tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-384956052024-03-13T08:36:29.034-04:00johndegen.com<b>the book room</b>: <small>novelist, John Degen interviews other writers, and talks about copyright way too much</small>
<br>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger499125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-86669222950063355872015-03-27T13:57:00.001-04:002015-03-27T13:59:30.635-04:00does a bear excrement in the woods?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7DJGAbvPZwc/VRWYr65egpI/AAAAAAAABjU/l1BYFR7mUug/s1600/uninvited.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7DJGAbvPZwc/VRWYr65egpI/AAAAAAAABjU/l1BYFR7mUug/s1600/uninvited.JPG" height="162" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">(image courtesy me and <a href="http://www.nightwoodeditions.com/title/TheUninvitedGuest" target="_blank">Nightwood Editions</a>)</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Why Clean Reader Needs to Stop Cleaning</span></div>
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Let me start by saying I cannot <em>effing</em> believe I have
to write this piece in the year 2015. There is an app called Clean Reader that
promises to sanitize e-book text of profanity in the very act of delivering that
text to the reader. The service apparently works so poorly it has trouble
distinguishing between noun and verb forms of nasty words. There seems to be
some question about whether or not this app is a good thing. Cue my disbelief.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Others have already written better, funnier responses to Clean
Reader. <a href="http://terribleminds.com/ramble/2015/03/25/fuck-you-clean-reader-authorial-consent-matters/">This
is my favorite</a> so far. Because my fellow authors have almost uniformly
responded to Clean Reader with hilarious outrage, I have reason to hope the
world understands why Clean Reader should never, ever be allowed to sanitize
books it delivers to the consumer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But, then I read <a href="http://boingboing.net/2015/03/25/i-hate-your-censorship-but-i.html">a
piece</a> by author Cory Doctorow — <em>I Hate Your Censorship but I’ll Defend
to the Death Your Right to Censor</em> — defending the Clean Reader app…
because of freedom. The title of Doctorow’s piece pretty much says it all.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I get it. Doctorow is a techno-libertarian of the highest
order. I recently heard him speak at a book-tech conference in Toronto, and
experienced full-on the highly entertaining tempest of his “from my cold dead
hands” rhetoric around technology. I’m paraphrasing, but it’s something like… <em>if
we can’t do whatever we want to do with everything on our phones tall buildings
will collapse, our children will live in chains, and the government will watch
us pee</em>. I understand his concerns. I tend to think they’re comically Unabomberish,
but I understand them and I celebrate his whole weird way. He’s an author — let
him say or write whatever he likes. Fill your boots.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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But censorship as a blow for freedom? That needs some
unpacking.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<strong>Let’s Begin With The Meaning Of Words</strong><o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong><br /></strong></div>
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Words have meaning, and those meanings are important. Free
does <em>not</em> mean comfortable, content, happy, blinkered, or unbothered by
profanity. It means free. Full stop. The word censorship does not mean freedom.
It is also not a right. Censorship is the opposite of freedom. It is that which
stomps on rights. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I just don’t think it’s possible to hand over to someone else
my immediate engagement with a book (and that is the basic functionality of
Clean Reader, as I understand it) and then say with any seriousness “oh thank
goodness, now I’m free.” Willingly, happily, unfree? Yes, that works. But not
free. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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To me, the idea that consumer freedom involves allowing Clean
Reader to function as a filter on text before that text reaches the reader is
nonsensical. A free reader is an unfiltered reader. Someone please put that on
a flag. Even if the consumer willingly uses Clean Reader, they are essentially
imprisoning their experience of a text within Clean Reader’s rule-set. Prison
is freedom?<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And please, let’s not go down the rabbit-hole of
reader-response. Yes, a reader can choose to skip around in a text, to ignore
the author’s set narrative, to willfully misunderstand. None of that is the
same thing as having a third party decide which words are good and which are
bad, and then actively modify the text. The former is called acting on personal
taste; the latter, censorship. They are not the same thing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong>Does Clean Reader Infringe Copyright?</strong><o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong><br /></strong></div>
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In my opinion, this app absolutely infringes copyright. There
is somewhat ambiguous (US) case law on this. In 2006 a service in the realm of
film rental, Clean Flicks, was defeated in court by the Directors Guild of
America and a number of named artists (some folks named Scorsese, Spielberg,
Jewison, Soderbergh, Altman and Redford) over their commercial practice of
“editing” swears, nakedness and other unpleasantness out of DVD copies of films
before renting or reselling them to the consumer. The most famous of these
edits was the removal of Kate Winslet’s nude scenes from the film Titanic. Even
the claim that the consumer was requesting this service did not persuade the US
courts to allow Clean Flicks to continue.<a href="file:///S:/COMMUNICATIONS/Executive%20Director/CleanReaderFinal.docx#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
The case was decided for the Directors. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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On the other hand, an earlier exemption to US law, the Family Movie
Act<a href="file:///S:/COMMUNICATIONS/Executive%20Director/CleanReaderFinal.docx#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>,
may in fact allow for technology that filters movies of offending content on
personal technology. Importantly, the FMA does not allow for the rental or sale
of pre-filtered content, and that may be an important distinction in any
decision around Clean Reader. Clean Reader appears to marry a bookselling
function with its filtering service. Does this mean book and filter arrive on
your device together? That looks like pre-filtered content to me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As <a href="http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2015/03/an-exercise-in-futility.html">others
have pointed out</a>, the <em>first sale doctrine</em> as applied to books
means that the consumer, once s/he has bought a physical copy of a book, might
very well be allowed to rip out pages, cross out words or, as my grandmother
used to do, underline boldly while scribbling “Yes!” in between lines of text.
Okay. But importantly, the first sale doctrine does not apply to e-book
purchasing (which is considered a robust form of licensing rather than a strict
sale), so that defense, if used here, would likely not work.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Where I think the consumer-first, “I can do anything I want
with what I buy” argument really falls down here is the fact that the consumer
is not actually doing the censoring when s/he uses Clean Reader. The app is
doing the editing, and unless apps have evolved to the point where they are now
actually part of our individual human functioning and consciousness, that’s
what I would call a commercial third-party intervention on the text, and I
would hope there isn’t an e-book license out there from a respectable publisher
that allows such a thing.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I’m almost willing to say that by blocking offending words and
offering a set of alternative words to the reader, the Clean Reader app <em>might</em>
be engaging in a form of translation. We’re all okay with translation, right?
Except translation is one of the bundle of rights owned by the writer. Writers
regularly authorize publishers and/or agents to deal with the translation
rights for our work, and those rights are generally sold in commercial
agreements. Translate text without one of those agreements, and you are
infringing the rights of the author.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<strong>Quick Tangent To Further Consider “I can do anything I
want with what I buy.”</strong><o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong><br /></strong></div>
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No, I can’t. I can’t take my newly purchased weed-trimmer and edit
my neighbour’s flower garden with it. That’s where my right to do things with
my stuff runs up against my neighbour’s right to have her property respected.
The same principal applies to text. You can own the Clean Reader app. You can own
a copy of my book. But you can’t use the copy of my book and the Clean Reader
app together to alter the words and meanings in my text. The text is my
property. You haven’t bought it (you bought a copy of it). Keep your
weed-trimmer away from my text.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And I haven’t yet touched on moral rights, which are more or
less well-protected under copyright regimes depending on where an artist lives
and works. I favour a strong moral rights protection as a kind of suit of
armour against censorship, because I believe to my core in the integrity of
artistic expression. For me this means my text stays exactly the way I laid it
out, unless and until I approve of a change (within reasonable limits of fair
dealing). By “reasonable limits of fair dealing” I mean that when someone pulls
a small<a href="file:///S:/COMMUNICATIONS/Executive%20Director/CleanReaderFinal.docx#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
piece of my text out of the rest of the text in order to quote me, criticize
me, satirize me, or teach something found in my work, I do not object. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I <i>do</i> object to Clean
Reader coming anywhere near anything I’ve written.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<strong>What Can Be Done About All This?</strong><o:p></o:p></div>
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<strong><br /></strong></div>
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Well, some authors have <a href="http://www.cleanreaderapp.com/contact/">let Clean Reader know</a> in
plain, unfiltered language that they do not authorize the app to be used in any
way with their work. I will do this as well, if they haven’t yet received
that message through this article. Dear Clean Reader, my novel, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Uninvited-Guest-John-Degen-ebook/dp/B004VTHV3U/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1427467148&sr=1-1">The
Uninvited Guest</a>, will almost certainly offend some people with some of its
words. You are not authorized to block or change those or any words in my work. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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I encourage all authors to do the same. </div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div>
<!--[if !supportEndnotes]--><br clear="all" />
<hr align="left" size="1" width="33%" />
<!--[endif]-->
<br />
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<a href="file:///S:/COMMUNICATIONS/Executive%20Director/CleanReaderFinal.docx#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> <span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Which leads me to believe that
no-one, anywhere, ever, actually requested the removal of Kate Winslet’s nude
scenes. But I could be wrong.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
<div id="edn2">
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<a href="file:///S:/COMMUNICATIONS/Executive%20Director/CleanReaderFinal.docx#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
Thanks to Terry Hart of the Copyright Alliance and the CopyHype blog for legal
knowledge on this point.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
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<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///S:/COMMUNICATIONS/Executive%20Director/CleanReaderFinal.docx#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span style="font-family: "Calibri",sans-serif; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
This takes us back to the meaning of words. Small means small. Small does not
mean, as some educators in Canada now claim, entire chapters, short stories or
a full 10% of a book. Those are big, which is the opposite of small.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
This essay was <a href="http://tinyurl.com/owgrqz7" target="_blank">originally published on Medium</a>.</div>
</div>
</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-72061866444617915202015-02-11T09:57:00.002-05:002015-02-11T09:57:44.699-05:00attacking or evolving?<div class="storify">
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="no" height="750" src="//storify.com/jkdegen/attacking-or-evolving/embed" width="100%"></iframe><script src="//storify.com/jkdegen/attacking-or-evolving.js"></script><noscript>[<a href="//storify.com/jkdegen/attacking-or-evolving" target="_blank">View the story "Attacking or evolving? " on Storify</a>]</noscript></div>
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-79142103407349113262015-01-19T11:59:00.003-05:002015-01-19T11:59:39.453-05:00<div class="storify">
<iframe allowtransparency="true" frameborder="no" height="750" src="//storify.com/jkdegen/i-took-a-night-walk-on-frozen-lake-simcoe-on-satur/embed?border=false" width="100%"></iframe><script src="//storify.com/jkdegen/i-took-a-night-walk-on-frozen-lake-simcoe-on-satur.js?border=false"></script><noscript>[<a href="//storify.com/jkdegen/i-took-a-night-walk-on-frozen-lake-simcoe-on-satur" target="_blank">View the story "ice walking" on Storify</a>]</noscript></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-75123361553589708472014-12-18T11:50:00.003-05:002014-12-18T11:52:00.789-05:00Are libraries losing their way in the digital age?<div id="fb-root">
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<b><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Now
Entering the Information Commons: Admission, $100</span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: 'Scala Sans';"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(essay first published in the most excellent <a href="http://notesandqueries.ca/" target="_blank">Canadian Notes & Queries</a> magazine #90)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Scala Sans';"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r32n3HCcTA4/Tw8xVZ6kLEI/AAAAAAAAAtg/_LtyzmGYEdY/s1600/pratt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-r32n3HCcTA4/Tw8xVZ6kLEI/AAAAAAAAAtg/_LtyzmGYEdY/s1600/pratt.jpg" height="102" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Scala Sans';"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";">Not that
long ago, while visiting the E.J. Pratt Library at the University of Toronto, I
noticed the area in the building I might naturally call <i>reference</i> or <i>the catalogue</i>
had been renamed. It’s no longer a humble catalogue, but a rather grandiose <i>information commons </i>instead. A little
while later, I noticed the same terminology at the Toronto Reference Library.
That vast, computer bank filled with folks watching YouTube? Toronto’s
information commons. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";">The
commonality of information is indisputable, isn’t it? There it is, all around
us like air. But using the term <i>information
commons</i> within a library is a political choice; it’s a declaration. It has
its roots in the idea of a village commons, a plot of land that is not subject
to private ownership, but instead is for the use of all citizens. A park, for
instance. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";">Parks are
nice. They make us feel good about being part of society, like we’re all
sharing something. Declaring the presence of an information commons is like
saying “Come on in, lie down on the grass, bring your dog. No-one can stop you
from using this space or the information you find here.” Ironically, at U of
T’s main branch, Robarts Library, the commons has been corporatized. Our common
information at Robarts comes to us courtesy a sponsorship from Scotiabank, an
entity created by and dedicated to the concept of private ownership.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";">This
particular renaming undoubtedly has a lot to do with the fact that library
spaces are now heavily connected to the outside world. Whereas the good old
catalogue (card- or computer-based) was in place to tell you what information
(i.e. writing) was available in the library itself – what had been acquired,
collected, curated and stored within the actual brick and mortar building in
which you were standing – now every computer terminal in every library in every
city in the world has access to all of world knowledge through the connected
tubes of the interweb. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";">Does that
mean my iPhone is an information commons as well? If so, why bother with
libraries at all? Let’s just make sure everything is available digitally, and
we can tear down all those dusty old buildings. One library is good enough if
it contains all of world knowledge and can be carried in my pocket. Give it a
funny name and a colourful logo and no-one will ever have to suffer the
humiliation of a public shushing again. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";">Digital
utopian and free culture theories <a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_edn1" name="_ednref1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 12pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> depend
heavily on the idea of the Internet being common ground, despite a great deal
of evidence and practice proving otherwise (try to replicate and use Google’s search
algorithm on the Internet, for instance – see how common that information is).
What any of that has to do with the function of a library is a bit mysterious. I’m
hoping we’re seeing a temporary fad take hold – like calling any combination of
two things a “mash up” – and that soon we’ll all tire of the digital utopian
lexicon and get back to calling things by their proper names. We may get a warm
feeling from the idea of libraries as infoparks, but we’re fooling ourselves if
we think that’s what they actually are.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"> </span><i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"> </span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"><b>Getting Lost in the Library</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">Nicholson Baker’s brilliant 2001 exposé, <i><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/books/01/04/15/reviews/010415.15gatest.html" target="_blank">Double Fold: Libraries and the Assault on Paper</a></i>,
detailed the scandalous destruction of many thousands of books and newspapers
in American library collections during the microforming craze of the late last
century. Libraries were sold on vast microforming schemes as a means not just of
preserving old, crumbling paper texts, but of saving space within the physical
collections themselves. Many American libraries even agreed to turn over
physical inventory with no intention of ever getting it back intact. Books had
their spines guillotined and their guts removed for quicker copying, entire
runs of newspaper were quickly photographed and then destroyed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">The libraries retained tiny photographs of
their former collections on acetate – a technology that proved over time to be
riddled with preservation and documentation errors, was tricky to keep properly
stored and catalogued, and would often corrode faster than the old paper it was
meant to replace. Many microform collections quickly succumbed to “vinegar
syndrome,” a condition every bit as bad as it sounds. <i>Double Fold</i> won the 2001 National Book Critics Circle Award for
Non-Fiction, and made quite a few enemies for Nicholson Baker in the
information sciences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">Many in the worlds of research, writing and
publishing are wondering if Canada is right now experiencing its own <i>Double Fold</i> moment. After a chaotic
decade of amalgamation, restructuring, staff changes (downsizing) and shifting
collection policies, our national memory bank, Library and Archives Canada has
begun to fast track a project involving the mass digitization of their current
holdings. As in the microforming debacle that preceded it, this new mass
scanning and storage is being contracted to an outside supplier, in this case
an online repository and subscription service called Canadiana.org.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">News reports from early in the summer of
2013 had Canadiana.org scanning our publicly held archival collection in
exchange for proprietary copies of all materials processed, which Canadiana
would then load with metadata – the essential cataloguing and searching
functionality that any national archive worth its salt is supposed to provide –
and offer it back to the public, for a fee, through premium subscription
services. What was once planned as a free service for all Canadians will now
cost us upwards of $100 each. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">The uproar from the cultural sector was
predictable, resulting in the immediate postponement of the mass digitization
project, presumably until better optics could be arranged. Strangely, about the
only culturally-based organization <i>not</i>
to voice concern over this privately arranged shift in ownership of public
records was the Canadian Library Association. In fact, the <a href="https://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=14226&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm" target="_blank">CLA wrote a public letter</a> <a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_edn2" name="_ednref2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: black; font-size: 12pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>
of strong support, essentially quoting from Canadiana’s own project bumpf,
while all but abdicating the traditional work and responsibility of public
libraries:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">“Those
who provide financial support to this project will have the added value of
access to the metadata…”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">To be
clear, all Canadians have already provided “financial support to this project,”
and there would be no metadata from which to extract “added value” without the
essential gift of all the public documents that make up the bulk of the
collection. What is being proposed is <i>extra
</i>pay for <i>standard</i> service. What’s
more, it is being described by its defenders as simultaneously a common good
and a premium value-add. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">Canadiana.org
appears, at least, to be a non-profit consortium of libraries and universities.
