Re: copyright expiration as a spur to creativity

Angela Putney <aputney[_at_]aip.org> wrote:
>
> On 08/13/98, Michael Scarpitti <mscarpit[_at_]asnt.org> wrote:
> >
> > You seem to have a knack for catching the end of a trail of messages
> > and drawing incorrect conclusions. Let's say I want to buy (not
> > borrow) a book published in 1981 (Approaches to Translation by Peter
> > Newmark). Let's say I go to my friendly neighborhood college
> > bookstore and try to order it. Let's say I get back a notice saying
> > "out of print"? I go to Bibliofind on the network and try a search,
> > which comes up empty. Now, Mr. Henderson, you tell me: What the hell
> > am I supposed to do?
>
> Well, many people would go to a LIBRARY, check it out, and continue
> searching in the meantime. Most books eventually show up in 2nd hand
> book stores. You must be patient. I once took a class where the
> professor required an out of print book (all homework was assigned out
> of it too). All the library copies were put on reserve and the whole
> class worked at the library on the classwork. It is not always
> convinenient, but neither is life. This is the purpose of a library.
>
> Another option is to go to used bookstores YOURSELF. I have found more
> books that way than by calling places. Many used bookstores have no
> clue as to their entire collection - some books have been there for
> years.
>
> If you know of a professor who has assigned the book sometime recently,
> advertise on that campus for the book. If it isn't being used, it can't
> be sold back to a college bookstore and won't sell well in other campus
> used book sales. Students will often jump at the chance to make a few
> bucks back on books they think they will never use again.
>
> It is unclear from your signature what exactly you do, so I cannot tell
> if you need the book for your personal use or not. For personal use, a
> library book should be just fine, unless you want it to take apart and
> scan the pages which we all know is not a proper usage for a 1981 book.
> If it is for company use, a library book (perhaps ILL) may due to
> satisfy the current need until you can locate a copy. (I vaguely
> remember that UMI is able to make photocopies of entire books for some
> outrageous fee. Presumably a large portion of the fee goes to the CCC
> which would then go to the publisher and pay royalities if there are
> some to be paid).
>
> You have many more options available. USE THEM!!

To divert the exchange for a moment... I agree with the assertion that a purpose of libraries is to provide a preservation and access role, particularly for material which publishers and bookstores are no longer or not easily providing. If a local library does not own a copy of the title sought, that local library is permitted to try to borrow it from another library on behalf of the local patron.

This purpose of libraries, though, is threatened by the trend towards licensing rather than sale of material and by the uncertainty of long-term readability of various technologies now used for publication. The shift away from the book and the increasing irrelevance of the first sale doctrine mean consumers may not be able to rely on libraries for access to some "out-of-print" publications in the future.

Anne Klinefelter
Acting Law Librarian and Associate Law Librarian The University of Miami School of Law Library aklinefe[_at_]law.miami.edu Received on Sun Aug 16 1998 - 17:03:33 GMT