Washington Post Editorial: “Free Books Online? Who Could Be Against That?”

Imagine a repository full of free books, available at the click of a button to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Whether this is a utopia, a dystopia or something in between depends on whom you ask — but thanks to the Internet Archive, it’s a reality. Now publishers are suing to stop it

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The Internet Archive’s approach is much like piracy and less like a library. The repository ought to negotiate with publishers to get more books to more people — but also more money to more authors who’ve rightfully earned it. Yet what this kerfuffle over a non-library reveals is really a library problem. The legal and business landscape lags a public that more and more is reading digitally. Publishers impose fees and conditions that they consider necessary to stay afloat and librarians consider draconian. It’s past time to catch up: The National Emergency Library isn’t really a library, but libraries are facing a bit of a national emergency.

Read the Complete Editorial (approx. 500 words)