Last night was a great class yet again. Full of copyright and contract laws and judicial precedent (it was fun for people to learn that sometimes a branch of government which the public voter has no control over and doesn't vote into office can make laws....ummm democratic much?!?!.....the government can be so rude sometimes) and talking about missions and how we will improve society with SCIENCE... of the library persuasion. However, the thing that kept turning over and over in my mind is that companies which license e-books to libraries only allow the library have that license for 26 reads before they must purchase a new license because 26 is the amount of times that a book of the physical realm can be checked out before dying a biblio death.
TWENTY SIX TIMES! A book only has a life span of 26 reads?! I couldn't believe it, byet it made a sick sort of sense. I have probably read my favorite book every year since I first bought it ( yes I reread books, they get better each and every time) in 2003, meaning I have probably read it 8 times....and it shows. I immediately had a little panic frenzy in my head worrying about my beautiful library at home and how they will not last 26 reads. I want to be able to reread my books my entire life but if they die what will I do? In the future maybe a copy of my book won't exist because it did not get turned into an e-book and I will never be able to read that story ever again! Ok...I need to rein this in.
The more relevant reason to life and class why I don't like the idea of a library book having a life span of 26 reads is that I think library books can last longer than that. At my former job at the Boston Free Library I often gave books a second chance at life...fixing broken bindings, cleaning covers that are covered in mysterious sticky glue (goo gone is one of the best inventions ever), reinforcing paperback books so that the covers won't rip or the spines be broken as quickly as they could be. If a book fell apart, I could and would fix it.
Books can last through the ages if we take care of them....heck in my Special Collections class I am working with a book that is several centuries old! I am not saying that library books need to last centuries, but I think it is possible to care for a book and to extend its life span past 26 reads.
Companies or what have you, that license out e-books just want to make more money by making libraries purchase a new license for an ebook every 26 reads. The point of ebooks is that they don't wear out, they don't get hot chocolate spilled on them, or show water damage, or the wear and tears of the years...they are an electronic copy that can't be harmed by the woes that befall books.
Dear companies, I am sorry you made a product that doesn't die after 26 reads... and now you have to find sneaky, nefarious ways to make money. Maybe the print industry knows something that you don't...for example, how to keep people coming back for more.
It might be that I am being silly wanting books to last longer, I mean there are ebooks and nooks with which to read them....but I don't like the idea of being denied reading a book because my battery died or because I read it too many times and need to "buy" it again. That's just mean.
Hasta la vista amigos!
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