The letter welcomes a draft bill called the OPEN Act, touted as a potential alternative to the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA).
Authors Guild Weighs in on Amazon Lending Library
By on November 14, 2011
The Authors Guild called Amazon’s recently launched ebook lending library a “mess” and claimed that Amazon appeared to breaching contracts with some publishers by including their titles in the lending program.
Library Copyright Alliance Voices Concerns Over Anti-Piracy Legislation
By on November 9, 2011
The Library Copyright Alliance (LCA)—whose members include the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), and the Association of College & Research Libraries—yesterday released a letter [PDF] written to the ranking members of the House Judiciary Committee to voice “serious concerns” about two provisions in H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) […]
Charleston Conference 2011: Big Ideas, Big Challenges
By on November 8, 2011
This year at the Charleston Conference—the annual meeting of academic acquisitions librarians and library vendors held in Charleston, SC, from November 2 to 5—many of the plenary presentations shared a common theme: as libraries face new challenges, new ideas are needed. And as the main speakers and presenters touched on a wide range of issues, it became clear that there was no shortage of new ideas, and opinions, in the library world.
All 50 State Librarians Vote to Form Alliance With Internet Archive’s Open Library
By on November 4, 2011
All 50 state librarians have decided to throw their weight behind the Internet Archive’s Open Library lending program. The Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA) voted unanimously during a meeting held October 24-26 in Santa Fe, NM, to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Internet Archive (IA) that will essentially make the state librarian in each state a point person for the Open Library’s lending program.
Open Access Week Gets Under Way
By on October 24, 2011
Open Access Week, the annual event celebrating the global movement towards Open Access (OA) to research and scholarship, began its fifth annual event today, October 24. According to a press release from the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), which coordinated the event, the week provides an opportunity to learn about the benefits of […]
At HathiTrust Constitutional Convention, Executive Director Offers a Success Story
By on October 20, 2011
One of the high points that emerged from the HathiTrust Constitutional Convention, which was held in Washington, D.C. from October 8-10, was the opening presentation by John Wilkin, HathiTrust’s executive director. Wilkin talked about the project’s past, present and future, and he emphasized that “this is a libraries writ large success story. What has happened […]
Digital Public Library of America: Pro and Con
By on October 13, 2011
They are miles apart in their thinking about digital books, but the Association of American Publishers’ (AAP) president, Tom Allen, and Harvard University library director Robert Darnton came face to face to discuss the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) on October 11. The occasion was a forum organized by Maurice J. Freedman, publisher of The Unabashed Librarian, and hosted by James Neal, University Librarian at Columbia. Also on hand was the University of California, Berkeley’s Pamela Samuelson, an expert on copyright law.
Link: To Slow Piracy, Internet Providers Ready Penalties
By on July 8, 2011
After years of negotiations with Hollywood and the music industry, the nation’s top Internet providers have agreed to a systematic approach to identifying customers suspected of digital copyright infringement and then alerting them via e-mail or other means.
