own to do with what you will. In the same article, Hadro links to an ebook user’s Bill of Rights, as a consumer’s defense against constant and arbitrary revision of rules of use. With the [...]
March 3rd, 2011 at 10:43 pm
Hello Ms. Librarian:
Here’s how I explained your eBook manifesto to my friends. I tried to simplify it, so as to finesse any tiresome chatter about technology.
“You read eBooks. Defend your rights. Do it or face the consequences, which will be: no eBook rights. Plus: future unspecified grief from me.
All you have to do is endorse a Bill of Rights for yourself and others.
You choose:
…
1.) A halcyon future with scrumptious eBook rights, or
2.) Harrowing, perpetual torments perpetrated by malicious dolts as well as ghastly nameless agonies that you could have easily, immediately and permanently prevented.”
I’ve found that when requesting actions, such as the endorsement of this bill of rights, with men of the guy persuasion, as well as their female counterparts, often it’s best to present simple, clear choices.
They can check the details at their leisure.
I didn’t bother.
I took the word of a librarian whom I respect.
Not because I hold my rights lightly, but because she’s a beautiful genius with character strengths that just don’t quit. That’s good enough for me, and most men, as well as being a lot better than we have any right to expect.
Plus, obviously, she’s hott, as if that wasn’t already implied.
There is both a distinction and a difference, however, between the slang term hott and the preceding praise that justifies the additional accolade.
Best, Wilson
March 4th, 2011 at 4:42 am
[...] na původní články The eBook User’s Bill of Rights, The eBook Buyer’s Bill [...]
March 4th, 2011 at 11:21 am
[...] one of the reasons why I was not too keen on the eBook User Bill of Rights. It seem too confrontational and didn’t go far enough. As I mentioned in my previous [...]
March 4th, 2011 at 2:49 pm
[...] particularly librarians at public libraries, are not happy about this. An eBook User’s Bill of Rights has been drafted and widely circulated. There’s talk of boycotts. There’s a hashtag, [...]
March 4th, 2011 at 5:47 pm
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 5th, 2011 at 3:47 pm
[...] (via Boing Boing via Librarian in Black) [...]
March 6th, 2011 at 8:14 am
[...] Houghton-Jan’s manifesto, The EBook Users’ Bill of Rights, has been circulating around the publishing blogosphere recently. I’m more or less in [...]
March 6th, 2011 at 8:18 am
This made for an interesting blog post at http://onehourselfpub.com/?p=448 I’m fundamentally in agreement with you, but I still think regulation is a necessary evil. However, I think we’ve vested the wrong authorities with the regulatory power. Publishers are protecting themselves, not us.
March 6th, 2011 at 12:20 pm
[...] I still think a boycott is overly confrontational at this stage of the game, the eReader User Bill of Rights doesn’t go far enough, and I do think there’s a great danger in “Boycott Harper Collins” [...]
March 6th, 2011 at 10:02 pm
[...] Das neue Konzept des Verlags HarperCollins sorgte für Proteste in den Biblioblogs. Recht ausführlich hat sich Librarian in Residence damit befasst. So soll die Ausleihe der E-Books auf 26mal begrenzt werden und die Lizenz anschließend verfallen. Um grundsätzliche Freiheiten, die auch E-Books bieten sollten, dreht es sich in einem Beitrag von bibliothekarisch.de, einer Übersetzung des “eBook User’s Bill of Rights” (Librarian in Black). [...]
March 7th, 2011 at 4:58 am
[...] The eBook User’s Bill of Rights [...]
March 8th, 2011 at 2:24 am
[...] the latest money grab by Harper Collins? With all the ideas on how to respond from boycotting to formulating an ebook readers’ bill of rights to fundamentally changing the role of the public library within a community, the good news appears [...]
March 8th, 2011 at 3:57 am
[...] ok apple’s big announcements are done: we know where their computer products are headed this year, and i don’t care what they do with their various stores, except to unlock the ebooks. http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/2011/02/ebookrights.html [...]
March 8th, 2011 at 7:19 am
[...] The eBook User’s Bill of Rights [...]
March 8th, 2011 at 12:34 pm
[...] Those discussions have yielded a lot of interesting ideas about accessibility, DRM (Digital Rights Management) and the future of ebooks. One of these ideas is the aggressive promotion of an eBook User’s Bill of Rights, most frequently the one offered by Sarah Houghton-Jan on her blog, Librarian in Black. [...]