Nevertheless, it is decidedly <i>not</i>
Canada’s national archives – an institution into which the Canadian taxpayer
has already invested many millions of dollars on the understanding it would
preserve, organize and make freely available our national documentary heritage.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">Lost in
all of the fuss over the Canadiana deal is any sense of what will happen to the
physical collection once mass digitization and metadata attachment is complete.
Digitization is easily mistaken for preservation in such schemes. A scanner copies
a physical document; it does not preserve that document. Will we still bother
to keep and properly store our precious documentary history once we get copies
of it all in a hard drive? Recent reports of books and paper collections from
Canada’s contracting network of science libraries being discarded and
dumpstered suggest we don’t value the hard copy as well as we should. <a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_edn3" name="_ednref3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: black; font-size: 12pt;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">“Like
Nature,” writes Alberto Manguel in his exquisite love letter to book
collecting, <i>The Library at Night </i><a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_edn4" name="_ednref4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: black; font-size: 12pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>,
“libraries abhor a vacuum, and the problem of space is inherent in the very
nature of any collection of books… ultimately, the number of books always
exceeds the space they are granted.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">One
wonders if the universal access promised by digitization is so tantalizing to
libraries because they are simply running out of shelf space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right: .5in;">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';"><b>The Myth of the Universal Library</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">The best-known version of the “let us help
you preserve your collection by copying it” sales pitch is Google’s scanning deal
with a consortium of public and university libraries called HathiTrust. The
search engine gargantua continues to do all the heavy lifting (literally) of
hauling millions of books off the shelves, scanning them, storing the digital
files and then returning the books to their home libraries. In exchange for
this work, the libraries allow Google to keep a digital copy of each of the
scanned books, and use those copies in its own online library called Google
Books. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">Despite all the coded language of <i>universal</i> access and common information <i>sharing</i> surrounding that project, many
argue Google’s interests are private and entirely commercial. In the era of big
data, more equals money, and Google layers its profitable (and proprietary)
search architecture on top of those millions of library books, something no
other company is allowed to do. What’s more, it remains an open legal question
whether or not Google or the libraries have the right to carry out this work in
the first place, since vast numbers of the books in question remain under
copyright protection, and no good faith attempt was made to secure permission
for the copying from the authors. These matters remain before the courts.<span class="MsoEndnoteReference"> <a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_edn5" name="_ednref5" title=""><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: black; font-size: 12pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></a></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">Will the libraries and archives actually
achieve the goal of universal access to their collections through their deals
with Google or Canadiana.org, or will they merely provide unparalleled access
for restrictive commercial enterprises, and transactionally-dependent access
for the rest of us? LAC and Canadiana.org insist that Canadians will only have
to pay the premium price for our historical record for a decade or so, but
that’s cold comfort for those wanting access right now (say, the octogenarian
ex-soldier working on her memoirs). Since much of the material in the LAC
collection remains under copyright, it’s also entirely likely that some
Canadians will be forced to pay for digital access to their own writing. Welcome
to the commons everyone! Hope you brought your wallet.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">The dream of a universal library is not
new, but for some reason it can become an obsession that encourages pretty
awful behaviour. The ancient library of Alexandria apparently benefited from a
royal proclamation requiring all ships visiting the Egyptian port to surrender
their books for copying into the library collection. Often, the more handsome originals
were not returned. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i><span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';"><b>Rising Up From the Commons</b><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";">I love
libraries. Few physical spaces draw me with such intensity as the stacks, reading
rooms and study carrels of a really great library. I go to libraries when I’m
on vacation – simply cannot walk past the 42<sup>nd</sup> Street library in New
York City without wandering in for a couple hours of reading or writing, or for
no purpose at all. Did you know that a huge cistern used to stand on that block
of Manhattan, providing drinking water to the city? I do know that, because I
read about it… in a library. The Croton Distributing Reservoir used to hold
upwards of 20 million gallons of water. It was torn down sometime in the late
1800s, replaced by the now familiar Beaux-Arts building and its adjacent Bryant
Park. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";">The main
public library branch in downtown Seattle is a wonder to behold, with precious
foggy daylight streaming through massive slanted windows framed by redwood
beams in the upper floor reading rooms, suggesting both mountain and forest
vistas of the great Pacific Northwest. When I was there this past winter a man
approached me, said he was from Alaska, and just kept shaking his head as he
looked around the room, taking in its grandeur. “I’ve never seen anything so
beautiful,” he told me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";">Even the
humble little Aurora Public Library, my old suburban hometown haunt from the
70s and early 80s, squat and ugly and utilitarian, with a weird cold war
air-raid siren installed right by the front door – even that place felt more
special than any other spot in that sad little town. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";">These
three buildings have almost nothing in common architecturally, nor in the
atmosphere they provide to those who use them. Yet they all have one very
important thing in common. They exist because our world contains writers, and
those writers create the books, magazine and journal articles that make up the
core of a library’s collection.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";">Let me
make a bold and not very populist suggestion. Libraries are not about
commonality; they’re about exceptionalism. Or, at least, they’re supposed to
be. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";">Why does New
York City protect the entrance to its library with lions? Because only the
brave should approach such a building, only those willing to find and absorb
and at least attempt to understand the wisdom therein. Walk through the <i>information commons</i> in any university or
public library these days and you are likely to see a student catching up on
some Netflix or updating Facebook. Something essential about these spaces has
been flipped on its head. Serious research of actual information is often now
secondary to entertainment. Is that really what we want from our libraries?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">Philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie is widely
considered the father of the modern public library. One might be tempted to
think of Carnegie’s generous grants to build libraries across the continent as
some sort of democratizing gift to humanity - to the commons. Of course, by day
Carnegie was a union-busting industrial capitalist with little time for common
folk (or, at least, the common folk who expected union wages and benefits). His
vision of the purpose of these libraries is clear and unequivocal. They are for
the “industrious and ambitious; not
those who need everything done for them, but those who, being most anxious and
able to help themselves, deserve and will be benefited by help from others.” <a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_edn6" name="_ednref6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: black; font-size: 12pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">Can I walk into the Vancouver Public Library
(another spectacular building) and walk out with a copy of one of my own books?
No, I cannot. They have my books (thanks Vancouver!), but if I want to read
them at the VPL, I will have to actually stay within the friendly confines of
the VPL. Not being a resident of Vancouver, I cannot get a Vancouver Public
Library card <a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_edn7" name="_ednref7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: black; font-size: 12pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>,
and you sure do need one of those to borrow a book from there. VPL, like every
other public library you will enter these days, enforces control over its
collection with sophisticated surveillance and electronic security measures. Strike
one against the idea that libraries are for everyone. They are for <i>everyone resident in the municipality on
which the library depends for tax revenues</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">The same goes for university libraries,
like the Pratt in Toronto, where I do a great deal of my own writing. In many
university libraries, I’m free to wander through the stacks and take books back
to a study carrel for my immediate use. As long as I don’t leave the building,
I can touch whatever I want (and touch it I do). But this is certainly not true
for Robarts Library, the monolithic, turkey-shaped building at the corner of
St. George and Harbord. The stacks at Robarts’ infopark are guarded by
electronic gates and card-checking technology. The last time I was in that
corporately-sponsored commons, I was watched very closely by a uniformed
security guard. Never mind taking the books out of the building, if you want to
even <i>see</i> most of the books in the
Robarts collection, you will need to be a tuition-paying student at the University
of Toronto <a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_edn8" name="_ednref8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: black; font-size: 12pt;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>,
one of the more exceptional, expensive and exclusive schools in North America. It’s
all very nice and democratic <i>sounding</i>
for libraries to promise universal accessibility, but they don’t really mean it <a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_edn9" name="_ednref9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: black; font-size: 12pt;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a>,
and maybe that’s ultimately a good thing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">I don’t make these observations out of any
Randian insistence on keeping the rabble away from the good stuff, and I’m as
likely to lean toward Antonio Panizzi <a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_edn10" name="_ednref10" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: black; font-size: 12pt;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></a> as
Andrew Carnegie for my essential understanding of and belief in the purpose of
libraries – Panizzi, the Principal Librarian of the British Museum Library
famously declared it was the government’s responsibility to make sure the poor
and rich had equal access to his collection. That said, the job of providing
access is nowhere near as easy as opening a door, and it carries with it an
immense responsibility. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">The elitism of the U of T library system
serves an essential purpose for that system and for the public and private
donations on which it is built. If anybody could walk into Pratt or Robarts and
remove any book they like whenever they like, there would very soon be far
fewer books in Pratt and Robarts. Protecting and preserving the collection they
have is as much the job of a library as is building the collection in the first
place. In fact, library workers should want to <i>control </i>access as much as they want to <i>provide</i> it. Otherwise, they are working themselves out of a job. And
library workers have an essentially important job. They are the highly educated
human conduit between some wonderful new tools (digital text, metadata, search
algorithms, etc.) and the collections of human work to which they will be
applied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; font-family: 'Scala Sans';">Schemes like Google’s library-scanning and Canadiana.org’s
archive-scanning put the metadata first, the search second, and the people third
(or lower), all the while making disingenuous promises about being stewards of
the information commons. If we <i>are</i>
building a universal library, it’s one designed with plenty of cloud-based
servers and wired conduits, but precious few human-sized doors and climate-controlled
storage rooms. Let’s leave the information commons where it belongs, with the
digital utopians, and instead let’s expect of our libraries the real, human
work for which they are uniquely suited. We can start by using the proper names
for things as they are. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_ednref1" name="_edn1" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 10pt;">[i]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Scala Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Information Commons: A Public Policy
Report, by Nancy Kranich. The Free Expression Policy Project. Brennan Center
for Justice at NYU School of Law </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"><a href="http://www.fepproject.org/policyreports/InformationCommons.pdf">http://www.fepproject.org/policyreports/InformationCommons.pdf</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_ednref2" name="_edn2" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 10pt;">[ii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";">Canadian Library Association
website: <a href="http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=14226">http://www.cla.ca/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=14226</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_ednref3" name="_edn3" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: ScalaSans-Regular; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-CA; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">[iii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-CA"> <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2014/01/13/q-essay-closing-science-libraries/">http://www.cbc.ca/q/blog/2014/01/13/q-essay-closing-science-libraries/</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/01/12/thats_no_way_to_treat_a_library_scientists_say.html">http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/01/12/thats_no_way_to_treat_a_library_scientists_say.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<div id="edn4">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_ednref4" name="_edn4" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 10pt;">[iv]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"> p. 66, </span><u><span style="font-family: "Scala Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The Library at Night</span></u><span style="font-family: "Scala Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">, by Alberto Manguel,
Knopf Canada 2006.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn5">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_ednref5" name="_edn5" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 10pt;">[v]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Scala Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Full disclosure: My day job is as
executive director of the Writers’ Union of Canada, one of the named plaintiffs
in the current HathiTrust legal proceedings in the US.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn6">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_ednref6" name="_edn6" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 10pt;">[vi]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"> Harriman Carnegie Library website: <a href="http://www.tennesseerivervalleygeotourism.org/content/harrimans-carnegie-library/ten1198F67D3157F6DED">http://www.tennesseerivervalleygeotourism.org/content/harrimans-carnegie-library/ten1198F67D3157F6DED</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn7">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_ednref7" name="_edn7" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 10pt;">[vii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"> Vancouver Public Library website –
How to Get a Library Card: <a href="https://www.vpl.ca/library/details/how_to_get_a_library_card">https://www.vpl.ca/library/details/how_to_get_a_library_card</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn8">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_ednref8" name="_edn8" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 10pt;">[viii]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Scala Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The U of T library system does have
options by which non-students may access the stacks, but these options are
costly and certainly not universal. A 7-day “stack access” card costs $20, and
is available only to “</span><span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Scala Sans"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Visitors, who are
faculty members, staff, or graduate students in other universities.” </span><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"><a href="http://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/robarts-stack-access?source=services">http://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/robarts-stack-access?source=services</a></span><span lang="EN-CA" style="background: white; color: #666666; font-family: "Scala Sans"; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn9">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_ednref9" name="_edn9" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 10pt;">[ix]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"> I can’t even get past the home
screen on a “commons” computer terminal without entering a U of T access code.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div id="edn10">
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<a href="file:///C:/Users/jdegen/Documents/John's%20Files/writing%20general/CNQ/Welcome%20to%20the%20Information%20CommonsBLOG.doc#_ednref10" name="_edn10" title=""><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"><!--[if !supportFootnotes]--><span class="MsoEndnoteReference"><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-size: 10pt;">[x]</span></span><!--[endif]--></span></span></a><span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: "Scala Sans";"> </span><span style="font-family: "Scala Sans"; mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Thanks to Nigel Beale for pointing me in
the direction of Panizzi through his article, “Empty Archives: Reflections on
an Institution in Crisis,” pp. 18-21, in the Summer 2013 issue of <i>Write</i> magazine (the member publication
of The Writers’ Union of Canada).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoEndnoteText">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-90069499175468713922014-12-09T12:31:00.001-05:002014-12-11T06:10:19.074-05:00blame the author<div id="fb-root">
</div>
<h3>
Canadian Author Attacked for Defending Rights</h3>
<br />
Folks from all over the world are gathered this week in Geneva, Switzerland to attend the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO's) 29th session of the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. Everyone can follow these talks <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SCCR29?src=hash" target="_blank">on Twitter at #SCCR29</a>, and <a href="http://www.wipo.int/webcasting/en/" target="_blank">live webcasts of the plenary sessions are available here</a>.<br />
<br />
Up for discussion at WIPO are proposed new copyright exceptions for libraries and educational institutions.<br />
<br />
Knowing from painful personal experience how badly discussions like this can end, Canada's writers and publishers have made sure we are well represented at these international talks, with accredited delegates from the <a href="http://www.internationalauthors.org/About-Us.aspx" target="_blank">International Authors Forum</a> (of which I am the current Chair) and the <a href="http://www.thecci.ca/about_us.html" target="_blank">Canadian Copyright Institute</a> (of which <a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/" target="_blank">The Writers' Union of Canada</a> is a founding member) in attendance.<br />
<br />
