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Eric, thanks for finding enough merit in my post on the DPLA listserv to repost it here. Karen and Peter, I completely agree with your feelings- But my point in throwing this idea out there was that despite all of the copyright issues, we don't really do a great job making a simple, intuitive, branded interface for the works that *are* available - the public domain stuff. Instead we seem to be content with knowing that this content is out there, and letting vendors add it to their difficult-to-use interfaces. I guess my hope, seeing this reposted here is that someone might have a suggestion as to why I would not host public domain ebooks on my own library's site. Are there technical hurdles to consider? I feel like I see a tiny little piece of the ebook access problem that we *can* solve here, while some of the larger issues will indeed be debated in forums like the DPLA for quite a while. By solving a small problem along the way, perhaps when the giant 1923-2011 problem is resolved we'll have a clearer path as to what type of access we might provide. On 4/10/11, Peter Murray <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I, too, have been struggling with this aspect of the discussion. (I'm on the > DPLA list as well.) There seems to be this blind spot within the leadership > of the group to ignore the copyright problem and any interaction with > publishers of popular materials. One of the great hopes that I have for this > group, with all of the publicity it is generating, is to serve as a voice > and a focal point to bring authors, publishers and librarians together to > talk about a new digital ownership and sharing model. > > That doesn't seem to be happening. > > > Peter > > On Apr 10, 2011, at 10:05, "Karen Coyle" <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> I appreciate the spirit of this, but despair at the idea that >> libraries organize their services around public domain works, thus >> becoming early 20th century institutions. The gap between 1923 and >> 2011 is huge, and it makes no sense to users that a library provide >> services based on publication date, much less that enhanced services >> stop at 1923. >> >> kc >> >> Quoting Eric Hellman <[log in to unmask]>: >> >>> The DPLA listserv is probably too impractical for most of Code4Lib, >>> but Nate Hill (who's on this list as well) made this contribution >>> there, which I think deserves attention from library coders here. >>> >>> On Apr 5, 2011, at 11:15 AM, Nate Hill wrote: >>> >>>> It is awesome that the project Gutenberg stuff is out there, it is >>>> a great start. But libraries aren't using it right. There's been >>>> talk on this list about the changing role of the public library in >>>> people's lives, there's been talk about the library brand, and some >>>> talk about what 'local' might mean in this context. I'd suggest >>>> that we should find ways to make reading library ebooks feel local >>>> and connected to an immediate community. Brick and mortar library >>>> facilities are public spaces, and librarians are proud of that. We >>>> have collections of materials in there, and we host programs and >>>> events to give those materials context within the community. >>>> There's something special about watching a child find a good book, >>>> and then show it to his or her friend and talk about how awesome >>>> it is. There's also something special about watching a senior >>>> citizens book group get together and discuss a new novel every >>>> month. For some reason, libraries really struggle with treating >>>> their digital spaces the same way. >>>> >>>> I'd love to see libraries creating online conversations around >>>> ebooks in much the same way. Take a title from project Gutenberg: >>>> The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Why not host that book >>>> directly on my library website so that it can be found at an >>>> intuitive URL, www.sjpl.org/the-adventures-of-huckleberry-finn and >>>> then create a forum for it? The URL itself takes care of the >>>> 'local' piece; certainly my most likely visitors will be San Jose >>>> residents- especially if other libraries do this same thing. The >>>> brand remains intact, when I launch this web page that holds the >>>> book I can promote my library's identity. The interface is no >>>> problem because I can optimize the page to load well on any device >>>> and I can link to different formats of the book. Finally, and most >>>> importantly, I've created a local digital space for this book so >>>> that people can converse about it via comments, uploaded pictures, >>>> video, whatever. I really think this community conversation and >>>> context-creation around materials is a big part of what makes >>>> public libraries special. >>> >>> Eric Hellman >>> President, Gluejar, Inc. >>> http://www.gluejar.com/ Gluejar is hiring! >>> >>> [log in to unmask] >>> http://go-to-hellman.blogspot.com/ >>> @gluejar >>> >> >> >> >> -- >> Karen Coyle >> [log in to unmask] http://kcoyle.net >> ph: 1-510-540-7596 >> m: 1-510-435-8234 >> skype: kcoylenet > -- Nate Hill [log in to unmask] http://www.natehill.net