Bye Bye Gigapedia/Library.nu

Of course, I've never downloaded a free book in PDF before....so, how did I find out about this?????.....

Bye Bye Library.nu


Library.nu, formerly gigapedia, is just the latest victim of the organized effort of commercial publishing to prevent the distribution of information in the absence of the dollar. I've had many students praise the website for saving them loads of money, especially in an era where textbook costs are insane, leading many professors (like me) to abandon them entirely (well, I won't be using a textbook for intro anthropology classes again).

Academics are increasingly alarmed by the tactics and the policies of commercial publishers, particularly with their journals. Several mathematicians, for example, recently boycotted all journals owned by a powerful publishing corporation (which I won't name as I have something in review at a journal owned by it...hey, I don't have tenure....).

Mathematicians Organize Boycott of a Publisher

The concerted effort to control information is scary. The debate over SOPA and PIPA just scratches the surface, and most people don't appreciate how parasitically systemic and global the tentacles of control are. Just consider Congress's efforts to limit open access (supported, paradoxically, by the AAA).

AAA Contra Open Access

Archaeologists have also been upset with this process. Mike Smith, for example, has been a vocal (and at times entertaining) critic of opponents of information through his blog.

Publishing Archaeology

Anyway, where did I begin? Oh yes, library.nu. What bothers me about the joint action is not that now I will have to head to the library to check out that book and get a TA to photocopy it. Instead, it is the insidious side of control over the flow of information and the flow of cash. My university, for example, is involved in a lengthy copyright infringement battle over professors posting scans of readings on the school's blackboard system. We have to be careful. Publishing companies have a vested interest in limiting our freedom to distribute information to students. The textbook rep who plagues the corridors of my department, for example, tells me that the I can customize a textbook and include all those added readings in the books themselves, reducing the cost for students. My response now is to eliminate the textbook entirely (afterall, anybody see any similarity between Kottak's textbooks and Weekend at Bernie's?). I'll tread carefully in how I make readings available and those I choose.