March 8th, 2011 at 7:04 pm
[...] If you want to read more about this issue, Barbara Fister of Gustavus Adolphus College has some thoughts at Inside Higher Ed. Here’s Vermont librarian Jessamyn West’s take on it. And the Librarian in Black has posted an eBook User’s Bill of Rights. [...]
March 8th, 2011 at 10:08 pm
I am exploring the e-reader I received as a gift, but have stopped dead in my tracks and backed away from the medium when I have seen the restrictions, especially in reference to text books. You have to love renting a text book that you can’t keep for the entire semester without the need to print the balance of the book before the deadline passes. No thank you.
March 9th, 2011 at 12:14 am
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 9th, 2011 at 9:25 am
[...] had all kinds of reactions here. We’ve had sputtering outrage. We’ve had manifestos. We’ve had videos. We’ve had graphics. We’ve had long posts about the nature of [...]
March 9th, 2011 at 2:24 pm
[...] gegen HarperCollins machte – bis hin zu einer Boykottaktion -, und eine publikumswirksame Bill of Rights für eBook-Leser ausarbeitete (mehr bei iRights.info). Die Bill of Rights fordert zusammen gefasst, man sollte an [...]
March 10th, 2011 at 2:57 am
[...] 原地址：http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/2011/02/ebookrights.html [...]
March 10th, 2011 at 3:37 am
[...] her anger into an impressively productive form of protest, which recently spread all over the web: The eBook User’s Bill of Rights. The main points read as follows: Every eBook user should have the following [...]
March 10th, 2011 at 6:25 am
[...] hinaus wird in den amerikanischen Blogs zum Thema jetzt eine Bill of Rights für E-Book-Leser diskutiert (unter anderem bei Meredith Farkas, Confessions of a Science Librarian und bei [...]
March 10th, 2011 at 10:46 am
[...] post from Librarian In Black (http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/2011/02/ebookrights.html) The eBook User’s Bill of Rights is a statement of the basic freedoms that should be granted to [...]
March 10th, 2011 at 11:26 am
[...] E-Bookユーザーの権利章典(Ebook Bill of Rights) [...]
March 10th, 2011 at 12:39 pm
[...] Houghton-Jan, Bloggerin und stellvertretende Leiterin der San Rafael Public Library, hat jetzt die “Bill of Rights” der Eboo-Leser formuliert: Jeder Leser eines eBooks soll die folgenden Rechte [...]
March 10th, 2011 at 4:14 pm
[...] The eBook User's Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah … [...]
March 11th, 2011 at 4:34 am
[...] Leser und Autoren. Sarah Houghton-Jan, von der San Rafael Public Library in Kalifornien, hat die Bill of E-Book-Rights formuliert (siehe auch Netzpolitik.org): Jeder Leser eines E-Books soll die folgenden Rechte [...]
March 13th, 2011 at 8:47 am
[...] Kopierat från Librarian in Black: [...]
March 13th, 2011 at 2:54 pm
Thank you very much for this campaign. We are watching this DRM-Theme in Germany. You can read it in German, too: http://bibliothekarisch.de/blog/2011/02/28/the-ebook-users-bill-of-rights-deutsche-uebertragung/
Move on!
March 14th, 2011 at 10:07 pm
[...] first is a blog post that was brought to my attention entitled “The eBook User’s Bill of Rights.” (Hereafter referred to as EUBOR because I’m a lazy typist) A librarian wrote this, and I [...]
March 18th, 2011 at 9:17 am
[...] zu den Grundfreiheiten, die jedem eBook-Nutzer garantiert werden sollten, aufgesetzt und es “eBook User’s Bill of Rights” genannt. Darin geht es u.a. um das Recht, eBooks mit Lizenzen und auf jeder technologischen [...]
March 21st, 2011 at 1:30 pm
[...] The eBook User’s Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah Houghton-Jan [...]
March 29th, 2011 at 4:06 pm
[...] post has been bouncing around the internet, where I saw it on Andy Woodworth’s blog and Sarah Houghton-Jan’s blog. For those who aren’t aware, discussions about e-books have been taking place after [...]
April 3rd, 2011 at 6:38 pm
[...] little librarian isn’t just a bookworm but also very tech savvy individual who has written the “eBook User’s Bill of Rights.” We think this excerpt from the LiB’s February 28th post is a must read. The eBook User’s [...]
