Read on Twitter
The words “library” & “archive” have objective meaning. Any collection you decide is a public lending library doesn’t automatically become so. https://twitter.com/chrisj_lewis/status/1304061169267814406
Getting real tired of explaining that public lending libraries PAY FOR THE BOOKS THEY LEND. Authors are compensated for the purchased books. Internet Archive uploading unlimited, unpaid copies of books isn’t library work, it’s stealing under the guise of public access.
Internet Archive has done a world of good. But it’s public lending library, specifically & ONLY that part of the project, is theft. And I love watching the same people that don’t support libraries suddenly become Library Defenders when IA got themselves into trouble.
Libraries are not meant to be a place that steals profits from authors. There’s a balance here & it is beyond selfish to demand authors just stop making money so y’all can download whatever you want whenever you want for free.
Just b/c some content’s on the internet doesn’t mean access is, or should be, a free for all jfc
So long as we live in a capitalist society where authors need to get paid to pay their bills, their intellectual property has monetary value & we should respect that in a reasonable way.
Most librarians are not on the side of Internet Archive in this case & in fact many librarians have been harassed by IA defenders insisting these backwards librarians don’t care about public access (which, uh, lol)
There’s a conversation to be had about exploitative digital payment schemes for lending librarians. “Stealing all the things & slapping a library label on it” is not that conversation.
Oops forgot to block Internet Archive. Forgot they’re name searching & reply guying like a bunch of weirdos.