Both IAF and CCI have today made presentations at a WIPO side event, during which we focused on the damaging unintended consequences of poorly conceived exceptions to copyright. The Canadian example of educational fair dealing is at the centre of these presentations, with emphasis on the disastrous loss of income to authors and publishers resulting from this 2012 change to our domestic Copyright Act. The current count on lost income for Canadian writers and publishers tops out at $30.8 million dollars per year.<br />
<br />
<b>That's $30.8 million dollars, annually</b>, removed from the Canadian cultural economy, while educational costs rise unabated and library budgets are under continuous threat. Is it any wonder Canadian cultural workers are standing as the international canary in the coal mine for "free culture"? Instead of denying cultural creators our established markets and earned incomes, why aren't we all focusing on funding libraries and education properly so they can afford to pay for the work they are using in ever greater volume? <br />
<br />
Sadly and predictably, the IAF and CCI presentations in Geneva quickly attracted a now standard free-culture attack on authors. While IAF representative Katie Webb presented her observations of the Canadian fair dealing debacle, someone from a group called <a href="http://keionline.org/" target="_blank">Knowledge Ecology International</a> (KEI) tweeted this:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WIPOIFFRO?src=hash">#WIPOIFFRO</a> Event Katie Webb, Int, Authors' Forum blames libraries & Universities for authors' poverty. <b>Ex: Ms Atwood who hates libraries.</b><br />
— KEI-DC (@KEI_DC) <a href="https://twitter.com/KEI_DC/status/542302215902601216">December 9, 2014</a></blockquote>
<br />
This is a stock free-culture tactic - assert loudly and without any shame that anyone defending copyright <b><i>hates</i> </b>the user community. I was as unsurprised as I was disgusted to see that tweet come through my feed. KEI's slogan is "<i>attending and mending the knowledge ecosystem</i>" - although that activity apparently does not include fact-checking its own claims.<br />
<br />
Margaret Atwood is, of course, one of the world's most vocal and high-profile defenders of libraries. She was the public face and voice of the <a href="http://ourpubliclibrary.to/" target="_blank">Toronto Public Library Workers Union's campaign</a> to save the TPL budget from municipal budget cuts in 2014. She was even involved in a <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2011/07/26/doug_ford_blasts_margaret_atwood_over_libraries_says_i_dont_even_know_her.html" target="_blank">high-profile spat with then Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's city councillor brother, Doug</a>, over the library-funding issue.<br />
<br />
For the record, here is Margaret Atwood on libraries - not hating, in fact, but loving:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="200" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pbsol97CvLU" width="400"></iframe><br />
<br />
Canadian writers sit on library boards, often we <i>are</i> librarians and library workers, we read our work in library reading series, we write, teach, and mentor other writers in libraries, our works are collected and generously lent for free through libraries, and we regularly hit the streets to demand better funding for our public library systems. These activities and our demand that copyright be vigorously protected are not in conflict. In fact, they are mutually supportive.<b> </b>What will we collect in libraries if writers can no longer afford to write, and publishers can no longer afford to publish? That free culture theorists would try to pit libraries against writers while offering <b><i>nothing</i></b> in terms of increased budgets or lowered costs tells you everything you need to know about the real agenda here. <br />
<br />
I hope the assembled delegates in Geneva notice and pay attention to this ongoing attack on authorship. There will be no knowledge ecosystem to attend or mend if we don't protect creators.<br />
<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-87670442956843899492014-12-03T16:38:00.000-05:002014-12-03T18:49:52.393-05:00Margaret Atwood calls out Canadian universities on copyright<div id="fb-root">
</div>
The incomparable Margaret Atwood turned 75 last month, and was duly celebrated by her community of Canadian authors, readers and supporters of the literary arts. <a href="http://www.writerstrust.com/" target="_blank">The Writers' Trust of Canada</a>, a fundraising and awards-presenting not for profit (the "little sister" organization to <a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/" target="_blank">The Writers' Union of Canada</a> - both of which were founded by Atwood and her partner Graeme Gibson), dedicated their annual fundraising gala to a celebration of this momentous anniversary.<br />
<br />
The Trust held a huge party for Atwood and all her admirers at Toronto's Four Seasons hotel, complete with a bookish cake, much champagne and a perhaps unexpected barn-burner of a thank you speech from Atwood herself.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/NMK0MaTvdCI" width="420"></iframe><br />
<br />
In her speech, Atwood called out the Canadian educational sector for, as she put it, <i>misuse</i> of author copyright:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">"...cultural creators are under increased threat: a worried publishing industry, and a university sector that under a badly-written copyright law feels entitled to help itself to creators’ content have not improved the lives of writers.</span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">How many millions of dollars have been removed from authors through universities’ misuse of their copyright? And often by the same universities that charge 18 thousand dollars for an MFA in 'Creative Writing.' </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">There's a disjunct there. Sort of like saying okay, we'll teach you to be a doctor but by the way you've got to doctor for us for nothing."</span></blockquote>
<br />
While I fully expect university administrations across Canada to pretend this speech never happened, and to continue to pretend their interpretation of fair dealing is all about student access and <i>not</i> about saving tonnes of money on the backs of authors, I'm guessing it's going to be harder and harder for them to convince anyone they have a morally sustainable position.<br />
<br />
Witness the <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/alice-munros-alma-mater-has-plan-to-turn-nobel-fame-into-new-fundraising/article16157725/" target="_blank">rather vulgar spectacle</a> of the University of Western Ontario <a href="http://www.giving.westernu.ca/where-to-give/arts-humanities/munro/" target="_blank">fundraising for themselves</a> by claiming Nobel laureate Alice Munro as their very own, all while they refuse to sign a copyright license that would protect Ms. Munro's rights as an author.<br />
<br />
Good on Margaret Atwood for telling it like it is (as she always does). What is this awful lesson our university sector is trying to teach?<br />
<br />
<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-79022510406712407332014-10-09T12:55:00.002-04:002014-10-09T13:38:30.145-04:00poking holes in Canadian copyright now more popular than hockey<div id="fb-root">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">the attack ad exception... for freedom!</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, I was asked for comment on</span><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-seeks-use-of-news-footage-without-permission-in-political-ads/article20999908/#dashboard/follows/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> this story</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> about how
Canada's governing party intends to introduce a new copyright exception
allowing political parties the freedom to use proprietary news content in their
political advertising without having to seek permission or pay for the use.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Canada's governing party of the day is Conservative,
meaning, of course, they fall to the right of centre on the Canadian political
spectrum. It might seem relatively clear cut that this story is about that
spectrum, and that it is the conservatism of the government that inspires them
to try this gambit of freeloading on the good work of Canada's news-gatherers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not so. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This story is actually about a pervasive and pernicious <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">exception culture</i>. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Exception culture</i> has rendered worldwide copyright laws pointlessly
complex and almost entirely impotent. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These
days, any well-organized campaign of cheap populism can pry yet another hole through
the fence protecting cultural production and free speech. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Exception
culture</i>, in my experience, holds no particular party allegiance, and has
champions across the political spectrum around the globe. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, here's my comment on yesterday's news:</span></strong></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A copyright exception
for political use of news content is a terrible idea, completely unnecessary
for principled political activity in Canada. The timing of this proposed
exception suggests it is almost certainly a backhanded attempt to force the
acceptance of a certain brand of sleazy yet highly effective attack advertisement onto Canada's public and
private broadcasters before the next federal election in 2015. Broadcasters,
the legal owners of the news content they have gathered and produced, have previously
refused permission for these kinds of uses, and/or refused to air such ads. This
proposed exception, in combination with certain election laws, would strip
Canadians of their democratic right of refusal. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But, I'm not done yet:</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Exception culture</i> has
overtaken Canada's public sphere. We all know the existence of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Canadian</i> Netflix has something to do
with important territorial rights of cultural producers, right? Right. And yet
how many Canadians use virtual private networks (VPNs) to circumvent those
licensing arrangements and access <em>American</em> Netflix streams? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Predictably, this infringement on Canadian
rightsholders is dismissed by Canada's consumer activists in the name of...
freedom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If this new political exception is forced into law by our
majority government, I will not be the least bit surprised to see parties of
all stripes taking advantage of it. And, I predict they will justify their
behaviour with populist rhetoric about shared culture, freedom of access, and
the public good. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That very same populist rhetoric was used to introduce
Canada's disastrous new educational fair dealing exception - overbroad interpretations
of which are currently costing the country's cultural workers tens of millions
of dollars (annually), while doing nothing to reduce student costs or increase
educational materials budgets. Educational fair dealing was introduced <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>by this same Conservative government, but the
exception had many political champions on the left as well. For Canada's
cultural workers, to hear some of Canada's most prominent social-democratic voices
speak loudly in favour of weakening our industrial rights was a bitter betrayal.
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This may be a very narrow exception aimed at news content,
but it opens the door to all sorts of other "free" political use<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>of created content - songs used in campaigns
without permission, for instance. That's how <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">exception culture</i> works - one exception to established rights
(however limited or controlled) inspires another exception, and then another,
and then another, with the end result being copyright becomes more exception
than right. And while we often think our own proposed exception is only
intended for good purposes, self-interest turns us blind to the next perceived "public
good" in follow-on exceptions. Thus educators who strongly support educational
fair dealing because they want free access very quickly find themselves
fighting interpretations of that exception that would see </span><a href="http://nation.time.com/2014/03/01/online-courses-moocs-ownership/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">others get free access to their own lesson-planning and classroom work</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The border between
copyright and freedom of expression becomes very squishy at this point. If the
right of ownership over created content is endlessly undermined by ever new and
frivolous exceptions, we will eventually cross the line between true freedom of
expression and coerced cooperation. Unpermitted political access and use looks
an awful lot like forced political endorsement. Has our <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">exception culture </i>reached the point where our most personally held
views can be stripped from our created work and used against our own interests?
Sadly, it has. I have no doubt prominent social democrats, educators, library
workers and student activists will speak out loudly and angrily against this
proposed political trespass. Ironically, they tore down the very barricade they will be
trying to defend. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Crafting an effective political message may not always be easy, but it is also not impossible to do without free access to someone else's property. If you find it impossible, maybe you're just not doing politics right. The same can, and should, be said about entertaining ourselves with digital culture, educating others, and building highly profitable information databases online. None of these activities actually <em>require</em> free access. They're just less work with free access. Please, can we dispense with the Tom Sawyer populism? You do your work; I'll do mine. Maybe together we can get this fence back in shape.</span><br />
<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-37944384792682798122014-08-27T14:54:00.003-04:002014-08-27T14:58:08.086-04:00you say you want a revolution? who's going to pay for it?<div id="fb-root">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Recent Questions About Open Access Apply Equally to Copyright Exceptions</span><br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EaaYQWb8HtI/U_4imudGFvI/AAAAAAAABic/r0eizGdyzNI/s1600/lock.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EaaYQWb8HtI/U_4imudGFvI/AAAAAAAABic/r0eizGdyzNI/s1600/lock.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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It's a long standing false conclusion that those who expect to be paid for their work in research, writing and publishing are somehow <i><b>against</b></i> greater access to the information contained within their works. Everyone from commercial authors to scientists are regularly accused of being elitist and trying to protect their turf at the expense of a broadly shared knowledge. The image most often used to make these attacks is one of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nodrm" target="_blank">a lock or chain</a>.<br />
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Perfectly reasonable digital rights management systems, subscription paywalls, embargoed content within mostly free publications, author actions to oppose free-for-all scanning of in-copyright books by unbelievably wealthy and powerful search engine companies, even perfectly affordable collective licensing agreements intended to pay creators for the industrial copying of their work have variously and unfairly been portrayed as keeping universal knowledge chained up and locked away from the very people it could help.<br />
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Nowhere has this disingenuous gambit produced more immediate and damaging effects than in Canada, where the domestic publishing industry, both commercial and scholarly, and the already precarious profession of authorship have <a href="http://youtu.be/RUSvb7pa1U0" target="_blank">suffered an immediate and precipitous decline in earned royalties</a> because educational lobbyists with an eye only to administrative budgets let loose a flood of <b><i>restricted access</i></b> fear-mongering, complete with lock and chain imagery, and convinced legislators to dilute copyright law. <i>If we don't get an educational free ride for the millions of pages of copying we do</i>, the argument went, <i>our students will not be able to access all of those pages - they will be locked away from them, and kept, as well, from all of the wonderful digital innovations in pedagogy.</i><br />
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To support their arguments, educational lobbyists pointed often to the growing trend of Open Access scholarly publication. <i>So much of the stuff we want to copy is already <b>free</b> anyway</i>, they suggested, <i>and since we'll likely be using more and more of the free stuff, we really shouldn't have to pay for anything we copy</i>. Open Access became such a trendy catch-phrase and pseudo-philosophy in the last half-decade there have even been attempts to require its use by law. In 2013, the White House Office of Science and Technology released a directive requiring broad open access to the results of all federally funded research. The thinking there was,<i> the taxpayer paid for the research, therefore the taxpayer should have free access to the paper that came from the research</i>. <i>Otherwise locks, chains, gates, deadbolts, etc. and anon</i>. The problem is research, writing, publication and distribution are discrete activities all generating expenses, while the directive only provides funding for the research part.<br />
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Of course, anyone voicing any concern whatsoever about Open Access - like, for instance, <i>who the heck is going to pay for all this writing, publication and distribution if the law requires it be given away?</i> - is labelled anti-access. But that has not stopped one highly placed member of the American scientific community from speaking out and asking the hard questions about Open Access.<br />
<br />
In an article for the US political journal, The Hill, entitled "<a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/technology/214837-what-happens-when-you-take-something-of-value-and-give-it-away#disqus_thread" target="_blank">What happens when you take something of value and give it away?</a>", Gordon L. Nelson, president of the Council of Scientific Society Presidents, wonders if those drawing up open access directives really had all the facts in front of them when they made those directives. He calls for a "transparent, evidence-based process" that takes into account a host of variables having to do with how much things actually cost, who is expected to invest, and who can best afford to invest. This article is followed up by an interview with Nelson on the blog, The Scholarly Kitchen, entitled <a href="http://scholarlykitchen.sspnet.org/2014/08/25/interview-with-gordon-nelson-public-access-policies-open-access-and-the-viability-of-scientific-societies/" target="_blank">Public Access Policies, Open Access, and the Viability of Scientific Societies</a>.<br />
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Some excellent quotes from Dr. Nelson:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Frankly, I am unclear what the public access challenge is. Who does not have access? I am not at a large university. I have always been able to get papers I needed over the years. I've published some 200 papers, plus chapters and books."</i></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"To mount a journal is not free. Publication costs are significant, including hardware, software, management of the peer review process, editorial work and oversight, database maintenance, printing, archiving, distribution and storage."</i></blockquote>
Let me just jump in here and note Nelson did not include <i><b>writing</b></i> as one of the costs in all this. That is, presumably, because he is an academic and the academic economy for writing is very different from the commercial one (academics are paid for their research and writing as part of their salary - tenured salary often). For commercial publication where much, and often all, of the up-front risk and cost of the writing work is borne by the writer, the costs of writing must be factored in.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Immediate open access publishing requires authors... to pay publication fees on the order of $1500 to $3000 per paper. In disciplines where that has not been the norm, where are researchers to get that money?"</i></blockquote>
