David Bollier: Let’s Build Our Own Digital Public Library

[marmar]

Let’s Build Our Own Digital Public Library
Thursday, March 24, 2011


A federal judge has ruled that Google’s ambitious attempt to digitize all books, including those for which the copyright holders cannot be found, cannot go forward as planned. That’s great news. It will prevent Google from claiming a de facto monopoly over millions of “orphan works” whose copyright holders cannot be found. The company will not be able to charge exorbitant prices for access to books that ought to be free or at-cost.

Even better, the rejection of Google’s plan means that the nation’s libraries and research institutions can now entertain the idea of building their own repository of digitized books. It can be a real commons, and not a “free” proprietary platform that would come with all sorts of strings attached.

Robert Darnton, the director of the Harvard University Library, makes these points in a terrific oped piece in the NYT today. After detailing why Google’s book project deserved to be rejected, Darnton asks: Why not build a digital library better than Google’s? Let’s build “a vast collection of resources that can be tapped, free of charge, by anyone, anywhere, at any time,” he writes.

Judge Denny Chin rejected the copyright settlement that Google had negotiated with the Author’s Guild and the Association of American publishers because it would have applied to all authors, not just the 8,000 represented by the Author’s Guild. The settlement would have automatically authorized Google’s digitization of orphan works, effectively precluding any other company or institution from providing access to them. The copyright holders would have no say in opting into or out of the plan. By default, the settlement would have dictated public policy for orphan works and the digitization of books. That’s something that Congress should decide, not Google and two trade associations. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://bollier.org/let%E2%80%99s-build-our-own-digital-public-library

[Modern_Matthew]

1. I can download any PDF I want and convert it for reading on Kindle. All that matters to me. nt

[Shagbark Hickory]

2. I constantly wonder why google doesn't figure out a way to do healthcare.