Librarian by Day » nook

The eBook User’s Bill of Rights #hcod #ebookrights

Bobbi Newman — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 14:18:46 +0000

Read this.

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

Like it? Agree with it? Take it, its yours. It has a CC0 license which waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work. Think it needs tweaking? You’re free to do that too. Post in on your blog. Tweet it. Post it on Facebook. Share it outside of libraryland. Get the conversation moving.

Where did it come from? Not me, I can’t take credit for it. A lot of things have shown up in my inbox over the last couple of days in response to the HarperCollins Fiasco, I find this one the most significant. It comes from Sarah-Houghton-Jan and Andy Woodworth, they aren’t asking for credit or recognition . Sarah was worked tirelessly on ebook rights and freedom of access to information and electronic content. She and Andy want to share this.Similar Posts:

eBooks and eReaders: There Can Be Only One

Bobbi Newman — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 15:44:03 +0000

Sarah’s recent post - Why I am a library traitor and love the Kindle got me thinking – WHY is she a library traitor? I know I know, but hear me out.

I have a Kindle.

I love my Kindle.

You know what I do with my Kindle? I buy books, books I didn’t check out from the library (the horror!).

But here’s the thing, wait for it, I’ve always bought books! Books I didn’t check out from the library (gasp!) and I’ve also always used the library. Really I have been a heavy library user since I can remember. From an early age I read print books. Later I learned to love audiobooks on CD or cassette and when movies became available I checked those out too, later still I checked out and downloaded ebooks and eaudibooks. But during all this time nothing changed – I never stopped buying books (or going to the movie, or renting movies or buying movies). In fact I buy so many books that I pay the $25 a year for the Barnes & Noble membership card because I really do spend enough for it to be worth. Before I got my MLS I worked as a clerk in a larger library system during the day and on the nights and weekends at the local Barnes and Nobles, and guess what I saw many of the same people in both places. Buying books and borrowing from the library are not mutually exclusive. As I see it I bought and borrowed books before I had a Kindle I will continue to buy and borrow books after I have a Kindle. I am not borrowing from the library less.

I get Sararh’s point and concern. IF my library had ebooks and IF they had a wide selection with choices that appealed to me, nevermind the insanely high prices they would have to pay for a service that only a select group of patrons can use, those ebooks would not work on my Kindle thanks to choices by Amazon.com. But they don’t, so I bought a Kindle, guilt free, because even with the selection available from my library there aren’t enough choices to convince me that a Nook or Sony was a better option and well, lets face it, my library still has a huge number of choices avialable as print or book on CD or cassette or downloadable audio or ebook which I can read on my computer or Android phone thanks to the OverDrive app. I got a Kindle because it allows me to take notes and highlight in my books (something the library frowns upon and part of the reason I’ve always bought books) and access those notes online (something the library doesn’t offer).

Sure OverDrive and other vendors are doing their best to provide eBooks for libraries. But the process is cumbersome. If it goes well great! But if it doesn’t the pitfalls are plentifiul and woe to the techie attempting to troubleshoot them over the phone.

The truth is this the ebook readers that are out there were created to make a profit for the creator – Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Borders etc. Sure some of them have allowed library ebooks to be loaded, but its not their primary purpuse and they sure as hell aren’t gonna help you figure it out. They are gonna sell you an ereader and put a boot in your butt on the way out the door. Need help with a book you bought from our store? No problem. Need help with a free book from the library or somewhere else? Too bad you’re on your own mate, nevermind that we lured you with that promise when we sold you the device. Unhappy? Angry? Gonna leave us for another ereader? Go for it! Just remember your books wont work on their devices.

This annoys me like crazy but is it really a problem? I mean I don’t expect my Play Station Games to play on an Xbox. So why should my Kindle books work on a Nook? Except that I can sell my PlayStation and the games if I decide to get an Xbox. And I can’t sell my ebooks. Except the truth is I seldom sell my books and never loan them. Bobbi doesn’t loan things, not books, not movies not games (judge all you like). So how big of an issue is that I can’t lend my Kindle books? And as for selling them I have a pile of hardback nonfiction I’ve been trying to sell for a reasonable price on Amazon.com for 6 months now and they aren’t moving, so apparently while I could sell them, they aren’t selling either.

I don’t know how the ebook/ereader wars will play out. I do know this – I am leery of anyone who claims to. I am leery of anyone who claims there will be only one winner (we all drive different cars, why can’t we have different ereaders?)

But there is a problem and this one I am certain of – the ebook market is still playing out. Will they replace books? Supplement them? Fail all together? No one knows. But what we do know is that libraries are being cut out of the equation. That is a problem. I believe libraries are the key to closing the widening digital divide and participation gap we see. Are ebooks are part of that solution? Maybe. And for that reason alone we need a voice.

Choosing a Reader for eBooks

Bobbi Newman — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:33:20 +0000

I am hesitant to write this post, its so loaded with the issues surrounding ebooks. At the same time I get asked this question at least once a week so the time has come to put fingers to keys and share my 2 cents.

The question – What ebook reader should I buy? My answer – that depends.

First skip over the issue of dropping prices and improvements, issues with DRM and any other issues you have with ebooks and assume you want an ereader right now. These are the people who are asking me. I’ve come to realize that choosing an ereader is a little like buying a vehicle, which one you get depends in part on how you want to use it. There is no one right answer for everyone.

