Can Publishers Make E-Books Self-Destruct? Librarians Fight Back

So you're the next kid in line at the library to check out a classic like The Great Gilly Hopkins, by Katherine Paterson. Old Yeller, by Fred Gipson. Ramona Quimby, Age 8, by Beverly Cleary.

If you're trying to check out those children's classics in e-book form, however, you may discover that the book's not there anymore -- because it just self-destructed.

That's the scenario HarperCollins is laying out with its new e-book policy for libraries, which limits the number of times an electronic book can be checked out to just 26. After that, the library would be forced to re-purchase the book - every time the book hits 26 checkouts.

Librarian Andy Woodworth has started a Change.org petition to tell HarperCollins that this policy is bad for readers everywhere.

Ever since HarperCollins (owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.) unveiled the policy in February, libraries around the country have pledged not to buy HarperCollins e-books, and a boycott is still on.

Woodworth, an award-winning blogger, librarian and library advocate, argues that limiting the number of times a library book can be checked out threatens the role, and the freedom, of libraries:

"The idea of 'here today, gone tomorrow' works against librarian ideals of collecting for benefit of posterity," Woodworth told us at Change.org. "This policy threatens that by placing an limited lifespan on an e-book. It would make books disappear from the virtual shelf not from wear and tear, but from an arbitrary number determined by a company."

Not only that, Woodworth continued, there's also a larger issue of how digital content is treated by corporations.

"Are you actually purchasing ownership of a song, movie, or book? Or are you just licensing it? If you are purchasing it, how much control are you given over what you own? Can you put it on any device you own? Can you lend it? If you are licensing it, what rights do you have? Can they withdraw those rights at any time? Are they making decisions on your behalf?"

"Take a moment to read the legal terms for using your Kindle, Nook, Kobo, or iPod/iPad," Woodworth said. "Who has the last word on the content that you have purchased: you or the people who made them? I would urge people to sign the petition as it is an outrageous burden to place on the shoulders of an institution that works to provide literature and information to all who seek it. Limited eBook circulations are wrong not just for libraries but for our shared digital content future."

The American Library Association and other groups are also chiming in, telling HarperCollins that arriving at an arbitrary number is bad for readers, librarians and publishers, since it limits the number of times readers would be exposed to the book.

Join Woodworth in his campaign by signing the petition - then sharing it with your friends. The Twitter hashtag for the topic is #hcod, and a shorter link to the petition is: http://sl.change.org/hcod

Photo credit: Andy Woodworth via Agnostic, Maybe