Macmillan CEO John Sargent: 'We're Not Trying to Harm Libraries' - Publishers Weekly

Panzer was just taking his afternoon nap, when, suddenly, he was shaken from his kitty bed by booing and hissing coming from the Catosphere. Hopping into the Panzermobile, he followed the caterwauling to the Publishers Weekly site. There our brave kitty boy found a post about publisher Macmillan's embargo on libraries. Panzer told you yesterday about the American Library Association's (ALA) letter to the House Judiciary Committee about Macmillan and other publishers.

According to the post by Andrew Albanese, Macmillan CEO John Sargent has released a letter to librarians and the American Library Association (ALA) about Macmillan's embargo of libraries. Starting November 1, Macmillan will only allow libraries to purchase one copy of their new ebooks until two months after the ebooks publication date. CEO Sargent's letter basically repeats the same argument he has been using to place the embargo. That people check out ebooks from the library instead of buying the physical book. He says this hurts Macmillan, so he won't change his decision. The post includes links to other Publishers Weekly posts about the embargo and a link to a copy of the letter. You will want to read the letter.

Who's on the House Judiciary Committee?

Panzer says, "So he doesn't want to 'Harm Libraries', he wants to 'Harm Library Patrons.' Those same library patrons he wants to buy his books. Makes this little kitty want to run right out and buy a Macmillan book."

Note: This is a long-medium length post. Bring a cup of tea and a muffin for today's reading selection. If you want to follow the links, bring another cup of tea and two muffin.

To read the post tootle over to Macmillan

To read yesterday's post about the House Judiciary Committee, tootle over to  Digital Antitrust

Libraries Take E-Book Lending Fight into Antitrust Territory - Copyright and Technology

Today, Panzer decided to make a stop at the Copyright and Technology site. With a little digging in the posts, our inquisitive, traveling kitty found one about the libraries' on-going fight with Macmillan and other ebook publishers. Panzer told you about the problems which brought about this dispute last week.

Bill Rosenblatt's post addresses the American Library Association's (ALA) problems with access to ebooks from the major publishers. Publisher Macmillan announced earlier this year it would start a two month embargo on libraries' access to new ebooks. Since Macmillan's announcement the ALA complained to the publisher, started a library patrons' petition and most recently sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee. The Committee is investigating antitrust/anticompetition allegations against major corporations. In the letter to the House Judiciary Committee the ALA also presented the fact Amazon doesn't make its books available to libraries. In his post, Mr. Rosenblatt points out Amazon does allow Prime members to have access to, "check out," read ebooks and then "return" them. There are so many links included in this post, that this little kitty gave up counting them.

My head is starting to hurt.

Panzer says, "This fight is just getting more and more complicated."

Note: This is long, long post. Bring a cup of tea, a cup of hot cocoa, and three muffins for today's reading selection. If you plan to follow the links included in the post, bring a thermos of tea, a thermos of cocoa, and two dozen muffins.

To read the post tootle over to libraries e-book lending

To read Panzer previous post about the letter to the Judiciary Committee, tootle over to Congress

Congressional Leaders Back Independent Copyright Office - PW (Publisehrs' Weekly)

Today, Panzer made another trip to the Publishers' Weekly site. After a little digging around our inquisitive kitty found a post about the Copyright Office.

According to the post by Andrew Albanese, the House Judiciary Committee has proposed making the (U.S.) Copyright Office independent from the Library of Congress. Now, the Copyright Office is controlled by the Librarian of Congress. The change would allow the Copyright Office to have their own budget, technology and leadership control. The Judiciary Committee is now accepting public comments on the proposal.

It's an important job.

Panzer says, "Do you see the number across my nose on the photo at the top of this blog page? The Copyright Office gave that number to the Cats and Crime blog. It shows this is a copyrighted periodical. The Copyright Office keeps track of everybody's copyrights to make sure nothing gets stolen."

Note: This is a medium-sized post. Bring a cup of tea and half a muffin for today's reading selection.

To read the post, tootle over to Copyright Office