The National Emergency Library is one of those well-intentioned ideas that were meant to be pushed back. Created by the Internet Archive, the platform has put 1.3 million pounds free at the checkout. The system was designed to complement the educators' book needs, as libraries across the country remained closed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Book publishers, on the other hand, didn't have it. A consortium of four publishers filed a complaint against the Internet Archive earlier this month. "Despite the nickname" open library ", AI actions go far beyond legitimate library services, violate copyright law and constitute voluntary digital piracy on an industrial scale," wrote Hachette, HarperCollins , Wiley and Penguin Random House in the Federal Government of New York. court suit.
The threat alone was enough. The Internet Archive announced today that the library will close on June 15 - two weeks before the original June 30 date.
"The complaint attacks the concept of any library owning and lending digital books, challenging the very idea of what a library is in the digital world," writes the organization. "This lawsuit contrasts with some university publishers who initially expressed concerns about the NEL, but ultimately decided to work with us to provide access to those cut off from their physical schools and libraries. We hope that similar cooperation will be possible here, and the publishers are canceling their costly assault. "
The Internet Archive goes on to cite all of the educators who took advantage of the offer, as well as a librarian who used it to provide front-line workers with survival manuals. However, despite these well-being stories, the editors have not budged. Among other things, companies challenged the lack of AI license fees and other agreed restrictions, such as traditional libraries.
This is a long-standing complaint by publishers against the Internet Archive, going as far as accusing the organization of "voluntary digital piracy on an industrial scale". In the end, it seems that packing up a few weeks earlier was the path of least resistance, although IA closes hopefully my collaboration for the future, writing: "Let's build a digital system that works."
