Bookshare would be far more like a lending library if they had to possess and keep the physical books and could only hand out as many instances as they possess. This would of course be a far harder technical system than bookshare currently supports and is not required under the current copyright law. However these differences do keep it from being a classic lending library as far as I am concerned. On 12/11/09, Shelley L. Rhodes <guidinggolden@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > Hi Denese, > > This is an interesting question. And you know the Bean Library, who has > been providing free digital books for years, smile, did a study and found > that actually the authors and publishers get more money and more attention, > smile, if their books are available as electronic text. The reason is a > large one. If I read a book, I am going to recommend it to others, buy it > for Christmas presents, and mention it to my colleagues and friends. Not to > mention write reviews of it on sites like Amazon. Amnd statistically > according to Bean's research the majority of people who use electronic texts > follow this pattern. > > I also look at the other things I "pay" for this privilage, mainly the work > time and equipment I have invested. If i had universal access I would be > o.k. with that, but I look at Bookshare as a library, and I also look at the > price I pay in the time I spend scanning, time the average person who goes > to the bookstores and the like doesn't have to spend. Not to mention the > cost of the scanning equipment i have purchased and maintained, and the time > dedicated to getting books ready for Bookshare. > > Smile. > > Not to split hairs, but... the used bookstores the author doesn't get > anything from, nor do they from the book swop sites, smile. Just a point of > reference, smile. > > And actually most authors unless they are really good get a flat rate for > the book they publish. They might get royalities if the book proves to be a > good one, but for beginners it is a flat rate to sell the rights to a book. > I know at least in Boston the gowing rate for some kids books is $500 my > brother was looking into it. Depending on the contract the author signs, > they might get royalties, or they might not. Sometimes they just sell the > rights to the book to a particular publisher particularly if they are just > starting out. > > > Shelley L. Rhodes, VRT > > Guide dogs for the Blind Alumni Association > www.guidedogs.com > > Reading a book is like rewriting it for yourself. You bring to a novel, > anything you read, all your experience of the world. You bring your history > and you read it in your own terms. -Angela Carter, novelist and journalist > (1940-1992) > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Denise Thompson > To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > Sent: Saturday, December 12, 2009 6:32 PM > Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: Something interesting > > > Hi > > At risk of beheading, I agree that reading print materials- books should > be available to everyone. However that we can read them virtually free is > questionable. I know we pay a membership fee to BKS but is it very nominal > and the authors and publishers are loosing money by allowing their books to > be made available to us. As much as I enjoy being able to read virtually > unlimited books a year, it doesn't really seem fair completely. I have some > friends who are on limited incomes and love to read, but they can't afford > to read the amount of books I read each year. They're limited to seeking out > second hand book stores or going places that have used book swaps, etc. And > because they also have disabilities it makes finding books harder for them > because of the travel involved. So my most magnanimous self says we should > have to pay some sort of nominal price for downloading books that goes back > to the authors and publishers like the sale of any book. The more selfish > part of myself says lets keep things the same. I suppose I can ease my > conscience by thinking of bKS as a library and I'm checking out books to > read. > Denise > > > > At 12:06 PM 12/11/2009, you wrote: > > New Petition Seeks to Gain Support of Access to Books for All > A new petition has been launched which seeks to gain support of writers > and others for equal access to printed material. Some groups, including some > book publishers, oppose this idea claiming it will circumvent their > copyrights of the books. But others consider the ability to read the same > books as everyone else a fundamental right. The treaty will be discussed at > the World Intellectual Property Organization meeting in Geneva next week. > Thanks to @circulating on Twitter for sending this in. Via Boing Boing > ---------------- > "If you go without playing the trumpet for one day, no one knows, two > days, only you know, and more than three days without practicing, girl you > better look out, because everyone will know!" > Today, I find myself constantly saying those words, just to get myself > going, to not give up, and it works. Since I learned to play the trumpet at > the tender age of 10, I have spent so much passion and much diligence with > that instrument that I will not give up on it. Sometimes my instrument puts > me into awkward situations where I feel like they won't ever end, but the > trumpet gives me a lot of hope with the majestic, crystal-clear sound it > brings to my ears. > ---------------- > Chela Robles > E-Mail: cdrobles693@xxxxxxxxx > MSNWindowsLive Messenger: cdrobles693@xxxxxxxxxxx > Skype: jazzytrumpet > > -- Soronel Haetir soronel.haetir@xxxxxxxxx To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.