Re: copyright expiration as a spur to creativity

On 14, August 1998, 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!!

Angela, you don't get it. I want to BUY and OWN the book: I do research and write about translation. I certainly do know about ILL, and I use it all the time. That doesn't get me what I want, you see, which is a "publisher's" copy of the book, not a photocopy. My point was, that the book was listed as "in print" in the Books in Print, but the order was unfilled. May I make a copy of the whole book (for my personal use only) legally? This is my complaint! If I cannot copy it and cannot buy it new or used, what the hell am I supposed to do?

Michael A Scarpitti
Assistant Editor
Materials Evaluation
1711 Arlingate Lane
PO Box 28518
Columbus, Ohio 43228-0518
800 222-2768 Ext 207
614 274-6003 Ext 207
Fax 614 274-6899
<mscarpit[_at_]asnt.org> Received on Sun Aug 16 1998 - 22:23:15 GMT