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Is Nelson suggesting we throw locks onto scientific knowledge? Does he want to chain students away from learning? Of course he doesn't. He simply wants scholarly publication to remain viable, even profitable, so that it can continue to advance knowledge and to subsidize conferences and symposia where even more learning is done.</div>
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The same concerns must be applied to the Canadian writing and publishing sectors. The changes to copyright law that have so damaged a crucial industry were made, I would argue, somewhat outside an evidence-based process, at least not one in which the evidence was particularly reliable.</div>
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I want to be perfectly clear here and state that I don't blame Canadian legislators for the changes to the Canadian Copyright Act. I watched the public consultations very closely, <a href="http://johndegen.blogspot.ca/2012/06/copyright-reform-in-senate.html" target="_blank">even participated in them</a>. Legislators were told in public testimony that the proposed changes would <i><b>not</b></i> damage existing collective licensing agreements. We were all assured a free ride was not what was being requested. Some of us did not believe a lot of the testimony; it seemed, at best, overly optimistic. But those who did believe it acted in good faith. They will, hopefully, <b><i>continue</i></b> to act in good faith and recognize the<a href="http://publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/publisher-news/article/63630-copyright-changes-hit-canadian-publishers-hard.html" target="_blank"> unintended consequences</a> that have most definitely occurred.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Thank you, as always, to magazine guru D.B. Scott for pointing me toward Nelson's article.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">The image of the lock above was taken in my very own office by my very own iPhone.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-48446586791574098212014-08-08T12:59:00.001-04:002014-08-08T13:01:17.575-04:00a variety of thoughts on Hachette/Amazon... and on ebook royalties<div id="fb-root">
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Yesterday, after a hell of a lot of careful analysis, discussion, debate and argument among our volunteer leadership, I had a staff member press <i><b>publish</b></i> on <a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/news/public-statement-amazoncom-hachette-book-group-dispute" target="_blank">The Writers' Union of Canada's public statement</a> about the ongoing, and increasingly nasty dispute between publishing giant <a href="http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/" target="_blank">Hachette Book Group</a> and online retailing giant <a href="http://amazon.com/">Amazon.com</a>. The disagreement between these two companies is in its fourth (fifth?) month right now, and several new salvos of ammunition will fly tomorrow when an <i>ad hoc</i> group of 900 or so international authors publishes an ad in the<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/08/business/media/plot-thickens-as-900-writers-battle-amazon.html?ref=business&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterfeed&_r=1" target="_blank"> New York Times</a> calling for peace.<br />
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Quite predictably, I arrived at the office this morning to find criticism of the TWUC statement in my e-mail in-box. Also quite predictably, that criticism came from every conceivable direction. TWUC had been <i>too hard on Amazon and/or Hachette</i>. TWUC had been <i>nowhere near hard enough on Amazon and/or Hachette</i>. TWUC had <i>given independent booksellers a free ride</i>. TWUC <i>favours traditionally published authors over self-published authors</i>. <i>Vice-versa</i>. <i>Etc</i>.<br />
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I also found praise in my in-box, but you know how it is... one little blemish can define the whole apple.<br />
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This posting is not a complaint. I like blemishes on my apples (means they're real). My mind was clear when I signed the contract for this job. I knew what I was getting into. I chose this industry for my career BECAUSE it is an industry of ideas, of thinking (careful and otherwise), of opinions (both the half- and fully-cooked variety) well-constructed and firmly issued. That's how real people operate and, for the time being anyway, this is an industry of real people.<br />
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I believe strongly in the TWUC statement because it focuses on a call for decent behaviour in the marketplace (from all players), the value (rather than the price) of books and authorship, and a fact-based understanding of a changing business. It's very easy to see this issue split between two opposing sides, and I think it would be very easy to pick one or the other side and splash around madly in the rhetoric of that particular camp. TWUC created its own side, the side it believes it is asked to represent. The fact that many folks within and without TWUC feel uncomfortable with this or that aspect of the statement tells me we got the words in it just.. about.. absolutely.. correct.<br />
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The Amazon/Hachette fight also gave TWUC the opportunity to focus on some math it has been doing <a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/twucs-royalty-math" target="_blank">about author royalties on ebooks</a>. Considering the long history of publishing and bookselling, the market for ebooks is still in its infancy, which means that the hard costs for ebook production and distribution are perhaps not fully fleshed out. Certainly an author puts in just as much personal investment of money and time into writing a book whether it ends up on paper, pixel or both.<br />
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I love that the self-publishing universe is expanding, I love that many authors are making big bucks in that universe, and I'm dedicated to helping TWUC's self-publishing members with their careers as best I can. All that said, I believe in the ongoing value of traditional publishing - the real value, the numbers value. When I sign with a traditional publisher (as I have), I am relieved to<i><b> not</b></i> have to do the work they have agreed to do, and I want to feel the business deal we strike for that work is fair for both of us. So, I do the math. At the moment, my math is telling me that a 25% author royalty on ebooks is too low.<br />
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I'd love to hear what others think of the math, and I'm pretty sure that means I will hear folks tell me it's wrong for one reason or another.* Okay. The <a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/twucs-royalty-math" target="_blank">royalty math page</a> on the TWUC website, like the public statement about Hachette/Amazon, is about discussion and dialogue.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*The numbers for the royalty math presentation do not come out of thin air, btw. We consulted widely across the industry on this. </span></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-13986864367464853562014-07-15T11:30:00.003-04:002014-07-15T11:35:34.601-04:00anti-spam law to make life better with its smile<div id="fb-root">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cQiiJ0eetFI/U8VCf8oqV1I/AAAAAAAABh8/lyBDLcgp6M4/s1600/SOOKMAN_barry_bio_1306b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cQiiJ0eetFI/U8VCf8oqV1I/AAAAAAAABh8/lyBDLcgp6M4/s1600/SOOKMAN_barry_bio_1306b.jpg" height="200" width="151" /></a></div>
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Barry Sookman is a highly respected practicing lawyer, educator and commentator. He is unquestionably Canada's leading expert in copyright, intellectual property, computer, Internet, and e-commerce law. Sookman and his firm, McCarthy Tétrault, have been on top of Canada's Anti-SPAM debacle from day one, providing invaluable legal analysis for Canada's not-for-profit community about how to attempt to be compliant with what appears to be, by <i>nearly</i> all accounts, a misguided and ultimately ineffectual legal overreach in the name of "consumer protection." You must read <a href="http://www.barrysookman.com/2014/07/14/michael-geists-defense-of-canadas-indefensible-anti-spam-law-casl/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=michael-geists-defense-of-canadas-indefensible-anti-spam-law-casl" target="_blank">his latest in-depth analysis of the CASL saga</a>, in which he absolutely undresses one of CASL's greatest defenders.<br />
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The introduction of the new Anti-SPAM law, known as CASL, is the reason you (if you're a Canadian) received all those somewhat desperate "Let's Keep in Touch" e-mails from various charities, advocacy groups, cultural businesses and not-for-profits at the end of June. Maybe you didn't notice those messages because maybe they went into the spam-filter on your e-mail server, as they did for many. Yes, the approaching anti-spam deadline resulted in... spam.<br />
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Why? Because, all those very good, dedicated, already overworked professionals were scrambling for some sort of due diligence in order to not run afoul of the law by inadvertently sending an electronic message that could be interpreted as "commercial" in nature. They suddenly needed your express consent to keep trying to communicate their message, their mission, their passion. A law purportedly aimed at herbal Viagra peddlers and those con artists who fill your in-box with worrisome link come-ons and Nigerian money transfer offers was making its first real impact (and possibly its only impact) on well-meaning folks who are instead actually trying to do some good in this world. I personally spent about twenty hours in meetings trying to figure how my own organization could keep doing business honourably and effectively and, frankly, I'm still not sure if we're doing everything absolutely correctly.<br />
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By the way, if you want to unsubscribe from this blog posting, please<a href="http://fightspam.gc.ca/eic/site/030.nsf/eng/home" target="_blank"> click here</a>. Or, just stop reading and don't visit this blog again. You have personal agency. I encourage you to use it!<br />
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Would some sort of legal remedy for uninvited herbal Viagra messaging and illegitimate lottery-win phishers be welcome? I suppose. Does anyone really believe CASL is anything like that remedy? At best, CASL was an earnest, well-meaning try by the federal government - and good on them for trying. There's no real shame in admitting it didn't work as planned. Look, no-one enjoys genuine e-mail SPAM. I hate the stuff - but look at this tiny yet representative sample of what has appeared in my own SPAM filter since the July 1st CASL deadline that promised the end of all this stuff:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Last Day! - LV bags 6O-8O% 0FF" </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"My dear Jack, I am easygoing, realistic, humorous, clean-cut, kind and
affectionate. I have a good taste. I am fond of traveling, listening to music,
cooking and going to the gym.<br /><span style="font-size: 11pt;">I like everything beatiful and try to make my
life beautiful. I will make your life brighter and better with my smile..."</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: 15px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">"Which diet suits you BEST for controlling blood sugar"</span></span></blockquote>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoPlainText">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px;"><br /></span></span></div>
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I don't know what an LV bag is; my name is not Jack; and you can bet if I ever did send out a commercial message with a question in the subject line, it would be properly punctuated!</div>
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As Barry Sookman points out in his excellent blog posting, the new law is now, rather sadly, being touted as a "privacy law in disguise." I saw that claim online last week, which prompted me to tweet this:<br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #292f33; font-family: 'Gotham Narrow SSm', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Canada's anti-spam law really a privacy law in disguise... because, um, the best laws are "in disguise"? </span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #292f33; font-family: 'Gotham Narrow SSm', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>
Here's hoping Canada's anti-spam law story is not over, that we discard what doesn't work and fix only that which is actually broken. Let's save the disguises for Halloween.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo of a smiling Barry Sookman courtesy<a href="http://www.barrysookman.com/about/" target="_blank"> Barry Sookman</a>.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-69430753426247410982014-06-03T17:10:00.000-04:002014-06-04T11:26:05.406-04:00UBC accused of trying to appropriate intellectual property... by its own faculty<div id="fb-root">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PCQa_h2Ae_E/U444vrjvKJI/AAAAAAAABhk/mtCOZRWvr0g/s1600/UBCFAlogo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-PCQa_h2Ae_E/U444vrjvKJI/AAAAAAAABhk/mtCOZRWvr0g/s1600/UBCFAlogo.png" /></a></div>
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A while back, I pointed out why I thought college and university instructors<a href="http://johndegen.blogspot.ca/2013/08/why-college-and-university-instructors.html" target="_blank"> should be very worried </a>about their administrations' increasing insistence on free copying to keep down their (already small) materials budgets. In my opinion, faculty are being left in the legal wind, forced to follow copying guidelines that have no real legal foundation.<br />
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Earlier than that, I noted that the Supreme Court of Canada seemed to have drastically reduced the concept of "teaching". Whereas we previously understood that a teacher was a highly trained professional who combined a thoughtful pedagogy, advanced empathy, an impressive work ethic and an abundance of volunteering, <a href="http://johndegen.blogspot.ca/2012/07/supreme-court-painfully-divided-on.html" target="_blank">the SCC seemingly reduced the profession</a> to <i>s/he who hands out copies of written material to students</i>. I warned that this looked to me like a gloomy portent for teachers going forward, especially in contract negotiation. The Supreme Court washed the instruction part right out of the profession of teaching, as well as the individualism.<br />
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It is a commonly understood trait of chickens that they do come home to roost, and it sure looks like the chickens of free culture are no longer satisfied with what they can peck from writers outside the academy. They are roosting, and pecking, on faculty. Last October, the <a href="http://www.facultyassociation.ubc.ca/docs/news/policy81_FASubmission.pdf" target="_blank">University of British Columbia Faculty Association sent an e-mail to the university's legal counsel</a> expressing deep concern about a new policy mandating that faculty share their personal intellectual property with the wider university community.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"...we strongly object to any policy that mandates, overtly or by inference, that faculty provide others, including the University itself, open access to their intellectual property. Such a policy is not only contrary to the fundamental tenets of the academy, but it is an attack on academic freedom and the legal and customary control faculty members have over the fruits of their intellectual labour."</i></blockquote>
That is a beautifully written objection. I agree with it wholeheartedly. The UBCFA further argues that the pressure to give up their IP rights may actually "lead to less sharing and innovation" by faculty. Again, I agree, and I imagine most if not all professional writers in Canada would as well, whether they are connected to a university or not.<br />
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The UBCFA went so far as to<a href="http://www.facultyassociation.ubc.ca/docs/news/policy81_FAgrievance.pdf" target="_blank"> file a grievance on the issue</a>, and to <a href="http://www.facultyassociation.ubc.ca/docs/news/policy81_blanketoptout.pdf" target="_blank">send notice to the administration</a> that, pending the outcome of the grievance, <i>"Teaching Materials may not be used by the University or by other UBC Instructors as contemplated in Policy 81, in the absence of express permission from individual faculty members to do so." </i>The administration was <a href="http://www.facultyassociation.ubc.ca/docs/news/policy81_UBCgrievanceresponse20140523.pdf" target="_blank">quick to flatly deny the UBCFA</a> this demand.<br />
<br />
Coming to the defence of its members at UBC, the <a href="http://www.facultyassociation.ubc.ca/docs/news/policy81_CAUTCensure20140505.pdf" target="_blank">Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) sent a strongly worded notice</a> to UBC President Stephen J. Toope that CAUT intends to <i>"censure the University of British Columbia at its next meeting in November 2014"</i> unless UBC stops appropriating faculty intellectual property.<br />
<br />
I have no idea what is entailed in an official censure of a university by the CAUT, but it doesn't sound pleasant. On the other hand, this is where this whole story gets weird for me. I have always believed writers and teachers (and students and librarians) are actually on the same side in intellectual property disputes with educational institutions. IP rights are the individual rights of everyone, and when one group's IP is appropriated, everyone's is. But that has <i>not</i> always been the opinion of the good folks at CAUT.<br />
<br />
When Access Copyright launched its entirely justifiable lawsuit against York University, claiming York had overstepped with claims of <i>fair dealing</i> for massive, industrial, course pack copying of writers' work, <a href="http://johndegen.blogspot.ca/2013/04/whats-your-hurry-free-culture.html" target="_blank">CAUT was one of the first groups out of the gate</a> to <b><i>denounce</i></b> the legal action, calling it "hopeless" and insisting that collective licensing (which is essentially a legal sibling to the collective bargaining teachers' unions do) is "obsolete."<br />
<br />
That CAUT is now insisting on protecting the intellectual property rights of its members (many of whom are also Canadian authors whose non-academic work continues to be appropriated by fair dealing overreach) seems strangely inconsistent. Only <i>some</i> of their members' intellectual property rights are worth protecting?<br />
<br />
I believe<i> all</i> of their rights are worth protecting, as does <a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/" target="_blank">The Writers' Union of Canada</a>, which has always publicly supported teachers, librarians and students in their own disputes with administration. Whenever I speak with groups of individual instructors, students or library workers, they completely agree that IP rights are tied to employment and fair pay rights. I'm going to take it as a hopeful sign that the teaching associations seem to be coming around on that point as well.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(image courtesy the UBCFA website)</span><br />
<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-74153819680571078582014-05-16T14:34:00.001-04:002014-06-02T16:34:52.436-04:00education's empty promises to authors<div id="fb-root">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-20C4vMS-urE/U3ZZzOY4weI/AAAAAAAABhU/efsGTKRs5hY/s1600/quill4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-20C4vMS-urE/U3ZZzOY4weI/AAAAAAAABhU/efsGTKRs5hY/s1600/quill4.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<br />
The latest issue of <a href="http://www.quillandquire.com/" target="_blank">Quill & Quire</a> magazine contains <a href="http://www.quillandquire.com/book-news/2014/05/29/why-the-loss-of-access-copyright-royalties-could-be-devastating-for-educational-publishers/" target="_blank">an excellent investigative piec</a>e by Julie Baldassi on the
mounting damage to Canadian educational publishers from the loss of millions of
dollars in royalties after schools, colleges and universities cancelled
collective license agreements. Jobs have been lost, more losses are expected,
and the viability of an important industrial sector is in doubt.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Most striking in
the article are details about how promises of greater direct contact between
educational institutions and individual publishers appear to have been made of
air. From Baldassi's article:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
...<i> the
Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada has encouraged members to
set up internal copyright offices, but publishers interviewed for this story
say they have rarely been contacted by individual institutions in this regard.
