well, that was disappointing | stimulant - changing things around. . .

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changing things around. . .


well, that was disappointing

posted in narrative, politics, slush by Alec on February 9th, 2008 :

Yesterday, I heard about the Boston Public Library’s baleful DRM policy, and a protest staged by the Free Software Foundation and DefectiveByDesign in front of the BPL this afternoon from 1-3PM. So, I arrived at the BPL around 12:55PM, waited ‘til 1:35PM, and then left.

No one showed up.

So, I wrote a letter to the BPL Board of Trustees, instead.1 And left the fifty flyers I printed in various shops in Boston and on campus.

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  1. And you should, too! [↩]

9 responses to 'well, that was disappointing'

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  1. don warner saklad said, on February 9th, 2008 at 5:36 pm

    BPL board chair http://www.wilmerhale.com/jeffrey_rudman/ http://bpl.org/general/trustees/trustees.htm

  2. Scot Colford said, on February 9th, 2008 at 6:01 pm

    Hi, Alec. I think the protest got off to a late start. I did, however, get to speak to John Sullivan at about 1:30. He’s a very nice guy and seems willing to talk to us at the library about the situation.

    In case you haven’t seen it, I posted the “official BPL response” on his LiveJournal blog, so you may want to check it out:

    http://johnsu01.livejournal.com/212943.html

    I do have concerns about the flier that’s being distributed, as the three points enumerated are either misleading, so please humor me by considering the following:

    1. The physical collection of the BPL is not in the hands of corporations. Neither are works that we digitize. In fact, we turned down an offer to work with Google on the digitization of library material because of concerns about access issues. Instead we are partnering with the Open Content Alliance which is committed to open access to all. The OverDrive service we offer is an additional subscription service that allows patrons to download digital copies of recent audio books, ebooks, music, and videos, most of which we own in physical form as well.

    2. The DRM licenses used by OverDrive do indeed expire after 14 days. This allows us to buy a few copies of a title and circulate them to many patrons over time. If we had to pay for each download of a title (as in the Audible or iTunes model), it would be like buying a copy of a book for every patron who wants to read it. Lending is what makes a library a library and DRM allows us to lend digital media.

    3. OverDrive requires the installation of OverDrive Media Console, but it is not spyware. If you have evidence to the contrary, please share it.

    I hope that clears up some misconceptions about the very popular service that we’re offering.

    Scot Colford Applications Manager Boston Public Library scolford@bpl.org

  3. don warner saklad said, on February 10th, 2008 at 4:05 am

    >> http://aresnick.mit.edu/blog/well-that-was-disappointing/#comment-332

    > Some of the most important actions have been one or two or three > person public meetings. And some of those started late. > A. Resnick was there. He could have handed out flyers and talked > with people on the street. He would have had some effect.

  4. don warner saklad said, on February 10th, 2008 at 5:08 am

    > The issue is: the Library, by using “DRM”, supports the general > principle that we should be under surveillance and that our > computers should be under the control of the Englobulators at all > times. No, we should not be under constant surveillance and no, > we should keep our computers our own. That means no DRM. None > whatsoever. > > Don, you may quote this, with attribution, and a warning that I > cannot, this month, enter the public conversation. > > oo — JS.

  5. Scot Colford said, on February 10th, 2008 at 1:31 pm

    I repeat, Don. No one’s computer is under surveillance when using OverDrive Media Console. It is not spyware.

  6. The International House of Bacon » Blog Archive » Weekend Links said, on February 11th, 2008 at 11:48 am

    […] Depending on who you talk to, the Boston Public Library DRM protest was either a complete flop or an interesting diversion. I’m still of the position that the old way of protesting […]

  7. the zak said, on February 13th, 2008 at 3:31 am

    MAKOSHARK IS STRONG http://www.flickr.com/photos/makoshark/sets/72157600127273939/show/with/2255532118/

  8. John Sullivan said, on February 14th, 2008 at 12:48 am

    Ugh, I’m really sorry we missed you :(. We were there but obiviously we should have made more concrete meeting plans with people. It got going later on, like Scott said. Thanks for handing out those flyers and writing the letter.

  9. Alec Resnick said, on February 15th, 2008 at 11:33 am

    @John: No worries! I’m glad it actually happened; I just wish I’d been more patient. And thank you!

    @Scot, Don: still getting around to drafting a response; sorry for the delay!

    @Mako (kind of), Don: thanks for the link!

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