April 4th, 2011 at 7:19 am
[...] Sarah-Houghton-Jan and Andy Woodworth have started the call for “The eBook User’s Bill of Rights.” [...]
April 4th, 2011 at 9:54 pm
[...] to digital content). Finally, librarians Sarah Houghton-Jan and Andy Woodworth released the eBook User’s Bill of Rights, a list of desired rights that emphasizes access to digital literary content without [...]
April 11th, 2011 at 11:24 pm
[...] 3. And, the ongoing debate about Overdrive, Harper Collins and especially the Ebook Reader Bills of Rights. [...]
April 22nd, 2011 at 8:57 am
[...] librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/2011/02/ebookrights.html blog comments powered by Disqus /* [...]
April 22nd, 2011 at 10:26 am
[...] Librarian in Black EBook User’s Bill of Rights [...]
May 6th, 2011 at 11:30 am
[...] Houghton-Jan, one of the librarians who authored The eBook User’s Bill of Rights , discusses The Day Against DRM 2011 and provides suggestions on what librarians can do to support [...]
May 12th, 2011 at 10:15 am
I can sympathize with some of your frustrations, yet on the other hand you seem to be demanding more rights than you ever had with printed books. When you buy a printed book, you are not buying the actual content – that belongs to the author. You are not buying the right to republish the book and give it to your friends – that belongs to the publisher. You didn’t receive the right to read the content on any device, so to speak – you can only read the content on the device (the physical book) that you purchased. If you bought a softcover but later want a hardcover version, you’d have to buy another book. I am certainly no fan of DRM largely because of the “it assumes we are all criminals” argument. It’s frustrating and in most cases unreasonable. However, I don’t think its either fair or even desirable to strip away the historical rights of either authors or publishers. If all information and literature were truly free, isn’t that the same as saying it truly has no value, and an author who creates the work or a publisher who finances the distribution of the work do not deserve to earn a living… like a librarian does? So, do we truly want a no-DRM world where authors can’t afford to write books and publishers can’t afford to distribute them – ebook or printed? Or do we want a world with better DRM, as opposed to no DRM?
May 24th, 2011 at 7:15 pm
[...] Another response is this, the eBook User’s Bill of Rights – http://librarianinblack.net/librarianinblack/2011/02/ebookrights.html [...]
May 25th, 2011 at 12:32 pm
Of course, authors also have a right to buy their groceries, pay their rent, pay the utility bills … all those things you get to do because someone pays you to do your job, and doesn’t come in and steal your work. The people paying you don’t get to say, “Well, we paid you for today, and you’re doing the same job tomorrow, and the day after, and for the next three hundred days in the year, so we only have to pay you for one day.” If one copy of a book is purchased, an author can buy a cup of coffee. If five hundred copies are purchased, that’s a couple week’s groceries for the family. But if five hundred people can read the book, and the author still only gets one cup of coffee — that author’s going to have to, eventually, as living below the poverty level loses its appeal, quit writing and end up serving the coffee. Why is it that authors (and musicians) are supposed to work for free, to provide other people’s entertainment?
May 25th, 2011 at 1:50 pm
Where have I said that authors should work for free? There are pricing and technology models that will pay authors for their work without creating technological barriers between users and the content they want to access. To assume that arguing against digital rights management means arguing against authors getting paid is a huge leap, and a faulty one at that.
June 8th, 2011 at 12:39 am
[...] point. I’ve been thinking about that piece lately; it’s been about four months since Sarah and I released it upon the internet. It got a lot of coverage within the online librarian community [...]
August 5th, 2011 at 5:51 am
{….} LOVE IT! i attempted to make this once…with utter failure. i shall try once again, just because of your post.
{…..}
August 16th, 2011 at 1:13 am
Publishers are telling readers that the physical book isn’t worth anything and that the entire value is in the story.Except when a writer’s cut of a book’s cover price is determined. Then the value of the story is minimal.As you said, that’s another matter.While the view that the story is the entire value of a book is flattering to the writer,that’s not the way that readers see it.To readers, e-book cost nothing to produce. Publishers know that isn’t true.Writers know it too. But try to convince the general public of that. As far as readers are concerned,the incremental cost to produce more copies of an e-book is zero.So the readers expect an eBook to be priced less than a physical book. The real costs have nothing to do with it. Design and Graphics
August 25th, 2011 at 5:37 am
To the last point on people giving up paperbacks for ebooks faster than giving up hardbacks for ebooks I think that makes perfect sense. I still want to have hardback copies of certain books, particularly non-fiction, religion and biographies on my shelves. But I have no desire to fill my shelves and take up space with random fiction paperbacks that I would probably have given away when I finished anyway.Miscellaneous
October 13th, 2011 at 3:48 am
[...] The eBook User’s Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah Houghton-Jan The eBook User’s Bill of Rights is a statement of the basic freedoms that should be granted to all eBook users. Source: librarianinblack.net [...]
