Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

As I was waiting for a meeting yesterday, I saw CNN reporting on the issue of libraries and scanning. Some well known research libraries are turning down Microsoft and Google’s offers to scan the contents of the libraries for free. Of course, nothing is really free, and the libraries do not want to bind themselves to the terms of Google and Microsoft’s “free deal”. If a library or organization commits to Google or Microsoft, it agrees that it will not make the scanned material available to any other commercial search service.

Boston Public Library and the Smithsonian Institution have signed with Open Content Alliance, a non profit, that will scan and make the information available to any search service. The Times says that this signals “that many in the academic and nonprofit world are intent on pursuing a vision of the Web as a global repository of knowledge that is free of business interests or restrictions.” I love the idea of the Web as a “global repository of knowledge.”

Via New York Times and CNN.

JK Rowling is famously known amonst online book circles as the highest profile author to refuse to allow digitization of her books. This has not deterred individuals from offering a home brew ebook version of every title in the Harry Potter series. In fact, Book 6 was released at midnight and online reports told of the ebook version available less than twelve hours later. Recently, the High Court of Delhi required eBay to halt four auctions on eBay India of illegal ebook versions of Potter’s book.

If one can get past the piracy issue, it is important to understand that there were purchasers of this illegal ebook version. Which means that there is a market for the ebok version and rather than the market being filled by a legitimate source, authorized by Rowling, the market is filled with illegal versions for which Rowling will receive no royalties.

The argument some have made is that piracy is the very reason that Rowling and others like her refuse the digitization form of their books. The fundamental fallacy in that argument is the idea that not having ebook versions prevents piracy. It is obviously …