Video on Demand From the Public Library 89
ye oulde library lover writes "In light of the recent story about Wal-Mart and movies on demand, readers should know there is a free service available from some public libraries that lets you download movies and tv shows. The service is just beginning, so selection is pretty mediocre, but the sponsors, Recorded Books and PermissionTV, make some big promises. If your library ponies up the dough for the top service, you will be able to download movies on the same day as their dvd release. All you need is a library card. You can see one of the early adopters — Half Hollow Hills Community Library in the library's blog. Look for MyLibraryDV."
Doesn't this exist already? (Score:2, Insightful)
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Does it run Linux? (Score:1)
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No. Windows only.
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In my library, we haven't gone to video yet, but we have DRM'ed downloadable audio books (from Overdrive) because that's the only way we can offer them without getting our asses sued off.
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Re:Doesn't this exist already? (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, funny thing, Libraries have been given special permission to lend things.
You should go to one some time.
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HUntington Library in NY here (Score:4, Informative)
The service is a disservice (Score:5, Interesting)
The main problem is this the company and the librarians and the broshures they hand out say it's for MP3 players. well it's not: it only plays on WMA 10 compabtible devices. This means no ipods, very few Mp3 players even the ones that play the older WMA files. It won't play on a mac and it won't play on linux computers. And it won't even play on older windows machines that don't have WM player 10. Sure you can download it but is granny gonna do that?
Also the way the check out works is that you can check it out once for two weeks, renew it once for two weeks, and then you can never check out the same book a second time, making it essential to have multiple fake library IDs if you want to get through some long book.
Now given that the libraries have fixed budgets I'm sure this resulting in the purchase of fewer CDs . The 95% of the world that does not have a WMA 10 compatible "MP3" player is subsidizing this.
If you want to use it you have to not only buy a WMP 10 compaitble Music player, but now you also have to use some new music management system different from the one you use for your other players to transfer the audio. You have to have a windows computer too.
I guess the most galling thing to me was that librarians kept showing me the printed broshure from the company saying it worked with any Mp3 player and insisting I must be mistaken.
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Audiobooks --which you're talking about-- are commercial recordings and as such are faced with the same problems as copyrighted music. Your library can and probably does provide thousands of recorded titles including music and spoken word.
What you're suggesting is the only really useful thing would be like them converting all their audio files to mp3s and making them av
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I wonder if you missed the main point of his post - that librarians are fooled by the brochure and don't realize the limitations on the software they are buying/using. By buying a system without knowing its limitations, they are not in a very good position to pay a fair price. And by continually giving patrons incorrect information, they are just causing confusion and wasted time.
Now, as for the "But if you want to subvert copyright DRM, audio
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Condescending? Probably, it comes from frustration at repeatedly witnessing common sentiment at a problem that could be addressed with effort to learn on anyone's part.
Same problem with these poorly-informed librarians relying too heavily on vendors for accurate information. That reliance, coupled with reluctance to obtain expertise, keeps many vendors in business.
Second, do you have no concept of the computer
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First, as I've said in other posts, libraries aren't free unless you plan on never paying taxes. Second, the fact that most portable audio players and all Macs (around half of which are owned by people over the age of 55, according to a recent survey) can't play these files should not be relegated to a quip about a "fashion accessory."
The sim
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I'm another librarian. I darn well know that many of the audiobooks that you can download through our catalog are DRMed WMA files that do not work on iPods and only work on certain mp3 players. (To add to the confusion, we're part of a library consortium and different people have negotiated different deals with different vendors, so the patrons in our county have access to three different types of audiobooks available for
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We do have one Mac with iTunes on it, and we do allow patrons to (carefully) purchase and download things to their iPods, but that's an i
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Checkout an issue? (Score:1)
Not sure about other people, once I've seen a movie that is it for the most part. I've moved on. I think I have seen the same movie maybe 3 times in my life. I have a whole bunch of old VHS and DVD's that have only ever been watched once.
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Re:Library? (Score:4, Insightful)
Either way, they continue to function as a repository of recorded media, be it printed or otherwise.
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IMHO, public libraries should be concentrating on building up resources within the community. Subscribing to an entertainment resource simply saps taxpayers dollars out of the communtiy and into the entertainment industry. I could see great value in public libraries building up large electronic data stores on an intranet. Subscribing to a movie download service simply puts the library in unfair competition with other local entertainment venues.
yep (Score:2)
Yeah, it's called the internet.
Why is it for individual libraries? (Score:5, Insightful)
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Because public libraries are local institutions, rather than federal.
"Wouldn't make more sense from a power by numbers point of view to have 1 online library that holds and distributes all the content?"
Who pays for it? Local governments pay for their own.
"If my library doesn't have a book, then I can get to have it shipped from another library that does have the book."
I'll bet this only works in the same county (i. e. under the authority of the same local gove
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Also, have you considered that there actuallly are Federal libraries [loc.gov] like, hrrm, say the Library of Congress? Why couldn't we get a digital subscription to thier collected works?
Also of note, is that most state funded University libraries are public places. While I am sure that most state citizens can't checkout books without being a student, I think that there are
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Our public library (in Massachusetts) will look for hard-to-find books and articles from about anywhere in the U.S., as far as I can tell. I've special requested articles in obscure journals that have ended up coming from various university libraries around the country. About 15 years ago
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One key difference is that the international digital library GP was describing would probably pay for CDs and DVDs with money from taxes, where the current BitTorrent system is funded by through the RIAA/MIAA legal departments.