(The AUCC declined to comment.)</i></blockquote>
</blockquote>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
Of course, why<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b><i>would</i></b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>an institution seek clearance to use content it is claiming for free? </div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
While schools
like the University of Toronto make much of their materials budgets and the
amount of money their students are spending on full books, a claim of free
copying for entire chapters of books can do nothing but reduce overall spending
on content. This is from <a href="http://media.utoronto.ca/media-releases/university-of-torontos-license-with-access-copyright-set-to-end/" target="_blank">U of T's press release</a> after license negotiations
ended:</div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background: white;"><i>The University of Toronto’s community consists of both
users and creators of copyrighted material. The University remains committed to
diligent compliance with the laws that address the rights of both. In
addition, the University spends over $27 million annually on library
acquisitions, including licensed material and electronic resources, and also
supports scholarly publishing through the University of Toronto Press.</i></span></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 14.65pt;">It’s true, of course, that universities are communities of creatives. Many, like U of T, even teach courses in professional creativity. This year, U of T is offering a class called </span><i style="line-height: 14.65pt;"><a href="http://2learn.utoronto.ca/uoft/search/publicCourseSearchDetails.do?method=load&cms=true&courseId=31000043&_ga=1.158498554.1157663878.1386873077" target="_blank">Playing the Short Game: How to Market and Sell Short Fiction.</a> </i><span style="line-height: 14.65pt;">The prerequisite for this class is that students should have at least “one story completed and ready to send out to market.” From the U of T website:</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">This course teaches you the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span>business</i><span class="apple-converted-space"><i> side
of short fiction. By the end of the course, you will understand the benefits of
short fiction for a writing career, rights and licensing for short fiction…</i><o:p></o:p></span></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Of course, by U of T’s </span><a href="http://www.provost.utoronto.ca/Assets/Provost+Digital+Assets/26.pdf" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;" target="_blank">very own copyright policy</a><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">,
there are, functionally, no rights or licensing possibilities for short fiction within the
educational market. <b><i>You</i></b> pay tuition to learn how to sell your short story. <b><i>They</i></b>
won’t pay for that short story.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Here’s a very fuzzy photo I took with my iPhone in the
University of Toronto campus book store yesterday afternoon. Sorry about the poor photo quality. Sad irony makes my hand shake a little.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KNBpxjfoZ9M/U3ZTSwgAaOI/AAAAAAAABhI/CBlCit-2xQc/s1600/Canlit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KNBpxjfoZ9M/U3ZTSwgAaOI/AAAAAAAABhI/CBlCit-2xQc/s1600/Canlit.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">The book in the photo is<a href="http://www.wlupress.wlu.ca/Catalog/dobson-kamboureli.shtml" target="_blank"> <i>Producing Canadian Literature: Authors Speak on the Literary Marketplace</i></a><i>,</i> by Kit Dobson and Smaro
Kamboureli (Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2014). It was displayed on a
shelf reserved for "University of Toronto Books" but I can’t for the life of me
figure out why. From the WLU Press website:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Producing Canadian
Literature: Authors Speak on the Literary Marketplace</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><i><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">brings to light
the relationship between writers in Canada and the marketplace within which
their work circulates. Through a series of conversations with both established
and younger writers from across the country, Kit Dobson and Smaro Kamboureli
investigate how writers perceive their relationship to the cultural economy—and
what that economy means for their creative processes.</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">This book would really fill out the
reading list for a course like </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><b style="font-style: italic;">How to Market and Sell Short Fiction, </b>wouldn't it?</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"> Except, any one of the chapters from that book is now fair game for free
copying if universities get their way on fair dealing. What would that outcome
mean for writers’ “relationship to the cultural economy.”?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Do schools, colleges and
universities really copy that much? Of course they do. My own kids’ school
materials from day one have been mostly photocopied individual sheets. I can
count on one hand the number of actual books they’ve brought home from school. Copying is rampant in education.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">It appears the University of
Toronto copies so much it’s willing to go to court to stop the rest of us from
knowing just how much it copies. This <a href="http://www.cb-cda.gc.ca/avis-notice/active/2014/access2-06032014.pdf" target="_blank">recent public ruling from Canada’s Copyright Board</a> notes the university went to the Superior Court of Ontario in an attempt
to keep “evidence” of their copying practices from appearing before the Board.
I hope we can all agree - in the spirit of open access to information - it’s a
very good thing indeed that both the Superior Court of Ontario and the
Copyright Board denied U of T this gambit.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">There’s a popular suggestion that, with the transition to digital course packs from the printed variety, we are entering an era of less copying. Nonsense. As<a href="http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1427&context=libtech_conf" target="_blank"> this slideshow from the University of Minnesota</a> clearly shows, digital course packs realize a cost savings for
students over both printed packs AND textbooks, which means the trend is toward <b><i>even more</i></b>
copying in the educational environment.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">What may be true is that copying in
schools will simply become less apparent to those being copied. Digital course packs
don’t appear on bookstore shelves. And without access to research numbers who
knows how many students take delivery of each course pack offering in the
digital realm? In the new era, it may be up to individual authors to file
information requests with individual universities, just to find out if their work is being studied. And who knows if the information
will be forthcoming? U of T’s appeal to the Superior Court of Ontario is
certainly not an encouraging sign for authors.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span>
<span style="background: white; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-51492765850716907542014-04-23T14:43:00.000-04:002014-04-24T14:51:22.716-04:00when "open" means "inferior"<div id="fb-root">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TQDUu7ea6OQ/U1gHKRbqWQI/AAAAAAAABgs/4ZGMkks-Ig4/s1600/open.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TQDUu7ea6OQ/U1gHKRbqWQI/AAAAAAAABgs/4ZGMkks-Ig4/s1600/open.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I await with profound impatience the day when much if not all digital jargon appears on the <a href="http://www.lssu.edu/banished/current.php" target="_blank">Banished Words List</a> from Lake Superior State University. LSSU has earned a well-deserved reputation (and a special place in my heart) for identifying the overuse and misuse of jargony catch-phrases that infect the popular lexicon and make us all just a little bit less exact than we perhaps should be in our communication.<br />
<br />
The prominence of "selfie" at the top of the LSSU list this year is reason for hope, I think, as were previous appearances by "trending," "viral" and "fail." I've been running a personal campaign against "mash-up" for about six years now, and if "hack" doesn't make the list soon, there is no justice. With any luck, the online havoc created by this month's Heartbleed bug will have rocketed the cutesy term "open" or its extended versions "open-source" and "open access" to the top of the list - to be banished before their source word loses its meaning altogether.<br />
<br />
In the last year, I've noticed with some hilarity a local Toronto home alarm service advertising itself with bold claims that it uses "open access" technology in its systems. Why, I wonder, would "open access" ever be thought of as a plus for something designed to secure one's property? What this service actually means is that it uses a system of direct access communication to local fire departments in order to cut response times on fire calls. Why, then, don't they say direct access? I suppose because "open" access sounds so much more welcoming and friendly - look, it's open; that MUST be good.<br />
<br />
Well, as we've recently learned the hard way, open ain't always good. This past weekend, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/19/technology/heartbleed-highlights-a-contradiction-in-the-web.html?_r=1" target="_blank">the New York Times published this article by Nicole Perlroth</a> suggesting the recently revealed extreme vulnerability of much of our online commerce and communications systems is directly linked to the openness of these systems.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Much of the invisible backbone of websites from Google to Amazon to the Federal Bureau of Investigation was built by volunteer programmers in what is known as the open-source community. Heartbleed originated in this community..."</i></blockquote>
The fact that the Heartbleed bug seems to have been surreptitiously undermining our global web security for up to two years before anyone noticed should make us all pause to re-assess how we feel about the fashionable ubiquitousness of "open." When the door to a bar is open, that's a good thing (almost always). When the door to an airliner is open, 30,000 feet up, something's probably gone wrong.<br />
<br />
I did a quick search of the term "open source" on the New York Times website and found, naturally, that its use has increased dramatically since the turn of the 21st century and that, for the most part, it carries with it an aura of goodness. But if we look a bit further back, one notes the term has greater depth and darker connotations. A 1931 article on hygiene in the school system warns of "open sources of contagion"; a book review refers to "open sources of danger"; many articles praise the use of "open sources" for domestic and international spying.<br />
<br />
But why would something with declared positive intentions, like the open source software movement, run into such a diabolical problem as Heartbleed. According to the New York Times, it all comes down to money.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"... for those that do work on this [open source coding and bug-checking], there's no financial support, no salaries, no health insurance... They either have to live like monks or work nights and weekends. That is a recipe for serious trouble down the road."</i></blockquote>
In other words, according to those most invested in the open source movement the open source economy would work a whole lot better if those creating and maintaining open source code were paid well to do so.<br />
<br />
Of course, this has applications beyond the world of coding. Many educational institutions these days are banking big on open-access and open-source learning materials as a means to save money. While backing out of licensing arrangements that pay creators legally-required royalties every time our work is copied and used in the classroom, many schools reference the increased availability of open access materials. Why pay for something when you can get something else for free?<br />
<br />
Because, as the Heartbleed bug has so dramatically demonstrated, when open also means cheap you get what you pay for.<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Image courtesy the open source of my own vacation snapshots. No one was paid for that photo, and I believe it shows.</span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-46040146528793124522014-04-17T12:39:00.003-04:002014-04-17T12:40:51.109-04:00back down the rabbit hole we go<div id="fb-root">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px;">“Alice came to a fork in the road. 'Which road do I take?' she asked.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px;">'Where do you want to go?' responded the Cheshire Cat.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px;">'I don't know,' Alice answered.</span></i></b></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; orphans: auto; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<b><i>'Then,' said the Cat, 'it doesn't matter.”</i></b> </div>
<br />
Trying to keep track of Canadian education's claims about copyright is a lot like trying to follow an agitated white rabbit with a pocket watch. Follow too closely and you're likely to end up in a wonderland where up is down and you'll almost certainly be asked to believe...<br />
<b><i><br /></i></b>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>"...as many as six impossible things before breakfast." </i></b></div>
<br />
Anyone who wonders why the issue of educational copying is so sunk in confusion in Canada, need look no further than <a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/7109/125/#" target="_blank">this blog posting from free-culture megaphone</a>, Michael Geist. In it, Geist coyly suggests that Canadian creators really have nothing to complain about these days since we seemed well aware of "the effect of the fair dealing legislative change in Bill C-32/C-11" well before the new law was passed. If we all knew what was intended with the legislative change, shouldn't we all accept the change? Look, we predicted what the new law would do, so if we were worried about it we should have stopped it. Right?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i>"I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then."</i></b></div>
<br />
Did we all know what was intended? Did the legislators even know what was intended? Hard to tell, because words seem to have lost all meaning in this strange new world of maddeningly smiling tenured professors.<br />
<br />
Back before the legislative change, <a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/6555/125/" target="_blank">in testimony before a Senate Sub-Committee</a>, Geist assured Canadians "the government rightly rejected<i><b> misleading</b></i> claims that the changes will permit unlimited, uncompensated copying" (emphasis mine). Yet, today's blog posting from Geist seems to suggest those earlier claims were <i><b>not</b></i> misleading, but were "unequivocal positions, which the government rejected."<br />
<br />
An outcome described by Canadian creators, and rejected as misleading by both Geist and the government is now what was intended all along?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>“I'm afraid I can't explain myself, sir. Because I am not myself, you see?” </i></b></span></div>
<br />
Way back in 2010, Geist <a href="http://www.michaelgeist.ca/content/view/5519/125/" target="_blank">interviewed himself about potential changes to the law</a> and whether or not creator fears were warranted. In that instructive document we see this:<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left: 42.75pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">Q. Won't the fair dealing reforms allow education to make unlimited
copies without compensation?</span></i></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></b></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 107%;">A. No</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 42.75pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">Q. Won't extending fair dealing to education dramatically reshape the
ability for education institutions to copy works without compensation?</span></i></b><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 42.75pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 42.75pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="line-height: 13.90999984741211px;">A. No.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 42.75pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 42.75pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">Q. Isn't the fair dealing reforms (sic) really about saving money for
education?</span></i></b><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 42.75pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 42.75pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="line-height: 13.90999984741211px;">A. No.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 42.75pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 42.75pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 107%;">Q. Aren't educational institutions reducing payments to Access
Copyright because of the C-32 fair dealing reforms?</span></i></b><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 42.75pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b><i><span style="line-height: 107%;"><br /></span></i></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 42.75pt; mso-add-space: auto;">
<span style="line-height: 13.90999984741211px;">A. No.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>“In another moment down went Alice after it, </i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>never once considering how in the world she was to get out again.”</i></b></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px;"></span></span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: georgia, serif; line-height: 18px;">
</span></span>
Curiouser and curiouser, I say.<br />
<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-55022322404788150572014-04-16T16:37:00.002-04:002014-04-17T08:49:24.904-04:00friends of the court <div id="fb-root">
</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_lgAK6Xgfk4/U07YbUT9c2I/AAAAAAAABgM/xT2DVygvSQ0/s1600/amici.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_lgAK6Xgfk4/U07YbUT9c2I/AAAAAAAABgM/xT2DVygvSQ0/s320/amici.jpg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Authors Around the World Tell Google to Step Back</span></div>
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I'm sure it's felt at times like a lonely fight for the US Authors Guild as they persevere in their lawsuit against Google, Inc. The AG launched its action against the global search leader back in 2005, citing the works of a small number of American authors (including the great Jim Bouton, baseballer turned author) "and on behalf of all others similarly situated."</div>
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After all, in an increasingly borderless world, Google's wholesale appropriation - sorry, <i>alleged</i> wholesale appropriation - of millions of books in copyright would surely, eventually, affect the rights of all authors, no matter their nationality. But this fight is being fought on American turf, so the valiant little Authors Guild is stepping into the ring for all of us, and against an opponent the size of a small planet. Last week, the AG filed an <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/1109236-authors-guild-v-google-appeal-brief-redacted.html" target="_blank">appeal brief to the US Court of Appeals</a> for the Second Circuit Court in New York - an appeal being necessary because, somehow, the Second Circuit previously found that the unpermitted, uncompensated copying of millions of complete, in-copyright works by a huge for-profit corporation with an eye on increasing their overall profitability was somehow a "fair use." That ruling came down last fall, and the head-shaking among professional creators hasn't stopped since.*</div>
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<br /></div>
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And so, the rest of the world has stepped up to support the AG's appeal. This week, no fewer than 8 <i>amicus briefs</i> were filed with the court declaring the original ruling unacceptable.Two of those briefs included participation from <a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/" target="_blank">The Writers' Union of Canada</a>. Longtime TWUC members Margaret Atwood, Lawrence Hill and Yann Martel joined <a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/sites/all/files/attachments/Amicus%20Brief%20for%20Authors-c.pdf#overlay-context=centering-margins-writer-centered-world" target="_blank">a brief prepared on behalf of 17 of the world's most beloved authors</a>. As a founding member of the <a href="http://www.internationalauthors.org/" target="_blank">International Authors Forum</a>, TWUC itself is represented<a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/sites/all/files/attachments/Amicus%20International%20Authors-c.pdf#overlay-context=centering-margins-writer-centered-world" target="_blank"> in the IAF's amicus brief before the court</a>.</div>
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<a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/sites/all/files/attachments/Amicus%20Brief%20for%20Authors-c.pdf#overlay-context=centering-margins-writer-centered-world" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KjPGFw54HZg/U07kUYO6LdI/AAAAAAAABgc/LAsc2R1BO68/s1600/amici2.jpg" height="104" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Some highlights:</div>
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<br /></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both;">
"In exchange for access to books for copying — which the universities were not authorized to give — Google distributed to the universities digital copies of<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>all the books copied from<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>their<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>collections — which Google was not authorized to do. The result of this transaction was the copying of over 20<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>million books without the permission of any copyright owner..." (Gladwell, et al) </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;">"</span><span style="line-height: 107%;">This</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span>Court should not fall victim to Google’s attempt to avoid the limits of the law by presenting the broader “Books Program” as a <i>fait accompli</i>
that is too big to fail. No example of fair use allows the degree of copying undertaken by Google." <o:p></o:p>(Gladwell, et al) </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both;">
"...the issue comes down to this: an author asked about why he wrote what he did may give many answers. He may say that it was a labor of love. He may say that it was to make a living. He may say many things. But what he will not say is that he wrote his book so it could be subsumed into a corporate meta-database optimized for searching." (IAF) </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="clear: both;">
