The librarian who faced Google

Peter Brantley leads the fight against the Agreement of the giant of Internet

COBROKEN PAULA MADRID 29/10/2009 08:40 Updated: 29/10/2009 19:01

Peter Brantley thinks that the European books will be excluded from the Google Agreement.

Peter Brantley thinks that the European books will be excluded from the Google.M Agreement. Patxot

“Google deceived to us”. Peter Brantley, director of the organization librarian without spirit of profit Internet Files and ex- director of the Federation of Digital Libraries of the USA, explains thus to Public how his against the book digitalization of the giant of Internet began crossed. And he continues: “When they began, they did it under the premise of which it was only for searches. What we did not know is that during two years authors and publishers negotiated with to sell these books in the Network without they demanded to them”.

It was the lie, the picaresque one of a company that digitized seven million books for commercial aims without requesting permission to anybody, which motivated to him to lead the Open Book Alliance, a species of union in which now are authors and publishers, and that has commanded the critics against Google. An action that, at the moment, already has obtained that the company of Internet must renegotiate its famous Agreement.

“The 9 of November, we will know which is the result of the judgment and what we hoped is that Google has altered it in such a way that the interests of the authors better are represented. What I believe that will happen, in addition, it is that the European books will finally be excluded from the Agreement. That is to say, that will not be able to be visualized nor to be sold through Google”, it assures.

Brantley, that participated yesterday in the ANELE days on e-book, is not against the book digitalization. What it does not like is that a few can be benefitted from the access to a universal culture. For that reason, for him it is very important that “the books are available in different platforms, or are those that mount the booksellers, publishing houses or the libraries”.

Indeed, her organization finishes creating Bookserver, a platform search of e-books that she tries “to democratise the access to the book”. This means that the user will enter this page, will key a title and Bookserver will show a list to him with all the bookstores, libraries and publishing houses of the world where it can secure that title of form online. Later, the user will only have to enter one of the Web and to unload it or to only visualize it.

Control for booksellers

For Brantley, the great difference with respect to the platforms Google Editions and Amazon is that “e-book will have format epub, that is to say, open for all the devices, not like the Kindle, and in addition will allow that the publishing houses and the bookstores continue maintaining the control of their business, since they will be in charge to put the price and of the distribution”. Google and Amazon prefer to control this part of the business.

This librarian confirms that the access to books will be online. Nevertheless, whereas it understands that the physical bookstores have it difficult, yes trusts the survival of the libraries. “It is very possible that those of the institutions stop being proprietors of the books that they have and they work with licenses of loans in electronicses. On the other hand, the communitarian libraries will change their paper and will have another type of services with social aims”, Brantley affirms, the type that has planted to him expensive to the giant major of the Network.

Platforms, books and generations

war of platforms

The fight no longer is in the format, not even in the device. The true battle to obtain readers of e-books is in the distribution platforms. As Sara Lloyd in the ANELE days declared yesterday, “that she is able to create easiest for the user will be the one who prevails”.

e-readers empty

In Spain still she does not have as soon as contained with copyright apt for e-readers. The publishing houses think that the moment of the truth will arrive in 2010.

generations

Peter Brantley indicated yesterday that her daughter of eight years prefers e-book because “she does not have to pass pages. What for her it is an obstacle, for us is a pleasure”. It is the generational change.

7 Commentaries

#1 Vota Votes

14 Dura_Europos 29-10-2009 09:09

It goes: “It is very possible that those of the institutions stop being proprietors of the books that they have…” the door of the libraries is opened so that they receive the readers who until now read free in the “Houses of the Culture”. http://www.openbookalliance.org/ Be won't front group to the service of the publishing industry? The next news of them will be an attack against the P2P that is the one that de facto is democratising the access to the book and you do not take the hair me. Free and gratuitous science, that already we paid it in the taxes to maintain to universities and investigation. And to trim the right to receive by a work realized for years, the plumbers have not been doing it. I do not receive myself, I would not do it…
#2 Vota Votes

3 Manuko 29-10-2009 09:31

This gentleman marks the way towards distopía of Richard Stallman: http://lp.jurid.net/linux/stallman.htm
#3 Vota Votes

13 googlenomalodeltodo 29-10-2009 10:03

This uncle less makes of everything promulgate a democratization of the culture. That one does not forget to us that google is a company, one that offers great things to us to ridiculous costs (often free), but a company. The objective of google was to have a digitized book base open to read ONLINE, but the publishing houses are angry, so so that the chiringuito continues working, google has decided to sell books IN UNLOADING, that is not the same. Much worse it is the European directive in which librarian commits itself to a remuneration by the loan, something that we want or no, it repels in the user, since or pays the administration or it pays to the user renting the book. The industry the leisure is greedy, and she becomes dangerous with partisan allies like this. Greetings
#4 Vota Votes

-5 lol 29-10-2009 10:47

I prefer to pay to a library PUBLISHES to lend a book (in the end that money will be repelled in the citizens) that to a company whose unique aim, we do not forget it, is the PROFIT SPIRIT. And Google is a company, with better or worse services, but a company that begins to want to control it everything.
#5 Vota Votes

6 11:34 does not finish squaring 29-10-2009

This man, who appears like the protector of our rights, leads an Alliance formed by other so many multinationals. More transparency would have to be something, in entelíneas, its objective is that the great publishing houses do not lose their quotas of market in favor of Google, another great multinational. Its main preoccupation is that it is not Google who decides that commercializes each unit. Paladines in this world something is more difficult to find, and they are not indeed characterized to be financed without any risk
#6 Vota Votes

0 redante 29-10-2009 12:07

There are many private companies that give to magnificent services public, like for example the MIT, the British Enclopedia, National Geographic or Zoological of Madrid and esoperamo that the newspaper I PUBLISH. Their employees and owners make much money and, nevertheless, a great part of its business consists of continuing protecting sophisticated forms of communal property. Google is also a deprived company, but nobody will be able to mention no other organization, private or public, of the north or the south, European or amerticana that has made so much democratise the culture. I do not see the importance of attacking Google to give viability to another company/organization that is so obliging with the union of the publishers and the creators (only to whom it goes to them of cinema, those that sells much). To face Google, one of the merits that the journalist does not assign to Brantley either is something of the other world, because the facts that the enemies proliferate like mushrooms, exceed to him throughout enemy. the project of Peter Brantley me parede that has much merit and that would have to follow, but to present it as a especuie of Robin Hood of the culture seems to me something exaggerated. It is truth that Google is becoming too important and that Europe or some university would have to found an Observatory of Google not to stop weighing its movements, coming up the possibility with practical monopolists or any other form of aggression to the liberties.
#7 Vota Votes

3 Cirne 29-10-2009 12:47

The background of the problem this in the present law of the Intellectual Property. Of some form, the authors, only the authors, must be repaid. But he is not right for the users of the culture, the terms of the present Law of the Intellectual Property, because he protects of an exaggerated form to a minority of the population, the AUTHORS, against a great majority, the REST OF the POPULATION. Reason why I consider that he must be changed. I consider exaggerated that, for example: He protects myself to the authors during 70 years after the death of the author. With 10 years of the date of registry, the work would have to be of public dominion. Author to a person considers itself who copies, for example interprets. Or an adapter or translator. Author only can (n) be () that I create (they created) the original work. In addition I propose that of the virtual library Cervantes, it has in its digital catalog all the works of public dominion and that the internauts can unload them freely. The best thing is not to vote those parties that do not take in their program, the modification of the Law. Can explain me what is the reason, by that a medicine, is public to the 20 years and they are possible to be made generic, and in the Law of of the Intellectual Property, the terms are so great.