October 17th, 2011 at 7:47 pm
[...] be next. And if you're 'lucky,' you'll get listed in the Who's a Rat database.Hat tip: Red StateIf you oppose government-run health care in an e-mail or on a website, the U.S. government wants to …r on a website, the U.S. government wants to know it.When your cyber-friends discover that you [...]
October 20th, 2011 at 3:02 am
Free eBooks available on http://www.bookganga.com
November 3rd, 2011 at 1:32 am
[...] mini library at hand and you get to read whenever you want simply by getting your favorite e-reader.[caption id="attachment_28" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Book Readers Comparison"][/captio...ology gets better and better more inventions are being developed and being sold to the public. One [...]
November 13th, 2011 at 12:47 am
[...] and even when you get some cheese up in my grill, yo fish ass melts. I'm insane, heartless I've … Just having some TSNE fun. A simple round of Team Sneaking. Sorry about the moving hand. Yeah I'll …bject>Just having some TSNE fun. A simple round of Team Sneaking. Sorry about the moving hand. Yeah [...]
November 18th, 2011 at 6:03 am
[...] (though realize that you can transform data files if you want to purchase from other shops).An electronic e-book reader comparability may be the initial step for just about any of us who want … But, with so many gadgets available, how can you set about determing the best choice for you? This [...]
November 18th, 2011 at 8:57 am
[...] want, and it may very well be all there is in the future, someday. And we want to make sure our rights are protected and that our users’ rights are protected as [...]
November 19th, 2011 at 1:41 pm
[...] context, Sarah Houghton-Jan, who last spring proposed an eBook User’s Bill of Rights, recently taped a video recording her thoughts about the Overdrive-Amazon deal enabling Overdrive [...]
November 25th, 2011 at 4:06 am
[...] easy to see the eBook User’s Bill of Rights as a sign of the growing rift between libraries and content producers. Easy if you’re me, [...]
December 1st, 2011 at 5:14 pm
[...] easy to see the eBook User’s Bill of Rights as a sign of the growing rift between libraries and content producers. Easy if you’re me, anyway. [...]
December 14th, 2011 at 10:28 am
[...] Description: As more e-reader owning patrons look to borrow e-books from your library, you face a mind-numbing array of business models, licensing terms, restrictions, and enforcement practices. Co-writer of the “eBook User’s Bill of Rights,” [...]
December 14th, 2011 at 2:05 pm
[...] [...]
January 10th, 2012 at 1:40 am
[...] as a stopgap measure, but that’s all it is. Some hero librarians have already started to push back against this deal, because “…it is irresponsible to spend tax dollars on material that [...]
January 10th, 2012 at 9:29 am
[...] the Library Journal Backtalk article “We Need Big Tent Librarianship”, co-author of the eBook User’s Bill of Rights with Sarah Houghton, and most recently the creator of the “Defending the Right to Read is [...]
January 19th, 2012 at 12:02 pm
[...] 6. Other kinds of access, in all senses of the word–from the economic and geo kinds to to access for people with disabilities. Within "access," I would also include linkability and the ability to be annotated (the latter is among the concerns of Sara Houghton in her E-Book Users Bill of Rights). [...]
January 20th, 2012 at 11:03 am
[...] 6. Other kinds of access, in all senses of the word–from the economic and geo kinds to to access for people with disabilities. Within “access,” I would also include linkability and the ability to be annotated (the latter is among the concerns of Sara Houghton in her E-Book Users Bill of Rights). [...]
January 26th, 2012 at 7:19 am
[...] the San Rafael Public Library). She has blogged extensively on the issue, most recently posting an eBook User’s Bill of Rights. Some choice excerpts: Digital Rights Management (DRM), like a tariff, acts as a mechanism to [...]
