Penguin’s Pitiful Re-Engagement With Libraries

Shame on Penguin for this pitiful attempt at re-establishing a relationship.

Reminds me of a bad boyfriend I had once – he’d be a jerk, disappear then show up again in a day or two saying he wanted to make it work, that he cared about me but he wanted to take it slow and maybe see other people too.  Let’s learn faster than I did that this is a BAD relationship.

Seriously. Remember when they left? Citing problems with “friction”  (they actually considered making patrons physically visit the library to download ebooks) and Amazon?

Now they are back – they want to work with us. But only a few libraries. And not with their new titles.  And only for a year.

I’d love to for libraries have a relationship with Penguin. But a healthy one based on fair prices and terms, without needless friction and limitations.

And seriously Wall Street Journal and The New York Times shame on you for jumping on this story like a starving dog with a juicy bone.  You should be focusing on the fact that, libraries, one of the foundations of a free and democratic society, are being prevented from providing books to the nation. Libraries are institutions of learning and literacy and discovery and creation and innovation – all things required an active engaged citizenship in the new global knowledge economy.  You should be defending us and standing up for the rights of your citizens not writing some weak piece on the pitiful attempts of Penguin to “make it right” with libraries.