Learn to write, scab.

I found this post so blisteringly stupid that I nearly dry-heaved.

Matt, Eric Liu is worth a thousand of you. The reason his "jargon" sounds like bullshit to you is because you are an ignorant child.

It isn't because of DRM. It is because that is how intellectual property licensing works. If you want writers to be encouraged to write books, then they should be paid for each book they sell. If the writer wants to give it away for free, they have that right. But just because it is a library doesn't mean that they should be able to distribute unlimited copies of a writer's work.

@4, it's ridiculous that the library has to buy a new license every time it has to check out an e-book to a patron. That would be equivalent to buying a new hardback book for every patron who wants it. It's dragging e-books backward, away from the technological advantages implied by their very existence. Maybe we should print out emails to read them, too.

In 1993, the City of Seattle put out a RFP for proposals to reform the library system, with an eye towards electronic communications.

As an independent consultant, I put in a bid that proposed that the city focus on the Internet as the delivery mechanism for text knowledge rather than expansion of buildings.

Get a fucking job.

Ah yes, the libertarian complains about DRM and buying multiple copies of ebooks . . . and so it begins.

@5, it doesn't. They have to have a separate license for each copy that circulates, not each circulation. This is exactly parallel to physical books; the same book can't be checked out more than once at the same time. This isn't actually all that stupid. If the library wants to circulate more copies of ebooks, they should buy more copies of them. They're not in the business of giving away infinite copies of new releases for free.

@6, and you didn't get your bid because you're an idiot. Ever think of that?

"We are additive to the ecosystem of solid book products" is the funniest thing I've heard in a while. This is exactly the kind of management-theory baloney that's killing the library system. Way too much emphasis on buzzword theory and electronic systems that frequently don't even work, way too little emphasis on keeping the damn doors open.

It's a classic example of too much management finding too much management work to be done, simply because they're there. If the management went away, there'd be less management work done, but the end result -- people checking materials out of their branches -- would be unchanged or even improved. Eric Liu should be putting in shifts down at the branches. The libraries should be open 8 AM to 10 PM seven days a week; THEN think about being additive to the ecosystem. Or not.

@ 1, 2, 3, 7 -- Welcome, Seattle Public Library staffers!

@ 4 -- But the library does not rebuy books every year. They can be read an infinite number of times. In the same way, a pdf or epub file can be read an infinite number of times.

@ Levislade -- This is actually a pretty divisive issue for libertarians. There's large crowds on both sides of it.

One of the Strangercrombie items should have been the authority to direct Unpaid Intern Matt Luby to attend whatever "events" the winner wanted, for like, a week or something.

You guys could have broke the bank with that one.

@8-FTW.

Having attended some meetings with bigwigs at large libraries systems, I can safely say they are usually useless and full of jargon filled speeches that often conceal a complete lack of anything to actually talk about. Important topics are covered in the back rooms. I assume most organizations function the same way.

@ Fnarf -- I am glad you shared my enthusiasm for that line. I loved that he said "ecosystem," btw. Just a bunch of big words strung together.

I used to sit in a lot of university administrative committees and hearings. The library board reminded me very much of that experience--people painfully detached from reality, worrying about mission statements, and creating more bureaucracy to fix the old bureaucracy.

I love this post. I could hear the collective bunching of Sloggers' panties throughout the land as I read it. Well done.

I use the library ebooks.

As far as I know, they pay an overall licensing fee to Overdrive, which licenses ebooks to many libraries around the country. I don't know if the number of books available for checkout makes a difference in the licensing fee, or if overdrive offers the entire catalog they have.

They have 3(?) formats of DRM'ed books. If you're worried about DRM, the mobipocket format is strippable (and once stripped, readable on any device). The Adobe ones, not so much. Also, the library ebooks are only compatible with specific readers. The kindle and iphone/ipad are not compatible; the nook, sony & kobo readers are compatible for sure. I've also heard that Overdrive is supposed to come out with an iphone/ipad app very soon, which would allow folks to read the library ebooks on those devices.

I actually sent an inquiry about becoming an SPL board member, since there was a vacancy (I'm relatively young & tech-savvy, which which is not represented on the board). I never heard back, and the position has since been appointed. I guess I tried.

Further proof that mediocrity rises to the top. Great post unpaid intern!

For someone like me, who knows nothing about the specifics of the Seattle Public Library or its board members, the post was definitely funnier than the meeting sounded. And I'm kind of guessing that was the point?

Yet another lazy rehash of the Matt Luby shtick. Spew bile at humanity in every direction, deny the legitimacy of your critics, repeat. We get it, Matt. You hate every living person on Earth. You're smarter than all of them. And anybody who doesn't love what you do must have evil motives.

It's a predicable script and it's aging poorly.

@ laterite -- You're right, yet it still confuses me why people get upset about calling out obtuse bureaucrats for being obtuse bureaucrats.

