More on electronic reserves -Reply -Reply

[KAREN SCHNEIDER]

I have received several private messages supporting what I have
said about deserving the right to make a living through our
(electronic) pens. Again, I was responding to the post Brian had
directed us to, and to the comment about librarians being
"scaredy cats."  I have been in far too many situations where
people thought flouting copyright law was inherently brave and
noble (though, oddly, they prefer to pay for other services they
enjoy).  

Ironically, most of us defending the right of individuals to earn a
living through writing--which again, was a perspective completely
ignored by the judge in the discussion I read--are vigorous
opponents of Malthusian tactics to impose fees on impoverished
public users.  I distinguish between the right of the public to have
access to information and the right of a college professor to use
systematic copying (or scanning, or whatever) to provide free
resources for students that  deny my publisher the payments for
books that ultimately turn into royalty checks for me.  And I have
very purposefully taken a first-person perspective in this
discussion because it is the author, I insist, who is often
overlooked when copyright is discussed.    

I too believe in copyright reform, and don't believe that the
current system serves us well.  We need to find a way to meet all
needs.  I suspect there are some very good solutions waiting to
be uncovered, but a solution that does not honor the right of a
writer to make a living is no solution at all.

Karen G. Schneider
opinions mine alone