Mike Masnick, TechDirt; Giant Publisher Macmillan Goes To War Against Libraries
"In September, librarians around the US launched a campaign -- ebooksforall.org urging Macmillan to rethink this awful plan:
This embargo limits libraries’ ability to provide access to information
for all. It particularly harms library patrons with disabilities or
learning issues. One of the great things about eBooks is that they can
become large-print books with only a few clicks, and most eBook readers
offer fonts and line spacing that make reading easier for people who
have dyslexia or other visual challenges. Because portable devices are
light and easy to hold, eBooks are easier to use for some people who
have physical disabilities.
Macmillan is the only major publisher restricting public libraries’
ability to purchase and lend digital content to their communities.
Before the embargo took effect, we collected 160,000 signatures from
readers who urged Macmillan not to go through with their plan. And we
delivered these signatures in person to CEO John Sargent. Sadly, he did
not listen."
Jason Blevins, The Colorado Sun; Backcountry.com breaks its silence amid trademark lawsuit controversy to apologize and say “we made a mistake”
"“To be fair, this is not about Marquette Backcountry Skis. It’s about
the small nonprofits, it’s about the guides and the small businesses
they targeted. This has all been about the lawsuits filed against the
people in front of me and the ones coming for the people behind me,”
[David] Ollila said. “What we’ve witnessed here is that it takes 25 years to
build a business and a reputation and it can be lost very quickly with
these poor decisions. I wonder how the market will react to this. I
wonder if they can be forgiven.”...
“This boycott isn’t about a word,” [Jon Miller] said. “What is happening is that a
corporation has a stranglehold over our culture in a battle over a word
they literally don’t even own.”"
Alex Fox, Jeffrey Brainard, Science; University of California boycotts publishing giant Elsevier over journal costs and open access
"The mammoth University of California (UC) system announced today it
will stop paying to subscribe to journals published by Elsevier, the
world’s largest scientific publisher, headquartered in Amsterdam. Talks
to renew a collective contract broke down, the university said, because
Elsevier refused to strike a package deal that would provide a break on
subscription fees and make all articles published by UC authors
immediately free for readers worldwide.
The stand by UC, which followed 8 months of negotiations, could have
significant impacts on scientific communication and the direction of the
so-called open-access movement, in the United States and beyond. The
10-campus system accounts for nearly 10% of all U.S. publishing output
and is among the first U.S. institutions, and by far the largest, to
boycott Elsevier over costs. Many administrators and librarians at
U.S. universities and elsewhere have complained about what they view as
excessively high journal subscription fees charged by commercial
publishers."