"The mere fact that Google’s infringement scheme is clever should not make it permissible under the law." (IAF)</blockquote>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thanks to all around the world who continue to fight the good fight on this one, and special thanks to our friends in New York. </div>
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<br /></div>
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*In case anyone's wondering, there <i><b>is</b></i> historical precedent for head-shakingly bizarre rulings coming from New York courts. In 1883, New York State passed a law aimed at stopping cigar-making corporations from using labor situated in grossly unsanitary tenement housing. The companies brought suit against the State and eventually won when the court declared "the legislation did not constitute a legitimate use of the state's police power to regulate behavior detrimental to the public welfare <b>for tobacco was in no way 'injurious to the public health.' </b>On the contrary, it was 'a disinfectant and a prophylactic.'" (quoted from <u>The Bully Pulpit</u>, by Doris Kearns Goodwin)</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-85412637085219420822014-03-26T11:51:00.000-04:002014-03-26T11:52:15.158-04:00Canadian University Degrees Now Free!<div id="fb-root">
</div>
I posted earlier about a writer protest at the University of Toronto. Here is the video from that very cold day.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="200" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/QCpApSWyods" width="350"></iframe>
<br />
<br />
... and from the YouTube page:<br />
<br />
Many Canadian colleges and universities are copying and using massive amounts of published work without paying for it or even informing the writers and publishers. The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC) and the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) wondered how those schools would feel if their work was copied and given away for free, so we went to the University of Toronto and handed out "free" copies of university degrees. It turns out, students love getting free degrees, but universities don't like it so much when writers give away "education".<br />
<br />
On January 24th, 2014, in -35C wind-chill, a small group of writers documented the "Free Degrees" protest.<br />
<br />
Many thanks to our partner organizations, the League of Canadian Poets (LCP), The Playwrights Guild of Canada (PGC) and the Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers (CANSCAIP).<br />
<br />
Please share the link to this video as widely as you can - it's free!<br />
<br />
For more information about the dramatic expansion of unpermitted copying at Canadian universities and colleges, check out these links on The Writers' Union of Canada's website:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/news/canadian-copyright-institute-releases-fair-and-better-way-forward" target="_blank">A Fair and Better Way Forward</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/writers-students-and-teachers-it-s-time-talk-about-fair-dealing" target="_blank">It's Time to Talk About Fair Dealing</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.quillandquire.com/blog/index.php/writing-life/twuc-protests-ubcs-claim-of-cost-reductions-in-student-course-packs/" target="_blank">Quill & Quire Covers TWUC Protest of UBC Policy</a><br />
<br />
<br />
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-53657269398861806242014-03-13T12:16:00.001-04:002014-03-14T11:35:16.162-04:00learning how to NOT get along<div id="fb-root">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zf2dJm_CKfU/UyHXmd0vWhI/AAAAAAAABf0/1YNFLhQc_IQ/s1600/fair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zf2dJm_CKfU/UyHXmd0vWhI/AAAAAAAABf0/1YNFLhQc_IQ/s1600/fair.jpg" height="262" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">People often ask me why I get involved in confrontational tactics around copyright. Why do I <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=u3Oe1GNHrSo" target="_blank">go to meetings to which I'm not invited</a>? Why do I organize light-hearted, yet <a href="http://johndegen.blogspot.ca/2014/01/get-yer-free-degrees-right-here.html" target="_blank">serious protests on very cold campuses</a>? Why don't I just sit down with educators and talk about this stuff? Well, here's an answer to those questions.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">I <b><i>do</i></b> talk to students, teachers and librarians all the time about my own personal copyright concerns, and the copyright concerns of <a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/" target="_blank">my constituency</a>. In the past year, I've given many talks and presentations on the subject in classrooms, and I have more presentations scheduled soon. Often when I'm talking to these folks we disagree on small points. Mostly, we agree on the main points: </span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Students need affordable materials (and affordable education in general); </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">teachers need ease of access; </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">library professionals need flexibility of use within a constrained budget; </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">writers and publishers need to be paid fairly for their work and property. </span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">In my experience, </span><b style="color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>everyone</i></b><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"> agrees with these starting points, and everyone is willing to keep talking once those points are established. Everyone, that is, <b><i>except the folks who actually make the ultimate decisions about copying in schools and on campuses.</i></b></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Students, teachers, writers and library workers can chat all we want about this stuff, but if the budget- and policy-makers refuse to even come to the table for a talk, there's little to no point in the rest of us reaching a consensus position.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">As a member of the Canadian Copyright Institute (CCI), The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC) recently participated in the publication of <b><i><a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/sites/all/files/A%20FAIR%20AND%20BETTER%20WAY%20FORWARD%20F%2006-12.pdf" target="_blank">A Fair and Better Way Forward</a></i></b>.</span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The CCI is a decades old cooperative group representing, essentially, the entire Canadian writing and publishing sector on matters of copyright. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">TWUC has loaded <b><i>A Fair and Better Way Forward</i></b> on its website, along with the</span><a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/sites/all/files/2014_03_11_CCI_Press_Release_v1F_0.pdf" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" target="_blank"> CCI's recent public release</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><b><i>A Fair and Better Way</i></b> <b><i>Forward</i></b> is a position paper - a fair-minded analysis of recent changes to the Copyright Act. It contains, I believe, all of the consensus starting points I mentioned. It also suggests that certain overly broad interpretations of copyright changes have led to a damaging expansion of industrial-scale copying, without payment, in schools and on campuses across the country, and that such uncompensated use is unsustainable.</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">At the end of 2013, CCI sent their paper to provincial Ministries of Education, the heads of all post-secondary administrations and all relevant educational organizations in Canada, <b><i>with</i></b> an invitation to meet and discuss the issues. To date, no organization or administration has agreed to talk. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #505050; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">The invitation remains open. </span>
<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-72055834259073805602014-02-28T17:20:00.002-05:002014-03-14T16:38:35.360-04:00is copy culture destroying the core values of our education system?<div id="fb-root">
</div>
<h3>
w(h)ither education?</h3>
I have many friends (and family members) who work in the academy, and I'm aware how painful and oversimplified conversations around "what's wrong with our education system, anyway?" can be, especially when it looks like there's a call to take sides and lay blame. It's not my intention to minimize the complexity of the issues that bring us to where we are today. That said, I can't ignore my own personal experience over the last 15 years or so in dealing with an education sector that, in my opinion, is drifting further and further from its mission and values.<br />
<br />
On this blog, I've been highly critical of free-culture theory and the copy culture that has arisen with the digital age. My animosity to these trends flows quite naturally from my love of, and vested interest in, writing and publishing as a profession. I don't think I've ever hidden that bias. Nevertheless, I think some prominent segments of the education sector have a lot to answer for around the free culture attack on copyright.<br />
<br />
Just today I was reading a<a href="http://www.londonpoetryopenmic.com/5/post/2014/01/paul-martin-sanctioned-ignorance-canlit-separatism.html" target="_blank">n academic blog</a> that suggested anthology publishing might soon die, "made unprofitable by recent changes to Canadian copyright law and the increasing competition of coursepacks." Never before have I seen an academic so openly characterize photocopied or scanned coursepack production as "competition" for traditional publishing. That the academic in question is also a professional writer explains the recognition. It needs to be pointed out such "competition" is on a seriously tilted playing field. Traditional publishing actually<b><i> pays</i></b> its writers for their work, whereas recent overbroad interpretations of copyright changes in Canada are looking to gift coursepack compilers with as much free content as they can stuff between their bindings.<br />
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Similarly, I was recently directed to an online issue of <a href="https://www.osstf.on.ca/education-forum-40-01.pdf" target="_blank"><i>Education Forum</i></a>, the house organ of the Ontario Secondary School Teacher's Federation. All in one issue, we see a celebration of the Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan, which has "the highest investment return among 328 pension funds in the world" -<b><i> look how rich we are!</i></b> - an analysis of how student tuition fees in Ontario have tripled in the last 23 years, threatening to make post-secondary education the exclusive realm of the privileged - <b><i>look how rich we expect students to be!</i></b> - <i>and</i> a triumphal celebration of recent changes to copyright law in Canada that instructs teachers how much professionally produced writing they can copy without payment or permission -<i><b> look how much stuff we get for free!</b></i><br />
<br />
The fair dealing article in <b><i>Education Forum</i></b> includes a dramatic warning to teachers that the writing and publishing sector may sue them "in the hopes of recouping the perceived losses." How can you dismiss as "perceived" a loss you've just yourself described in gleeful detail? You can't make this stuff up, folks.<br />
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I'm not suggesting copy- and free-culture theory is either the beginning or the end of a disturbing mission drift in education. I do, however, think it plays a role.<br />
<strong><u><br /></u></strong>
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<h3>
<strong>Why Shouldn't Bobby Cheat?</strong></h3>
Recently, the CBC has taken a long hard look at <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/manitoba/features/universities/" target="_blank">the issue of academic honesty</a> at Canadian universities. In <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/cheating-students-punished-by-the-1000s-but-many-more-go-undetected-1.2549621" target="_blank">reports on the CBC.ca website</a>, it was revealed that over 7,000 university students across Canada were disciplined for some form of cheating, from outright plagiarism (which made up over half the offenses), to buying ready-made academic papers, to looking at cheat notes during exams.<br />
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7,000 is a huge number, of course. But worse than this revelation is the suggestion by CBC researchers that <strong><em>this number is eclipsed</em></strong> by the number of students who were <em><strong>not caught</strong></em> and therefore not punished for academic dishonesty. While data supplied by participating universities showed about 1% of students actually punished for cheating, a separate survey of Canadian students revealed a whopping 50% willing to admit off the record that they have engaged in some form of cheating at school. Depressingly, CBC quotes an anonymous student with designs on law school and a career in Canadian law:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em>“I'd challenge anyone who can say that they haven't broken the law... So for me to have cheated on an exam to get ahead in life, I think it's wrong, but I don't think it's the worst thing that could be done.”</em></blockquote>
Depressing, yes, but hardly surprising to anyone who's been watching recent developments in Canadian higher education.<br />
<br />
As I've tried to point out many times on this blog, I believe the Canadian academy is infected by a virulent strain of copy culture that at best provides cover for such academic line-crossing - by studiously ignoring and/or blurring important lines. At worst, the theoretical expansion of copy culture is, in my opinion, tacit approval for the kind of logic that convinces a future law student that breaking the law is not "the worst thing that could be done."<br />
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<h3>
<strong>Portrait of an academic culture from one man's perspective</strong></h3>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XQ86jBLS1NA/Uw4ha9KMZhI/AAAAAAAABfk/CRXRqVtPYBo/s1600/Senate3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XQ86jBLS1NA/Uw4ha9KMZhI/AAAAAAAABfk/CRXRqVtPYBo/s1600/Senate3.jpg" /></a></div>
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On June 26, 2012, as ill-conceived changes to Canada's Copyright Act rolled inevitably toward approval in Parliament, I sat in a committee room in front of Canada's Senate and respectfully asked for sober second thought and consideration for what I saw as very real economic damage to Canada's cultural sector as a result of new educational exceptions added to the Act. At the time, I was employed by the Ontario Arts Council, but as I made clear in my testimony I was there representing myself as a professional writer.<br />
<br />
Seated beside me was legal counsel for the Council of Ministers of Education of Canada (CMEC), an intergovernmental group advocating broad new educational freedoms under copyright. When asked by a concerned Senator about suggestions of economic damage to Canada's cultural sector, with specific reference to collective licensing, CMEC's legal counsel said this:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em>"There's been a great deal of, um - and I don't want to use a pejorative word - rhetoric and numbers thrown around about losses that are going to result from [this change to the Copyright Act]. None of those numbers have any empirical basis. The claims are very easy to make, and in my view and in the view of my clients, the Ministers of Education, are unfounded. For example, the reference to the fact that universities and colleges have withdrawn from the Access Copyright system because of Bill C-11 is patently false."</em></blockquote>
This is a quote from testimony on the public record that can be accessed, by anyone, <a href="http://senparlvu.parl.gc.ca/Guide.aspx?viewmode=4&categoryid=-1&eventid=8371&Language=E#" target="_blank">at this video link</a>. It comes at about the 1 hour 34 minute mark. In an earlier remark, the same witness suggested that provincial education acquisition budgets "will not change." I'm not sure how anyone could comfortably make such a prediction, but okay.<br />
<br />
<strong>Has t</strong><strong>here been empirical damage </strong><strong>to the cultural economy in Canada since the passage of C-11?</strong> <br />
<br />
Of course there has. Access Copyright has taken expensive legal action because, unless it defends its licensing territory, Canada's writers and publishers will continue to lose tens of millions of dollars of license royalties every year universities, colleges and K-12 schools continue to claim they do not have to pay collective license royalties for the massive, industrial scale copying that takes place in the name of education. These are the same "perceived losses" referenced in the <b><i>Education Forum</i></b> article above.<br />
<br />
I hear from professional writers every single day, and they are telling me that their royalty cheques are decreasing precipitously, sometimes disappearing altogether. What else can anyone call this situation but economic damage? Writers are "perceiving" these losses because these losses are coming from their personal budgets.<br />
<br />
Have provincial educational acquisition budgets changed? Not sure because it's hard to tease out acquisitions from the overall budgets, but between 2012 and 2013, immediately following the passage of C-11, Nova Scotia's <a href="http://www.novascotia.ca/finance/en/home/budget/budgetdocuments/2011_2013/default.aspx" target="_blank">overall education budget</a> looks to have seen a $13 million dollar <strong><em>reduction in expenses</em></strong>. I chose Nova Scotia because that province's Education Minister, Ramona Jennex, was referenced several times before the Senate.<br />
<br />
What is Access Copyright's licensing territory? Well, it looks an awful lot like the territory now claimed by a large number of Canadian universities, such as the University of British Columbia (in their<a href="http://copyright.ubc.ca/requirements/fair-dealing/" target="_blank"> Fair Dealing Requirements for UBC Faculty and Staff</a>), specifically the collective license requires payment for the copying of up to 10% of a work for inclusion in a course pack, a use now claimed by schools under their interpretation of fair dealing. To be clear, UBC references new provisions in the Copyright Act provided by C-11 as a factor in their decision to expand how much they claim. <br />
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<strong>Other damage:</strong><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.quillandquire.com/google/article.cfm?article_id=12711" target="_blank">Oxford University Press Canada has recently ceased operation</a> of its Canadian K-12 educational publishing program, citing Canada's copyright climate as the reason behind its decision. This means fewer jobs for those who create Canada-specific educational materials, and,of course,fewer materials overall.<br />
<br />
The huge <a href="http://www.publishers.org/press/129/" target="_blank">Association of American Publishers came out this month</a> with serious warnings about Canada's copyright climate:<br />
<em></em><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<em>Under the now-pervasive misconception that all copying for educational use is now permitted without rights-holder permission or compensation, Canadian schools have defected en masse from longstanding licenses through Access Copyright, the country’s not-for-profit content licensing service provider. This misconception has also stymied nascent efforts by Access Copyright and its affiliated creators and publishers to develop a robust licensing service for digital educational materials to better serve the country’s students. Publishers are already seeing contraction of direct sales of educational materials in Canada, despite its role as a long-established, well-functioning licensing market for the US. </em></blockquote>
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</em>
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Okay, I've stated a bunch of facts, verifiable on an "empirical basis." You decide for yourself what these facts suggest about the current state of education in our country. <br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-24881749454373240312014-01-31T11:14:00.000-05:002014-02-19T12:12:48.624-05:00get yer free degrees, right here!<div id="fb-root">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XOxzYY5ypnc/UuvHZm3dlGI/AAAAAAAABfM/_HmSuB6CZCo/s1600/UofT2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XOxzYY5ypnc/UuvHZm3dlGI/AAAAAAAABfM/_HmSuB6CZCo/s1600/UofT2.jpg" height="250" width="400" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(from right to left: Harry Thurston, award-winning science author and incoming Chair of TWUC, Dorris Heffron, novelist and Chair of TWUC, Sandy Crawley, musician, actor, writer and executive director of PWAC)</span></blockquote>
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Through my day job at The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC), I helped to organize a small protest at the University of Toronto last Friday, taking aim at U of T's (and several other large Canadian universities') new guidelines for how students and professors can copy published work on campus. As I detailed<a href="http://johndegen.blogspot.ca/2014/01/chaos-and-growing-expense-all-for-13.html" target="_blank"> in the last posting here</a>, U of T is attempting to save less than 1% of their annual surplus (which topped out at, let me see, $173 million in 2013) by not paying copyright clearance (through collective licensing) for entire short stories, entire book chapters and up to 10% of any published work.<br />
<br />
Let's put this in easily understood terms:<br />
<br />
U of T's guidelines mean that a professor teaching "the art of the Canadian short story" to hundreds, even thousands of tuition-paying students (U of T collected close to a billion dollars in tuition and fees from students last year) could go to the library, photocopy one story from twenty different Canadian collections written by twenty different economically struggling writers, squish those stories into the <b><i>"U of T Canadian Short Story Reader,"</i></b> print off hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of copies of that course pack collection, sell it to her students over the course of years WITHOUT ever asking permission of the writers, WITHOUT even informing the writers, and certainly WITHOUT paying the writers, as Al Purdy would say, "a goddam thing."<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cggDG_Vw7-k/UuvHpBrdbQI/AAAAAAAABfU/8C_YAWKx-LE/s1600/FreeDegrees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cggDG_Vw7-k/UuvHpBrdbQI/AAAAAAAABfU/8C_YAWKx-LE/s1600/FreeDegrees.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