Nook

My sister and a friend of mine both have a Nook. The Nook is a great choice for them. They both love Barnes and Noble. They live in cities with B&N stores and visit often so they get to take advantage of the reading in store options. They could lend titles to friends, though neither of them has found a title they can actually loan. They could use them for library books, but despite my frequent urges (and emailing of links) neither of them has bothered to use it to check out books from their local public library *sigh*

Kindle

My sister and I are getting my Dad an ereader for Christmas (I hope this is not the one time he decides to read this blog). He reads a lot and is an hour from the closest book store and often complains of having read most of what the local public library has. (Unfortunately this is probably true). The library doesn’t offer ebooks and most likely wont any time soon so that isn’t an issue in the decision. We want the process of adding books to be as easy as possible for him, no connecting to a computer, that ruled out a Sony. We decided against the Nook because we we think he might find the touch screen frustrating. That leaves the Kindle. Nice buttons, easy to download content to and a decent selection of limited time promotional free titles that he can browse in addition to classics and fee titles.

Sony eReader

I know a lot of library patrons who are very happy with their Sony devices. I’ve seen them with all of them at this point. The Sony devices handle pdf files far better than the Kindle or the Nook. They work with library ebooks, if your primary use will be library books get a Sony device. The catalog of purchased titles works great and the Sony allow different formats of ebooks to be loaded, it has the most flexibility.

iPad -

Not only does it have the iBook store but apps for Kindle and others. You can read PDFs. No library ebooks. Color screen, great for picture books and comics. Great if you don’t want a dedicated device.

There are plenty of charts out there comparing them. But in a nutshell this the best aspect of each:

Kindle - note-taking options, across device syncing, keypad, free promotional titles
Nook – free reading in B&N, loaning possibility, OverDrive ebooks
Sony – PDFs and OverDrive ebooks in addition to Sony’s catalog of ebooks
iPad – color, larger screen, more stores for purchasing.

Without knowing how you want to use the ereader I don’t know which to recommend. You need to figure out how YOU will use it.

Have an ereader? leave a comment and let me know why you love it (or hate it).

PS Why I Chose KindleSimilar Posts:

E-Book Buyer’s Guide to Privacy

Bobbi Newman — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:50:39 +0000

cc image courtesy of practicalowl on flickr

Thinking about an ebook reader? Concerned about ebooks and privacy? Just curious? The EFF’s E-Book Buyer’s Guide to Privacy v1.1 has answers to questions like

Can they monitor what you’re reading?
Is the device ONLY compatible with books purchased from an associated eBook store?
Can they keep track of book searches?
Can they keep track of book purchases?
With whom can they share the information collected in non-aggregated form?
Can they share information outside the company without the customer’s consent?
Do they lack mechanisms for customers to access, correct, or delete the information?

Similar Posts:

Will Libraries be Able to Loan the Nook and eBooks from Barnes & Noble?

Bobbi Newman — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 16:05:20 +0000

Will Nook and Barnes & Noble play ball with libraries? Librarians have been trying to figure out a way to lend Kindle titles and Kindles since they were first available. But its complicated and Amazon hasn’t given any indication they want to work with libraries. Yes there are libraries doing it but they do not have Amazon’s official blessing.

But the Nook and Barnes & Noble might be different. They might be willing to officially give libraries permission to loan Nooks & their ebooks. Why?

They have already built in 2 week loaning and borrowing
Loaning can be made to a variety of devices – Mac, PC, iPhone, iPod Touch, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, or Windows Mobile (soon).
You can load ebooks from your public library onto The Nook*
Barnes & Noble has a history of work with libraries.

*All signs point to yes as Barnes & Noble has adopted Adobe® Content Server but none of the players have specifically addressed this issue.Similar Posts:

The Nook from Barnes & Noble – I Want One, Here’s Why

Bobbi Newman — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:01:53 +0000

I’m more excited about the Nook than I have been about any other ebook reader. This might be the one that finally gets me to buy one. Why?

8 Reasons You Can Finally Love Ebook Readers (Thanks to Nook) from Gizmodo

It’s cost-effective even with Wi-Fi, native PDF support, an SD slot and that crazy second screen makes it seem out of the Kindle’s league.
Lending and Sharing – 2 week loans to you can lend to tons of different devices: Mac, PC, iPhone, iPod Touch, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, or Windows Mobile (soon).
Free in-store reading - take the Nook to any of Barnes & Noble’s stores and read one ebook, for free, each time—the same way you might wander into the store, pick up a book and read it for an hour or two. (I do this!)
Head-turning looks
Android – two things to be excited about when it comes to Android. First is the legit apps, which B&N seems open to. Second the more illicit possibilities: The Nook both runs Android (which we already know is easily and enthusiastically modified) and has a microUSB jack, which should make for easy hacking
The second screen - a keyboard and Cover-Flow-esque browsing in color without the awkwardness and lethargy of e-ink, allows for multitasking. You’ll be able to read a book and control your music at the same time, and because the music browser will be on the LCD screen, it won’t look like e-inked crap.
Battery Life – 10-days and it’s replaceable!
Both 3G and Wi-Fi

From the New York Times Live Blog: Barnes & Noble Unveils E-Reader

The digital books in Barnes & Noble’s e-bookstore are available in either epub or Adobe Pdf format. Customers who want to buy books in those formats from other digital bookstores may do so and transfer them onto the Nook, but those who want to buy e-books directly from the device will be connected to Barnes & Noble’s own bookstore.

From the Wall Street Journal Live From the Nook Launch (Don’t Call It a Kindle)

Digits commenter provides useful info: Derek writes, “Just bought 2 online – Per invoice ‘Expected Ship Date: November 30, 2009′.”

I have just one question – Will they play ball with libraries?

See more:

Watch a video demo Barnes & Noble Nook Up Close: Yep, It’s Real Nice
Compare to the Kindle
Barnes & Noble Compares Nook to Kindle 2: Biased But Fair
Barnes & Noble Unveils Kindle-Killing, Dual-Screen ‘Nook’ E-Reader (Updated)
Pre order one
Nook is Coming: Barnes & Noble’s Kindle Killer