@ eys -- There is a new iPad app called Bluefire (sp?) that allows you to convert the library's ebooks to an iPad-readable format. The iPhone thing is still coming along. At the very least, I think you would make a good board member--the age range represented on the board is badly skewed, something that was readily apparent in the meeting yesterday.

@ Rotten -- Thanks!

@ Canuck -- That was definitely the point. The wonkery on display at the meeting got my eyes half-closed at one point.

@9, thanks for clarifying. THAT makes sense. @4 doesn't.

I, too, have been a fan of the SPL's eBook program for about two years now. Through OverDrive, which supplies most eBook lending services for libraries and corporate customers, they offer around 17,000 titles right now. Most titles are offered in ePub format, others in PDF and .mobi. The ePub format is compatible with almost every e-reader except the Kindle who have so far opted not to support it.

While I agree that the licensing systems being forced on electronic media are ludicrous in the face of the current technology, I can say I really haven't experienced a problem so far. Some titles are unavailable, but a brief stop on the waiting list gives me first crack at them when they get "checked" back in.

What I'd prefer is a licensing system where the entire collection was available, with no limitations per-title. In lieu of "purchasing" the titles, the library would simply pay a small royalty each time a book was lent. Hell, I'D often pay a small royalty to purchase the additional license if I didn't feel like waiting for a title.

While we're talking about eBooks and libraries, I'd like to vent my pet peeve: Libraries are RENTING ACCESS to these things, they're not actually BUYING them. With a hard copy book, the library owns it and the upkeep cost is just rebinding/ replacing if the book is worn and it if it's deemed worthy. With and eBook the library is paying every year for the same thing, and if it's supplier collapses or the library can't keep up payments those books are just gone.

@ diqqum -- I thought it was 70,000, not 17,000? I remember them saying that they have 200,000 unique titles in their digital collection, at least half of which are audio. They were saying that last year was the year of the digital audio book, this year is the year of the ebook. Anyways, if you are going to stick with the shitty DRM system, I think your solution of unlimited checkouts supported by small royalty payments would make much more sense.

@ dwight -- Well, SPL does both, I gathered. They do rent books, but there are also some that they purchase outright. I don't know what the balance is.

Luby! I admire that you have developed a recognizable and overwhelmingly hated voice. It will become your greatest asset in a maybe-paid-someday future.

@ sarahlloyd -- Can you go write this in a fortune cookie and pop it on my tray next time I go to Chinatown? That would be the most awesome fortune cookie ever.

i blame it all on the Libraries for going "Public" in the mid 19th century; that is when this whole downward slide began, you know --by letting the poor, & the womenfolk and minorities "free" access to the printed word.

So instead of your usual "everybody-but-me-is-an-idiot" bullshit how about you tell us just how the lending of e-books should work.

And no, the library buying one copy and distributing it freely to anyone who wants to download it is not a valid answer. Not every writer aspires to be an Unpaid Intern -- some actually deserve to be paid for their work.

How does one "return" a downloaded book to the library? You can't just drop it in the bookdrop outside the door....

@28,

I believe it automatically expires after a month, at which point you can no longer access the e-book.

Let's see - you don't believe in public libraries OR private property ... you're amused by "people painfully detached from reality" ... and what else now?

You've probably stumbled into one of the few spots on earth that would unpay to retain you.

Ebook readers, when it's your turn in line to download a book you've been waiting for, be considerate. Rather than trying to read it in the 2-week time period allowed, just go ahead and download the book, rip off the DRM, and then "return" the DRMed book for the next person to read. That way you can keep it for as long as you need without blocking other people on the waiting list.

Also, to Library IT folks and Overdrive in particular -- PDF is not a valid ebook format. If you can't get the book in Mobi or EPub, don't bother. PDF sucks, and perpetuating the myth that it's a valid ebook format just hurts everyone.

I think we should work on acknowledging that while many people here don't like Matt, it's still possible for him to write valid posts. Having attended such meetings they often are incredibly removed from reality, and there's some value in pointing out the disconnects between the public and the public servants.

I also think the kid has chops, and is insightful...

wrong, ideologically on all the issues but who am I to say?

slash/larry king/krusty the clown voice end slash or whatever it is you do..

@ Citizen R, keshmeshi -- I think the license expires after two weeks, not a month. Also, I gather that you can "return" it sooner than that if you like. They didn't say what that meant, but I imagine it would have something to do with deactivating the license online.

@ ToddO -- (nodding head vigorously about PDF)

@ judgmentalist -- Well said! My chief goal is to be a good writer, not necessarily to be a good anarchist writer.

@ pissy mcslogbot -- Aww, you're going to make me blush.

I find it interesting how quick people relay their own prejudices of an author on every single piece of work they do. So Luby was an ass a time or two in Slog; now every single post he does is a personal affront on whatever it is he's writing about? I wonder what would happen if the Stranger slapped his name on a post by any other author (except maybe Mudede. NOBODY can write like Mudede writes, and really, who else would want to?) with that person's blessing, just to see the reaction from y'all? I'd be entertained.