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To show just how ridiculously unfair such a policy is, and how damaging it will inevitably be to both our collective culture AND the education system that depends on there being a culture, members of TWUC's National Executive, writers, and staff from other writer organizations (thanks to the Professional Writers Association of Canada (PWAC) for sending their talented ED, Sandy Crawley!) handed out free copies of university degrees outside U of T's main library, the John P. Robarts Research Library. If <i><b>our</b></i> work is up for grabs and free to copy and distribute, then perhaps <i><b>everyone's</b></i> work should be, including the formerly exclusive work of conferring educational qualifications on folks. The degree we copied was my own Master's Degree from the University of Toronto, for which I paid thousands of dollars in tuition (like a sucker, apparently).<br />
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We took photos of the action (see above), and we had a professional videographer recording everything (stay tuned). It was -17C before factoring in windchill that morning, and the sidewalk outside Robarts is one of the windiest spots in Toronto (insert "academic bluster" joke). And, we got the reaction we were looking for - students laughed at the idea of free <i><b>anything</b></i>, but gladly accepted the copies, and we had several unnamed profs stop to register their support for our action. At one point, we moved inside the library and started quietly distributing degrees and info sheets to students at the library computers. Within minutes, we were kicked out by security. All hail free thought.<br />
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The protest was covered by <a href="http://www.quillandquire.com/omni/article.cfm?article_id=12700&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=New+on+QQ+Omni+Jan+31+2014&utm_content=New+on+QQ+Omni+Jan+31+2014+CID_cc282a0956b47bf0bdcc3f92c4dab3e5&utm_source=Omni%20newsletter&utm_term=Read%20the%20rest" target="_blank">Quill & Quire</a> and columnist Joe Fiorito at <a href="http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/02/07/writers_union_members_out_in_the_cold_fiorito.html" target="_blank">the Toronto Star</a>.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-31742459972825212412014-01-16T12:45:00.002-05:002014-01-17T10:50:13.546-05:00chaos and growing expense... all for a $13 refund<div id="fb-root">
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<a href="http://thevarsity.ca/2014/01/13/post-access-copyright-era-off-to-a-rocky-start/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jphtrc00pOg/UtgWbLAOLZI/AAAAAAAABe8/RhEgE6vYYyI/s1600/Varsity.jpg" height="136" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A <a href="http://thevarsity.ca/2014/01/13/post-access-copyright-era-off-to-a-rocky-start/" target="_blank">well-written and impressively balanced article</a> in the University of Toronto's student newspaper, The Varsity*, this week paints a portrait of a bureaucratic U of T administration so set on <i>appearing</i> concerned for the pocketbooks of their students they are willing to sink a core service into legal uncertainty, confusion and inadequacy.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
U of T, like a number of other large universities in Canada has recently refused to sign a collective licensing agreement with the copyright agency representing Canadian writers and publishers. The university claims changes to Canada's copyright landscape make it possible for a one-person copyright office on campus to clear the rights for all the materials professors intend to copy for their courses, and that millions of copies they used to pay for are now free. It should be noted that the refusal of the post-secondary sector to licence their huge industrial copying practices will cost Canadian writers and publishers tens of millions of dollars in earned revenue annually. This is a potentially crippling blow to Canadian cultural workers, and will almost certainly result in a net loss of Canadian content for Canadian educators.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
By <a href="http://media.utoronto.ca/media-releases/university-of-torontos-license-with-access-copyright-set-to-end/" target="_blank">cancelling their longstanding relationship with Canadian authors and publishers</a>, U of T was able to refund each one of their students $13 in fees previously collected. It is unclear if they actually cut a $13 cheque for each and every student, or how much that Rob Fordian populist action cost them in administration expenses.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />
What <i>is</i> clear from the Varsity article is that copyright has NOT been simplified nor made cheaper at U of T. The administration has added costly new staff, is planning to add even more staff, and is not able to keep up with copying demand from their faculty.</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #231f20; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 22px;"><i>"Numerous students have reported instances of professors explaining to their classes that they must remove content from Blackboard, and are unclear when or if this material can be reposted. In one instance a student reported an instructor emailing the material from a personal account so as to avoid the new copyright guidelines."</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 22px;">Materials erased or made unavailable to tuition-paying students, reading lists gutted, rumours of actionable copyright infringement by faculty? How is this better than paying a perfectly affordable licence required by law?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">The University of Toronto's licence requirement in the last year was approximately $1.5 million. That represents blanket clearance for massive amounts of photocopying for a student population of approximately 70,000, who paid a combined $847 million in tuition and fees just to attend the university. Considering U of T realized an in-year surplus of $173 million (which adds to an <i>accumulated</i> surplus in the billions), there is little logic in spending what looks like<i> more</i> money for<i> less </i>access in a legally chaotic landscape when they could easily afford a permissive blanket licence by spending less than 1% of their annual surplus. A bargain and... <i>you know...</i> legal.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">The chickens of free culture theory have come home to roost. Thanks to the Varsity for investigating and revealing this situation. Reminds me of the good old Naomi Klein days. </span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #231f20; line-height: 22px;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">* When I was earning my two U of T degrees in the late 80s and early 90s, I worked as an arts reporter and photographer at The Varsity, famously (to me, anyway) annoying literary legend Mordecai Richler in my attempt to get a great photo of him.</span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-54689791478359125262013-12-18T15:56:00.003-05:002013-12-18T16:00:42.595-05:00battling the bafflegab - Canada's universities excuse themselves from copyright<div id="fb-root">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8BjRcUBmSsc/UrIEEwQFLyI/AAAAAAAABes/yNXTS42MW0Q/s1600/UT.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8BjRcUBmSsc/UrIEEwQFLyI/AAAAAAAABes/yNXTS42MW0Q/s1600/UT.png" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">U of T's revenues in 2013: $2.5 billion</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What they claim to spend on materials: $27 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What they're refusing to pay writers through collective licensing: approx. $1.8 million</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
On December 11, the Universities of Toronto and Western Ontario both decided <a href="http://www.accesscopyright.ca/media/39538/2013_12_11_canadas_writers_and_publishers_disappointed_by_u_of_t_and_westerns_non_renewal_of_licence.pdf" target="_blank">not to renew a collective licence</a> agreement that sees writers and publishers fairly paid when copies of our work are made and used in course packs. U of T and UWO join York University, the University of British Columbia and a number of other large Canadian post-secondary institutions in unilaterally ending a twenty year relationship of mutual respect and support between the post-secondary community and Canada's writers and publishers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Needless to say this development, coming just before the holidays and after Canada's writers received copyright royalty cheques worth roughly half what they were last year, became a focus of concern for The Writers' Union of Canada (TWUC)*, which immediately sent out a call to action, inviting members to write directly to U of T and Western leadership**. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
Many TWUC members have now written notes to U of T and Western, and those who contacted the respective presidents received boilerplate responses explaining the universities' positions. As I am receiving many questions from writers about these response letters, I thought I would save everyone a bit of time and deconstruct the arguments here so we can all see the core of the issue, which is:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>In published copyright guidelines, <a href="http://www.provost.utoronto.ca/Assets/Provost+Digital+Assets/26.pdf" target="_blank">U of T</a>, <a href="http://copyright.uwo.ca/guidelines_requirements/guidelines/fair_dealing_exception_guidelines.html" target="_blank">Western</a>, <a href="http://copyright.ubc.ca/requirements/fair-dealing/" target="_blank">UBC</a>, <a href="http://copyright.info.yorku.ca/fair-dealing-requirements-for-york-faculty-and-staff/" target="_blank">York</a> and many other schools are claiming they now have the right to copy <span style="background-color: yellow;">up to 10% of a published work, entire chapters, entire stories, etc.,</span> without seeking permission or paying royalties. This claim is, I believe, designed to eliminate collective licensing, which for twenty years has given broad permission for exactly this amount of photocopying while fairly compensating authors and publishers. The elimination of collective licensing will remove tens of millions of dollars per year from Canada's writing and publishing sector.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
I'll use a bit of each response letter in this exercise. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>From UWO's response letter: </b></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“The Justices of the Supreme Court have <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">provided guidance on limits of fair usage and Western
will be following their interpretation</span>.”</span> </i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This sounds impressively law-abiding, but in fact Western’s copyright guidelines
have nothing to do with any Supreme Court guidance on limits. <b>Nowhere has the
Supreme Court allowed for copying of 10% of a work, entire chapters,
entire stories, etc.,</b> which is the explicit claim made in UWO's copyright instructions to teachers and students. In fact, Western claims that copying <i><b>more than</b></i> 10% of a work may be considered fair dealing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>From UWO's response letter:</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“As well, Western already <span style="background-color: white;">spends <b>millions of dollars</b> annually purchasing usage licenses</span> from
publishers for a large proportion of the materials available through our
libraries.”</i></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Similarly, from U of T's response letter:</span></b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"We share your goal of supporting writers and scholars
here at the University and beyond. In fact, the University spends over <b>$27
million annually</b> on Library acquisitions, including licensed material and
electronic resources, and also supports scholarly publishing through the
University of Toronto Press."</span></i></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are big numbers. Of course, educational institutions that collect billions in tuition and student fees <i>should</i> spend millions on materials for those students, but that is beside the point. Library acquisitions, direct usage licences, electronic resources and scholarly publishing are all part of the larger mix of the academic usage economy... and so too is collective licensing for course pack production. Paying for some of these things does not buy permission to NOT pay for the rest. To suggest otherwise is like saying "I spend a lot on groceries for nine months of the year, so for the last three months I'll just take food from the store, thanks."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
A side note, but not unrelated (since these universities continue to loudly tout their materials budgets), U of T and Western, like UBC and York measure their annual revenues in the billions - billions with a "b." According to <a href="http://www.finance.utoronto.ca/Assets/Finance+Digital+Assets/reports/financial/2013.pdf" target="_blank">U of T's 2013 financial statements</a>, that school had revenues of $2.5 billion last year, and realized a surplus of revenue over expenses of more than $173 million. Given those huge numbers, it is confusing in the extreme that U of T would balk at a legally required royalty payment of 1% of their <u>annual surplus</u>. I did a full analysis of UBC's finances <i>vis a vis</i> collective licensing <a href="http://johndegen.blogspot.ca/2013/10/the-real-numbers-of-fair-dealing.html" target="_blank">in an earlier blog post</a>. I think we can assume all of the big four universities are in similar extraordinarily comfortable positions.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
<b>From UWO's response letter:</b></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span lang="EN-CA" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>“The University is
providing a combination of education, information resources and service<span style="background-color: white;">s designed to ensure that members of the Western
community are copyright literate and can make informed decisions </span>when
using the published work of others in research and teaching."</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This, I think, is where all of these universities are really playing with fire. With copyright guidelines advising the copying of a full 10% of a work into course packs and digital repositories, these schools are exposing their faculty and students to a very real risk of legal action. Because of similar guidelines and usage patterns, York University is right now being sued by Canada's copyright licensing agency, and <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/134926954/AC-v-York-Statment-of-Claim-T-578-13-Doc1" target="_blank">individual faculty have been named in the lawsuit</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
If you have written to a university about this issue and received a boilerplate response, feel free to refer to my notes here for further engagement. If you haven't yet written a note about this organized royalty grab, please do so with the links below.</span><br />
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* I am employed by The Writers' Union of Canada as executive director.</span><br />
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** <strong style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">U of T's president is Meric Gertler: <a href="mailto:president@utoronto.ca" target="_blank">president@utoronto.ca</a></strong></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">Office of the President</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">University of Toronto</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">27 King’s College Circle, Room 206</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">Toronto ON M5S 1A1</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22px;">416-978-4163</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;" /><strong style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">UWO's president is Amit Chakma: <a href="mailto:achakma@uwo.ca">achakma@uwo.ca</a></strong><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;" /><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">Office of the President</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">The University of Western Ontario</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">Room 2017 Stevenson Hall</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">London, Ontario N6A 5B9</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 21px;">519-661-3106</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 21px;">The Writers' Union of Canada has compiled <a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/currently-licensed-canadian-colleges-and-universities" target="_blank">a list of currently licensed colleges and universities</a>. Those schools not on this list have decided to forgo collective licensing.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-61406428329273486002013-11-29T14:52:00.002-05:002013-11-29T14:52:54.358-05:00getting into trouble <div id="fb-root">
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Thanks to Mark Medley at the National Post for <a href="http://arts.nationalpost.com/2013/11/29/john-degen-the-book-stops-here/" target="_blank">this nice coverage of The Writers' Union of Canada</a>, where it is indeed my pleasure to get in a little bit of trouble every single day.<br />
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-90404076489397472562013-11-19T16:38:00.000-05:002013-11-20T14:53:10.122-05:00sinking to conclusions - logical quicksand in the latest Google book scanning decision<div id="fb-root">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eR7ja1DJYlk/UovX3FhR-VI/AAAAAAAABeE/ojOETmww8ZE/s1600/logic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eR7ja1DJYlk/UovX3FhR-VI/AAAAAAAABeE/ojOETmww8ZE/s1600/logic.png" /></a></div>
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Here is all you need to know about why <a href="http://www.authorsguild.org/general/round-one-to-google-judge-chin-finds-mass-book-digitization-a-fair-use-guild-plans-appeal/" target="_blank">The Authors Guild will appeal</a> the latest Google book scanning ruling* and why, I believe, the AG will likely win on appeal.<br />
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I call it... logic.<br />
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<b><i>Faulty Syllogism</i></b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Copying books you own is fair use.<br />Libraries owned the books Google copied.<br />Google's use is fair.</i></blockquote>
Frankly, I'm not convinced the first premise is always true but even if you accept as true the idea libraries themselves are allowed to make a full text copy of each one of the physical books in their collections, that makes logical room for only one electronic file of the scan. Google retained at least one other file for itself after each scan, despite owning none of the books. The conclusion above does not follow.<br />
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<i><b>The False Dilemma</b></i><br />
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The Google "win" in the US District Court (Southern District of New York) is being celebrated by digital supremacists as somehow <i>saving</i> the project of Google's universal online library, what the court ruling has called "an essential research tool." Apparently, then, if Google were <i><b>not</b></i> allowed to scan and display (in snippet form) without permission or payment the millions of copyright-protected books they have already scanned and displayed, we would all be stuck back in the bad old analog library days without our new "essential" tool.<br />
<br />
Yet authors are <i>not</i> asking for Google Books to be destroyed. We are asking for Google to adjust how they do their business.<br />
<br />
The objections by authors to Google's project have nothing to do with not wanting book preservation, an online library, a textual search tool, a textual pattern recognizer, or expanded access to books for under-served populations (all benefits listed in the ruling). Rather, what authors object to is the building of all those wonderful tools <i>without</i> permission or payment. Permission and payment are prerequisites for any and all other library collections (throughout the history of humankind). Why does Google get a pass?<br />
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Authors can be asked for permission AND be paid for their work AND Google can have its for-profit library. These things do not exclude each other. The suggestion that Google Books would cease to exist if it can't be done under the banner of fair use is a classic false dilemma. According to court documents, Google reported $36.5 billion in advertising revenues for 2011. The Authors Guild action claims $3 billion as compensation for infringements. Ruling against Google, therefore, would not eliminate their project. It would mean, simply, that Google needs to devote 8% of their advertising revenue (from one year) to paying for the content they have been monetizing for their own profit for close to a decade.<br />
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<i><b>Denying the Antecedent/Confirmation Bias</b></i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Google does not sell the scans it has made of books for Google Books; it does not sell the snippets that it displays; and it does not run ads on the About the Book pages that contain snippets. It does not engage in the direct commercialization of copyrighted works."</i></blockquote>
The final conclusion in that logic-like construction from the district court ruling - that Google somehow does <i>not</i> engage in direct commercialization of copyrighted works - can be reached only by ignoring the very heart of the activity in the book scanning project. Google sells book scanning services AND the products of those services (scanned books) to the libraries from whose collections the physical books have come. The way Google gets paid for these services is by keeping scans of each book for their own commercial purposes (Google's business is search; search requires content; books are content). How much more direct does their commercialization need to be?<br />
<br />
<b><i>post hoc ergo propter hoc</i></b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"Words in books are being used in a way they have not been used before. Google books has created something new in the use of book text - the frequency of words and trends in their usage provide substantive information."</i></blockquote>
The conclusion that Google is responsible for a new way of dealing with text is simply fallacious. It is indeed a wonderful thing that lots of folks can use a service like Google Books to perform textual analysis and lexical frequency testing, but these "new" practices are in no way the result of Google's book scanning deal with libraries. My own Master of Arts thesis from the University of Toronto in 1993 (twenty years ago!) was partly informed by full-text book scanning followed by computer-assisted textual analysis and lexical frequency testing using <i style="background-color: white;">TACT 2.1</i><span style="background-color: white;"> (Text-Analysis Computing Tools).</span> This work was performed under the supervision of <a href="http://homes.chass.utoronto.ca/~ian/" target="_blank">Dr. Ian Lancashire</a>, a pioneer in this kind of analysis. At the time we were doing this work together, Google was not even a gleam in the California sunshine.<br />
