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OverDrive DRM. Boston Public Library Digital Restrictions Management.
By theszak on Sun, 02/10/2008 - 5:41am
by Ben Schwartz
http://bemasc.dynalias.net/wordpress/?p=843
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Protest
I spent the afternoon today at this protest against the stupid DRM
systems that libraries use for their digital audiobooks
(Mom, you know all about this and how annoying it is).
The protest was outside the main entrance to the Boston Public
Library, which distributes these restricted media files.
We handed out hundreds of pamphlets and talked to countless
people about the value of freedom of information.
Also, to attract attention, we wore bright yellow "hazmat" suits and
helmets.
All in all, it felt surprisingly effective, and I got the distinct
impression that of the dozens of people I talked to, most of them
correctly understood and appreciated our message.
It was not a hard sell.
There were lots of pictures taken; I'll post a link once they're up.
Unfortunately, the temperature fell at least ten degrees during the
three hours that we were out there, and hazmat suits are
surprisingly poor insulators.
By the end of the protest, I was numb, and shivering.
Luckily, we went next to the Trident Bookstore and Cafe, where I was
able to get a very large hot chocolate.
I could actually feel my core temperature
rising back to normal.
This entry was posted on Sunday, February 10th, 2008 at 1:38 am and
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One Response to "Protest"
1. the zak Says:
February 10th, 2008 at 4:44 am
by Charles W. Bailey, Jr.
http://libraryjuicepress.com/blog/?p=56
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Comments
zak, stop it Don't be
zak, stop it
Don't be posting others blog entry's in full here!
ban zak!!!!!! PLEEEEAAASE,
ban zak!!!!!!
PLEEEEAAASE, for the love of God and all things to do with UniversalHub, please ban zak
Easier than banning: filter him out
Rather than pleading with Adam to get rid of Zak, why not just filter his posts out if you don't want to read them? If you use the Universal Hub feed, you may be able to do this with your feed-reading software, or you can use the Yahoo! Pipe I made just now to prove it was possible:
http://pipes.yahoo.com/pipes/pipe.info?_id=aGCROjf...
(You can clone that to see how you might do the same for other posters who you find annoying.)
Zak needs a clue
Libraries use DRM because they'll be in deep legal trouble if they don't. Protesting to them is useless. (I work for the techie department of the Harvard libraries.)
in re: OverDrive DRM. Boston Public Library Digital Restrictions
Nonsense. Just do not accept Palladiated stuff.
> Libraries use DRM because they'll be in deep legal trouble if they don't.
> Protesting to them is useless.
> (I work for the techie department of the Harvard libraries.)
Don, Palladium was
Don, Palladium was shelved.
Note that we do make available links to (and contribute digital content to) many open access repositories. This material is out of copyright (usually published pre-1923).
However, no in-copyright digital content from a major publisher is available to libraries without DRM. I just want you to realize that you are asking us to exclude all this content -- the content that our users most frequently come looking for.
“Palladium was
“Palladium was shelved.”
Quite the opposite. Public outrage forced Palladium to be rebranded as the “Next-Generation Secure Computing Base” (NGSCB). Parts of it are already implemented in Windows Vista, where DRM controls are built right into the kernel. The next version of Windows will have even more of it. Just because they’re not advertising it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.
Or how about the “Digital Transition Content Security Act”, proposed by Democrats in 2005 to require computer hardware manufacturers to implement DRM controls that prevent playback of restricted media except over specially licensed, authenticated headphones. It would actually make computers without hardware DRM illegal. If we do not take a principled stand against DRM, the corporations and corrupt governments will legislate it into every component of our information system.
“Our mission is to serve the cultural, educational and informational needs of the people of the City and the Commonwealth.”
We had this protest, and are shouting this message, precisely because we feel that the advance of DRM runs directly counter to the cultural, educational, and informational needs of the people of Boston, Massachusetts, and the entire world. The BPL is possibly the largest circulating public library in the world. If you stand up against DRM, people will take heed. Otherwise, we will soon find that every mode of communication is censored by the copyright cartels. That is not a world in which "freedom of speech" has any real significance.
“we do make available links to (and contribute digital content to) many open access repositories.”
I am quite proud to live in a city whose library contributes to open access repositories. To me, this is evidence that you, and the library leadership, understand the value of freedom of information, and the danger of DRM.
“no in-copyright digital content from a major publisher is available to libraries without DRM.”
You mean, except audiobooks on CD?
“I just want you to realize that you are asking us to exclude all this content — the content that our users most frequently come looking for.”
I am not asking you to exclude this content. I am asking you to exclude DRM’d media files that contain it. If users want to read a book, and the publisher will not release a digital copy without DRM, then they can come to the library and borrow the book. If users want to listen to an audio recording, and the publisher will not license you to push non-DRM copies over the internet, then they can come to the library and borrow the CD set.
By distributing DRM’d media, you are buying a false convenience, at the cost of the public good.
“we have to use DRM or
“we have to use DRM or face horrible legal consequences.”
or not distribute DRM’d digital media. The MIT libraries have already made the right decision. They’re making Harvard look bad:
http://news-libraries.mit.edu/blog/archives/388/
“The MIT Libraries have canceled access to the Society of Automotive Engineers’ web-based database of technical papers, rejecting the SAE’s requirement that MIT accept the imposition of Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology. SAE’s DRM technology severely limits use of SAE papers and imposes unnecessary burdens on readers.”
The libraries have two choices:
1. Distribute DRM’d media files. This portion of their collection will expand over time as more media moves online, until libraries find that their entire collection can only be viewed on proprietary locked-down hardware that prevents printing, tracks people’s page views, and charges by the minute.
2. Reject DRM outright. Force the digital media distributors to accept the same terms as traditional media, whose books and CDs can be used by anyone anywhere, with copying limited by the law, not technological countermeasures.
Don’t believe me? Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html . It was published in 1997, when most of the implications were pure speculation. Today they are history, and we are only a few steps away from this conclusion.