February 2nd, 2012 at 10:17 pm
[...] of VTech Storio V.Reader Animated E-Book Reading System – Pink : [wpramaprice asin="B004WINYRW"] VTech Storio V.Reader Animated E-Book Reading System – Pink Vtech Storio with Dora the Explorer Anim…I/41uYre-V2yL._SL160_.jpg" />VTech Storio V.Reader Animated E-Book Reading System – Pink Vtech [...]
February 4th, 2012 at 6:55 pm
[...] The eBook User’s Bill of Rights – Librarian in Black [...]
February 12th, 2012 at 11:17 am
[...] the most well-known readers sold nowadays. Article from articlesbase.com More Ebook Reader ArticlesHow to Choose an Ebook Reader Nowadays, practically everything in this globe relies on digital techn…your own electronic book reader, bring books anytime, anyplace would be feasible. You can even bring [...]
February 15th, 2012 at 2:44 pm
[...] FIDELITY NATIONAL INFORMATION SVCS GOOGLE COMPAL ELECTRONICS New technologies usually allow for more. In the move from print media to the Web the "more" was comm…kberries to iPhones, the "more" was a wonderland of new apps and a browser experience that didn't [...]
February 16th, 2012 at 5:00 am
[...] The eBook User’s Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah …1 day ago … Giedo van der Garde has admitted that agreeing terms with Caterham F1 for the 2012 season will ultimately prove to be a highly fruitful career… [...]
February 20th, 2012 at 7:16 pm
[...] were boycotts and petitions and some earnest librarians even came up with a “ebook user’s bill of rights,” perhaps forgetting that rights aren’t much good if no one enforces them. The hostile rhetoric [...]
March 1st, 2012 at 1:00 am
[...] Many states have new laws permitting tenants to remain after foreclosure.Powered by Yahoo! AnswersMaria asks…what are the nyc tenants against tenants rights?Mike answers:Your Tenat's bill of right…are the nyc tenants against tenants rights?Mike answers:Your Tenat's bill of right's are as follows [...]
March 13th, 2012 at 10:17 am
[...] and the rights of e-book consumers to lend or re-sell their titles. There has been most recently an E-Book User’s Bill of Rights floating around, as well, and this is what I’m going to rant about a little bit [...]
April 2nd, 2012 at 8:29 am
[...] En þetta minnti mig á nokkuð sem ég rakst á en vísaði aldrei á en það er réttindaskrá rafbókalesandans sem var sett fram af svartklædda bókasafnsfræðingnum: [...]
April 9th, 2012 at 11:47 am
[...] as an issue of human rights and social justice. Sarah Houghton and Andy Woodworth put together an eBook User Bill of Rights. While the Bill of Rights focuses on legal issues and digital rights management they do conclude [...]
April 20th, 2012 at 5:01 pm
[...] The eBook User’s Bill of Rights | Librarian in Black Blog – Sarah Houghton-Jan [...]
May 15th, 2012 at 11:36 am
[...] Sarah Houghton, and originally posted on February 28, 2011 in Ms. Houghton’s blog, Librarian in Black. I’m not sure I agree with every part of it but I do think that librarians must be very [...]
May 26th, 2012 at 7:03 pm
[...] uniting behind a collective “wtf?” and writing open letters to publishers and posting e-book user’s Bill of Rights. It’s all kind of exciting. Hopefully HarperCollins realizes their mistake — and it is [...]
May 27th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
[...] are other folks in library land speaking a lot more eloquently on the topic (Sarah Houghton-Jan and Andy Woodworth come to mind) but I’ve been more focused on a different ebook question [...]
June 14th, 2012 at 11:03 pm
[...] system, middleware, and applications for the development of devices employing … Read Document Developing Applications For AndroidDeveloping for Android White Paper 1.0 Rev 0.6 iv AT&T Devel…ndroid Applications photos" [...]
July 12th, 2012 at 6:35 am
[...] loaning cap, however, a sizable contingent of librarians have had it. See “The Ebook User Bill of Rights” issued this week by a set of advocates led by Andy Woodworth and Sarah Houghton-Jan, and the [...]
August 22nd, 2012 at 12:58 am
[...] income. You can find lots of information about the topic, and it doesn't cost that much to get into.More and more parents choose to stay home with their children rather than pay exorbitant childcare c…a stay-at-home dad, folks frequently have trouble living on one salary. In many cases it is an issue [...]