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Of note... before we would scan the entire text of a book, we would get the permission of the author. Some authors refused to allow us to scan their books, so we didn't. Radical thinking.<br />
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*Last Thursday, Judge Denny Chin of the US District Court (Southern District of New York) filed his latest decision in <b>The Authors Guild v. Google Inc</b>. legal action. This decision responds to requests for summary judgement stemming from Chin's earlier decision in the same case. You can see the <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/184172215/Summary-judgment-order-in-Authors-Guild-v-Google-Google-Books" target="_blank">full decision document here.</a><br />
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As before, Chin decided <i>against</i> authors and <i>for</i> Google in this longstanding dispute, concluding once again that Google's use of scanned books is transformative and therefore protected by the US fair use provision.<br />
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Nevertheless, The Authors Guild was very quick to make clear their intention to appeal this decision and take the matter into a higher court. Authors Guild Executive Director Paul Aiken had this to say in announcing the appeal:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif; line-height: 21px;"><i>“We disagree with and are disappointed by the court’s decision today. This case presents a fundamental challenge to copyright that merits review by a higher court. Google made unauthorized digital editions of nearly all of the world’s valuable copyright-protected literature and profits from displaying those works. In our view, such mass digitization and exploitation far exceeds the bounds of fair use defense.”</i></span></blockquote>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-2169839152719373282013-10-15T12:54:00.001-04:002013-10-15T13:01:52.666-04:00the real numbers of fair dealing<div id="fb-root">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Hey folks, this blog posting is brought to you in part by Grammarly.com. I use Grammarly's <a href="http://www.grammarly.com/" target="_blank">plagiarism checker</a> because finding out I'm not as clever as I think I am centers me as a person. Deep breath.</b></span></div>
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<strong>Let's Go to the Numbers</strong></div>
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I spend a lot of time thinking about, and talking about, the value of books and writing. My last posting here was all about the dollar value numbers around e-book pricing, especially around the thorny issue of institutional pricing for libraries and schools who, we must admit, use books differently than the average consumer.</div>
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You know who else uses books? Students and teachers - and the schools they work for and attend. Recently, you may have heard, there has been a bit of a disagreement in Canada between writers and some schools, over just what needs to be paid for and what does not. The issue was drawn into focus when the University of British Columbia <a href="http://broadcastemail.ubc.ca/2013/09/11/significant-cost-reductions-achieved-on-student-course-packs/" target="_blank">published a statement</a> proudly claiming substantial cost reductions (33%) on photocopied course packs in large part because of a "reliance on fair dealing" and the avoidance of "onerous blanket licensing." </div>
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The Chair of the Writers' Union of Canada (for whom I happily toil*) <a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/news/twucs-letter-ubc" target="_blank">sent a letter to UBC</a> expressing dismay that an institute of higher learning would take pride in <em>not</em> paying for copyright licenses that continue to be required by law in Canada. The definition of fair dealing UBC believes excuses them from collective licensing has no basis in Canadian law (in my opinion), and is strongly opposed by Canadian writers.</div>
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UBC's President <a href="http://copyright.ubc.ca/president-responds-to-the-writers-union-of-canada/" target="_blank">responded with a letter</a> defending his school's record on educational materials spending. He wrote:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<em>UBC pays in the neighbourhood of $25 million to publishers and authors every year. In fiscal 2011/12, UBC spent approximately $2 million on book acquisitions, $2 million on print serials, and $10 million on digitally licensed subscriptions for students and faculty to access through its library system. UBC also sold approximately $14 million of books directly to students and faculty (<b>for which UBC paid publishers about $10 million**</b>). In the same period, total course pack sales were about $1 million, less than 4% of the total spent on learning materials.</em></div>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>**more on this $10 million in a moment. </b></span><br />
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So, what's the argument here? <em>UBC spends a bunch on print materials and digital subscriptions, so we figure we'll just take the rest of your materials for free?</em> <br />
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<strong>Break Out the Excel Spreadsheets</strong></div>
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According to the actual numbers quoted in the UBC letter, the "neighbourhood" of $25 million is $24 million. I don't know what neighbourhood UBC is in, but according to the average earnings of Canadian writers ($15,000 per annum), 67 writers live within the difference between those neighbourhoods. Furthermore, while UBC seems justifiably proud of spending $2 million on books in a year, they dismiss $1 million in course pack sales as somehow inconsequential. <br />
<br />
To be absolutely clear, that's $1 million in physically <em><strong>photocopied</strong></em> course packs we're talking about. UBC does not actually mention how many digital course packs it puts together using the same materials it used to use in the photocopied variety.</div>
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Now, UBC's budget is something to behold. In 2012, the school's revenues exceeded $2 billion (with a b), and in that same year they increased their accumulated surplus by $37.8 million to a total of ... let's say in the neighbourhood of $1.5 billion.</div>
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But wait, what exactly is that funny $10 million UBC claims it pays to publishers every year? </div>
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<em>UBC also sold approximately $14 million of books directly to students and faculty (for which UBC paid publishers about $10 million).</em></blockquote>
This refers to the sale of physical books to students through campus bookstores. The $10 million UBC claims to "pay" publishers is, in fact, the actual price of these books minus a 40% discount on the retail price they collect for themselves. UBC is not paying this $10 million to publishers, their students are, straight out of their own pockets, because UBC tells them they have to. The claim that UBC is paying this money is fanciful at best. To keep things clear, let's remove that $10 million from the discussion. That leaves UBC with an annual spend on materials of $14 million.<br />
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What does $14 million look like in an expense budget of close to $2 billion?<em> </em>It looks like this:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DxkrhwvpeyE/UlYDI3xyCYI/AAAAAAAABac/sViWazRCiFI/s1600/materialsActual.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DxkrhwvpeyE/UlYDI3xyCYI/AAAAAAAABac/sViWazRCiFI/s400/materialsActual.jpg" width="360" /></a></div>
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Note that students paid $411.5 million in tuition to UBC in 2012, and received $235.8 in dedicated spending in return. What does a $14 million spend in relation to that income look like? Like this:</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GHrj2gBQ1yE/UlYFddRDgAI/AAAAAAAABa0/dMOigKlSqj8/s1600/tuitionToMaterials.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="325" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GHrj2gBQ1yE/UlYFddRDgAI/AAAAAAAABa0/dMOigKlSqj8/s400/tuitionToMaterials.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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According to its own numbers, UBC spends 3% of what it earns in tuition from students on published learning materials for those students, while the students themselves collectively spend an extra $10 million on books not covered in UBC's materials spend.</div>
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<strong>The Kicker?</strong></div>
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Remember that measly $1 million in total course pack sales UBC mentioned? As we know, UBC now claims to have saved 33% of that through its reliance on fair dealing and the avoidance of collective licensing. My calculator puts that savings at $330,000.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
$330,000 (which I believe rightfully belongs to Canada's writers and publishers for the excellent work they have done) represents 2% of the $14 million UBC actually spends on learning materials, and is - wait for it... 0.01% of UBC total expenses.</div>
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<strong>A 0.01% cost reduction at the expense of the great good will of Canada's cultural creators and producers.</strong></div>
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Something to be proud of indeed. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>*I work at <a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/" target="_blank">The Writers' Union of Canada</a> as Executive Director. The opinions expressed at this blog are mine, and do not necessarily represent those of The Writers' Union of Canada.</b></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38495605.post-54182514817908717392013-09-05T14:45:00.003-04:002013-09-05T15:18:50.777-04:00how much for that terrifying arctic adventure? I'll take two.<div id="fb-root">
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a8lUI5pZ5sM/UijPHVOOBDI/AAAAAAAABZg/eAHUxoIFbyk/s1600/Fatal+Passage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a8lUI5pZ5sM/UijPHVOOBDI/AAAAAAAABZg/eAHUxoIFbyk/s1600/Fatal+Passage.jpg" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">What is the Value of an e-book?</span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">That literary troublemaker, Sean Cranbury,
over at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://booksontheradio.org/2013/07/08/dennis-lehane-2013-keynote-speech/" target="_blank">Books on the Radio</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(check out the site and the audio -
great stuff) posted something on Facebook that got me thinking. It was<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.locusmag.com/Perspectives/2013/09/cory-doctorow-libraries-and-e-books/" target="_blank">a rumination on libraries and the pricing
structure around e-books</a>. Cory Doctorow was the ruminator.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Let me state right up front that I agree
with Doctorow that libraries are awesome. Books are also awesome.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">On the other hand, just because I like
both libraries<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>and</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>the books they collect and circulate,
it does not follow that I think the writers of books and the publishers of books should let libraries do whatever they want with
books, for free. If I believed that, I wouldn't right now be working for an
organization that is a named plaintiff in a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.authorsguild.org/advocacy/remember-the-orphans-battle-lines-being-drawn-in-hathitrust-appeal/" target="_blank">legal fight with a bunch of libraries</a>.
We at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.writersunion.ca/" target="_blank">The
Writers' Union of Canada</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>joined
that important legal case because we believe writers should have a say when
public institutions and for-profit companies start making decisions about our
property.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">I'll get back to why I think libraries
need to concern themselves with the rights and wishes of authors and publishers
a bit later. For now, let's stay with price. It seems to me Cranbury's main
concern is that the e-book as a thing is simply not that valuable. In other
words, is an electronic file of a book actually worth the price some publishers
are charging libraries? This is an interesting question.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">A physical book is a tangible object and,
therefore, it's not so abstract an exercise to assign price to it. The book's
"thingness" makes it relatively comparable to other things. That vase
for which I paid $50 gives me aesthetic pleasure and I will keep and use it for
twenty years or more (hopefully, if I don't break it on the way home from the
store, which I have done with vases, twice dammit). That trade paperback for
which I paid $20 gives me both aesthetic <i>and</i>
intellectual pleasure. I will keep it forever, lovingly displayed on my
bookshelves, and I will also lend it to good friends and family members. For
the most part, it’s harder to break a trade paperback than a vase. Compared to
the vase, the book is an excellent value.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">An e-book can neither be displayed nor
easily lent (though I do manage to lend <i>my</i>
e-books within my family all the time, simply by lending the device with it - I
read a physical book while waiting for the device to come back). E-books lack
so much of the aesthetic thingness of their physical counterparts - no heft, no
smell, no feel. I totally understand that in a straight comparison of things,
it may seem like an e-book is not worth anywhere near as much as a vase, or
even a real book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Book: The Experience</span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">So let's stop judging e-books as physical
objects. Instead let's use more accurate criteria for comparison. An e-book is
not so much a thing as it is an <i>experience</i>,
like going to a movie.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">As with a movie at the local cinema, we
pay for the content, but really only in so far as the content makes its way
into our consciousness. E-books are valuable<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>in
the reading of them</i>, just as movies in the cinema are valuable in the
watching of them. When we walk out of a cinema we have nothing tangible in
exchange for our ticket money. Nothing. Yet millions of us happily pay ever
increasing ticket prices for this nothing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Is the movie worth the $12-$15 price (plus
whatever insane price for a bag of popcorn and a drink)? That really is a
question only the watcher can answer. I took my kids to see<span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><i>Despicable Me 2</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>at a rustic old drive-in this summer.
Total admission cost for our carload - $16 (snacks, probably another $20).
Total experience time - 2 hours, including driving to and from. Do I own <i>Despicable
Me 2</i>? No, I do not, and I won't own a DVD copy, ever. Was it worth it? The
evening with the kids was so much fun, but that has almost nothing to do with
the thingness of the movie<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Despicable
Me 2</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(Steve Carell?
Hilarious. The plot? Meh). A bit pricey, but better than if we'd gone to a
regular cinema.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Let's compare that to a recent e-book
experience I had on my Kobo. I purchased<span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><i><a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/fatal-passage" target="_blank">Fatal Passage</a></i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>by the excellent Canadian writer Ken
McGoogan.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Fatal Passage</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>is the story of arctic explorer John
Rae, a man of seemingly superhuman strength and endurance, who discovered the
fate of the Franklin Expedition and paid dearly in reputation and honour for
his discovery. Total cost for the experience - $9.99. Total experience time -
probably 10 hours of rapt reading (I don't skim, plus I look at
footnotes), and 4 fantastic hours discussing, referring to, and re-reading
passages from the book with my wife, my kids, and with a group of friends on a
camping trip.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Do I own<span class="apple-converted-space"><i> </i></span><i>Fatal
Passage</i>? Why yes, I continue to own the e-book copy I purchased. I can lend
my Kobo device to my wife or kids (or anyone, for that matter) so they can read
the book, and I could re-read it at the same time on my iPhone. Was it worth
it? As experiences go, it was the bargain of the summer. I guarantee I will
remember McGoogan's book long after every last remnant of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Despicable Me 2</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>has left my brain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Back to the Library</span></b><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">So, let's say there<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>is</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>a pricing structure that demands a
public library pay more than the $10 I paid for<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Fatal Passage</i>. Let's even take
that price as high as $100 (I don't know if this price actually exists
anywhere but let's make it the extreme case). This is what would be called
"institutional pricing," and it exists because the use expectations
of an institution are considerably different from the use expectations of an
individual consumer. Realistically, my electronic copy of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Fatal Passage</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>will be used far fewer times than a
single library's electronic copy of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Fatal
Passage</i>. Far fewer people have borrowing access to my books than to the
books at the library.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Let's say the ratio is about a hundred to
one. For every one person that will access and use my electronic copy of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Fatal Passage</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>during its lifetime in my possession,
one hundred people will access and use the electronic copy owned by the Toronto
Public Library. Personally, I think the book is so damned good that I am<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>way</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>underestimating the library demand for
it, but let's stick with 100:1.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">If my single experience of the<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Fatal Passage</i><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>e-book was a super bargain at $10,
what does that mean about each TPL patron's experience of the book? We're
talking about $1000 of experiential value for (at the most extreme possible
price) $100. That's a<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b><i>discount</i></b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>of $900. Since it is extremely
unlikely any library was asked to pay $100 for an electronic copy of this book,
the experiential value discount only deepens in the real world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">There is another word for this discount -<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b><i>subsidy</i></b>. Publishers and
writers do indeed love libraries. We think librarians are some of the greatest,
most knowledgeable advocates for our work. They may even be, as Doctorow
suggests in his article, the new front-line salespeople for literature. It is
because writers and publishers value libraries in this way that our industry
agrees to provide such a magnificent experiential value subsidy to them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11pt;">Doctorow mentions twice that libraries
have suffered in "the age of austerity," and that seems hard to
dispute. Most public services have been financially constrained of late. But libraries
exist because of a balance of subsidy – both public and private. Money, in
either cash or discount pays for the bricks and mortar, the collections, the information
systems and salaries. It's important to keep in mind that neither publishers
nor writers have decreased our subsidy to libraries. If, in the age of
austerity, the balance of subsidy has been thrown off for libraries by decreases on the public side, it hardly seems sustainable or fair to expect
writers and publishers to take up the slack. After all, we’re paying cash for
our own bricks and mortar, information systems and salaries, and without those
things, there wouldn’t be much if any book production.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<b><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Summing Up<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Books are both things and experiences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">E-books are primarily experiences.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Experiences have value, and value comes at
a price.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The price for the book experience (both print and electronic) is, in
my opinion, a bargain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">5.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Libraries can provide the book experience
mostly for free (fines excluded).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">6.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Writers and publishers provide a huge
subsidy to libraries so they can provide the book experience mostly for free.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">7.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Neither writers nor publishers caused “the
age of austerity.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">8.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 11pt;">Give us a break.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(image courtesy Ken McGoogan, HarperCollins Canada and Kobo)</span><br />
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