Publishers Weekly Soapbox tweeted an update this morning on the Librarian Boycott of HarperCollins, which I blogged about last week in a couple of posts.
Some highlights from the article include:
Libraries are one of the last true commons in modern life, celebrating and championing the right to read and freedom of access to information. Stewardship of the written record is integral to our mission. Libraries don’t have a financial stake in the publishing business so much as society has a cultural stake in the future of libraries.
Currently, librarians rely on the First Sale doctrine—which makes it legal to circulate materials we purchase and manage—along with our trustworthiness. We enforce copyright laws as much as we can, teaching our patrons about fair use and piracy.
Another troubling aspect of the HarperCollins message is the attempt to prevent resource sharing, which is a core value for librarians.
