How to keep people from reading

[Chiefsmom]

I don't think it's wrong, and in Portugal it's legal, even if they are copyrighted works, as what is forbidden is the distribution. Taking what is made available by others is not illegal.


That's the problem with the books that were the reason for the lawsuit, they were complaining that the Internet Archive was lending books that are available to be purchased and gaining money from it, directly or indirectly. As the books were direct copies scanned from the original physical books, the publishers could, besides the authors, claim copyright infringement.


I don't think the situation is the same.

PS: have you tried Project Gutenberg? Those are really free.

I have not heard of that one, I will check it out!  Thank you!

[UltraBudgie]

On Tuesday, a US District Judge in New York ordered the Library Genesis domains (booksdl.org, jlibgen.tk, libgen.ee, libgen.fun, libgen.gs, libgen.is, libgen.lc, libgen.li , libgen.pm, libgen.rocks, libgen.rs, libgen.space, libgen.st, libgen.su, library.lol, and llhlf.com) seized by October 15th, and issued a default judgement of $30M in favor of MacMillan, McGraw Hill, and Pearson:

https://torrentfreak.com/images/gov.usco...2.36.0.pdf

Coulda seen that coming.

[Maxmars]

On Tuesday, a US District Judge in New York ordered the Library Genesis domains (booksdl.org, jlibgen.tk, libgen.ee, libgen.fun, libgen.gs, libgen.is, libgen.lc, libgen.li , libgen.pm, libgen.rocks, libgen.rs, libgen.space, libgen.st, libgen.su, library.lol, and llhlf.com) seized by October 15th, and issued a default judgement of $30M in favor of MacMillan, McGraw Hill, and Pearson:

https://torrentfreak.com/images/gov.usco...2.36.0.pdf

Coulda seen that coming.

It's always about "money/property" which is understandable from a certain perspective... but regrettable in effect.

Less access to works... unless you pay.

I wonder if the end-effect will be what I seem to see coming.... no more reading unless someone gets money - forevermore.

(Wouldn't it be amazing if they applied this to the Bible, Koran, Bhagavad Gita (Mahabharata, or other Sanskrit/Vedas)... Could you imagine the 'royalties' that would generate?  Ask the CoS,... they know.)

Ahh the future... seeing it coming doesn't change a thing.

[UltraBudgie]

One aspect that's often glossed over is the need for preserving access to accurate digital PDF scans of prior book editions for purposes of verifying citations via page number. Each reflowing of text changes the page numbering, making it almost impossible to find what an author mean when they cite, for example, "page 56" of such-and-such book. Standard citation style requires including the publisher and year, and that helps, but those editions aren't legally available once the publisher has issued a new edition. In the past, with paper books, this wasn't as much of a problem, because publishers avoided reprinting and resetting books unless there was a good reason, but with electronic texts there's no such costly overhead, and many houses churn out reprint editions all the time, for purposes of currency and to keep their catalogues looking full.

And many of the electronic versions don't have embedded page number markers at all!  And if they do, it's very vague what edition they're referring to.  Library Genesis not only has current editions of physical PDF scans, but PDF scans of many older versions, from different publishers. With physical stacks being obsoleted and inaccessible, often its the only way to find the original work that is being referenced.

The entire web of verifiable academic research is built on top of what is presumed to be a workable way to reference prior works. Without the ability for a scholar to point to a specific place in a text that a future researcher will be able to parse, the system comes crashing down. Verifiably building on the works of others becomes impossibly cumbersome. Imagine it as being akin to trying to give directions to a specific house or business, without using street address numbers.

This may fold into an agenda, though likely not deliberately.  After all, do we really want easy verifiability in our academic publications?

[ArMaP]

Library Genesis not only has current editions of physical PDF scans, but PDF scans of many older versions, from different publishers.

They shouldn't mix current editions with old versions, that was asking for trouble.

PS: I never heard of them before, is that a site with PDF scans or is it another one of those that only have links for torrents?

[UltraBudgie]

They shouldn't mix current editions with old versions, that was asking for trouble.

PS: I never heard of them before, is that a site with PDF scans or is it another one of those that only have links for torrents?

There's database fields for publisher and year, as well as cover images. Library Genesis has mirrors and direct download links, as well as downloads via IPFS (Interplanetary Filesystem), which is a kind of peer-to-peer system.

Here, check it out (at least until October 15th): for example, if looking for the 1991 version of one of the most cited sociology texts:  For rhetorical purposes only

[ArMaP]

There's database fields for publisher and year, as well as cover images. Library Genesis has mirrors and direct download links, as well as downloads via IPFS (Interplanetary Filesystem), which is a kind of peer-to-peer system.

Those direct links are always a problem, as they are hosting the "stolen" books themselves.

[UltraBudgie]

Those direct links are always a problem, as they are hosting the "stolen" books themselves.

If you want to a distributed shadow library that doesn't self-host, check out Anna's Archive: https://annas-archive.org

Here is a recommended documentary: Digital Amnesia

Digital Amnesia is an inspirational documentary about the vulnerability of digital data and how it impacts our collective memory. The film delves into the sustainability and longevity of modern artifacts that exist in a digital state, featuring notable archivists who share their perspectives on the Digital Age.

[ArMaP]

If you want to a distributed shadow library that doesn't self-host, check out Anna's Archive: https://annas-archive.org

Interestingly, my ISP (Vodafone) blocks that site.

Here is a recommended documentary: Digital Amnesia

I am a programmer that has been working with historical archives for almost 30 years, I am well aware of how difficult it is to preserver physical and digital data.

[l0st]

One aspect that's often glossed over is the need for preserving access to accurate digital PDF scans of prior book editions for purposes of verifying citations via page number. Each reflowing of text changes the page numbering, making it almost impossible to find what an author mean when they cite, for example, "page 56" of such-and-such book. Standard citation style requires including the publisher and year, and that helps, but those editions aren't legally available once the publisher has issued a new edition. In the past, with paper books, this wasn't as much of a problem, because publishers avoided reprinting and resetting books unless there was a good reason, but with electronic texts there's no such costly overhead, and many houses churn out reprint editions all the time, for purposes of currency and to keep their catalogues looking full.

And many of the electronic versions don't have embedded page number markers at all!  And if they do, it's very vague what edition they're referring to.  Library Genesis not only has current editions of physical PDF scans, but PDF scans of many older versions, from different publishers. With physical stacks being obsoleted and inaccessible, often its the only way to find the original work that is being referenced.

The entire web of verifiable academic research is built on top of what is presumed to be a workable way to reference prior works. Without the ability for a scholar to point to a specific place in a text that a future researcher will be able to parse, the system comes crashing down. Verifiably building on the works of others becomes impossibly cumbersome. Imagine it as being akin to trying to give directions to a specific house or business, without using street address numbers.

This may fold into an agenda, though likely not deliberately.  After all, do we really want easy verifiability in our academic publications?

I would add another aspect to digitization: bitrot.

I just the other day found a CF card from and old digital camera that stopped working sometime around 2011. Sadly, nothing fantastic on the card, just a bunch of pictures of me looking like I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with the camera. However, all of the images showed signs of significant bitrot and some were completely inaccessible.

I think this is something to keep in mind.