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Not sure how the video system would work but I have access to two library that have audio book system similar to it. You can go to the library web site enter your library ID/passwprd and then download audio books w
it's a licensing thing (Score:1)
I Love Libraries (Score:5, Insightful)
Entertainment, information, fun, enlightenment, all for free.
Plus, even in these Internet days, you can still phone the library with a question and they will look up the answer!
Our local library has a really amazing collection of DVDs, both recent and classic and foreign films. Kind of like NetFlix without paying a monthly subscription fee.
It is inconceivable that one could create such an institution these days. No politician would ever - EVER - support the idea today. Can you imagine how the MPAA or RIAA would fight to prevent the free loans of their products? Could book publishers be far behind?
Libraries - gotta love them.
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Free? (Score:2)
I'm not saying I don't love 'em. But you have to realize that for those that aren't fortunate enough to get a significant amount of their budget from charitable donations, the money comes out of your pocket.
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A good idea (Score:2, Interesting)
Response to castr troy (Score:2, Informative)
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On Sunday afternoons, we open the doors and fling ourselves out of the way to avo
Such a deal (Score:5, Insightful)
Great. Now my local library, already facing a funding crunch to purchase non fiction books... Has yet another way to waste scarce cash on entertainment. Libraries are supposed to supplement Blockbuster and Netflix, and do the things they won't because there's no money in it - not compete with them.
Libraries in their race to become relevant - are becoming meaningless.
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If you library is cashed strapped, then they shouldn't do it. If you think they are anyways, get involved.
It is called a PUBLIC ligrary for a reason.
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Not that this will be the primary group of people interested in this service, but what about the elderly and disabled? It seems to me that they would find access to their local public library from their own home to be a valuable service. People who can't walk or drive to the library might still like to read books or watch movies from their library.
Or written more responsibly,
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While I am not one to say, "Buy lots o' books." The fees a library will pay to provide this service will be high, and IMHO might be better spent other places.
How long can this last? (Score:1)
Slashdotting a public library's website? (Score:5, Funny)
Mod parent up! (Score:1)
Funny? Eh. Insightful? Definitely. Wish I had the mod points...
I like the idea but... (Score:3, Interesting)
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Of course, the ideal solution is for public libraries to simply use standard file formats. Pe
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WM10 is discriminatory (Score:1)
Why does one need "library card"? (Score:2)
With physical media (books, CDs, DVDs) the card is an important proof, that one has no outstanding items before she/he can borrow more.
Why can't the Internet downloads be anonymous? To make sure, only local residents can view the material?
A silly restriction in the Internet age — instead of spending money on each library's card-verification software, web-server hardware et al., they should've hired Akamai or someone like that to carry the stuff for everyone.
Would've been far better and likely c
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Your library is trying to fit the new media into the old way(s) of doing business — not entirely unlike RIAA/MPAA.
While it made sense for each local library to stock their own copies of books, the dispersed storage of copies of downloadable files is foolish. It duplicates (tri
Windows only? (Score:2)
Yep, Windows only. [permissiontv.com].
Bastards.
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What choice do I have ? Pay the Microsoft tax, or
It's interesting how, on open source operating systems there is no DRM angle. Maybe because we realise that "open" means just that.
Back to you, fuckers !
Awe, so close (Score:2)
Please enter your library card number.
I looked for the 'signup now' button on their website, didn't see one.
Called, they told me I'd have to come in and apply in person.
Doh! Quite a drive from alabama just for a library card!!!!!
Anyone live near happy hollow hilly library that can run
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Libraries are responding to their customers (Score:5, Interesting)
No, libraries are responding to their customers. The customer is always right because the customer knows what he or she wants. And the customers of public libraries (who pay the taxes) want nearly everything.
During the VHS/betamax wars, the customers pressured libraries to provide this medium. The libraries responded. When books on tape became popular with a certain segment of the population, they asked the library to provide them. Libraries responded. When DVDs and CDs came along, customers asked libraries to provide them. Libraries responded. When the Internet became popular, customers asked libraries to provide free access. Libraries responded again. In many cases, the ONLY free access available is at your local public library.
Libraries responded to these new types of information pretty well, I think, while still providing a wide variety of fiction and non-fiction books, children's books, storytimes, programming, reference service, interlibrary loans, holds, local history collections, genealogy departments, classes, and all the traditional things libraries have historically done.
This particular service we've been discussing is new. There are only a couple of offerings. Yup, they are only windows. That's because, dear readers, the vast majority of people are not at all interested in Linux, slashdot, or whatever arcane OS is popular with geeks. It is simply not relevant. When someone comes up with a service that caters to all at once, libraries will get it. Many libraries are well aware of the MP3, iPod issues on some of these new services. But they are not going to wait until they've satisfied 100% of potential users until they implement, particularly on a trial basis, these new services. When LIBRARIES tell vendors their offerings are not good enough, the vendors will change. It happens every time. Libraries also generally have a vast array of "internet accessible" information you are not going to find with Google. This includes almost all periodicals and indexes, both popular and academic. Just go to your local library's web site and look at the list of "online resources." It's incredible. From JSTOR to Information Access, Proquest to Morningstar, Business Reference to Academic Index. That's a vast amount of information available.
If you don't use your local library, that's okay. They are quite busy enough already. I don't physically visit my library either; I do it all on-line. But criticizing libraries because they respond to their customers is crazy. If they didn't, they would already be gone. Lots of the criticism here is of organization that do NOT respond to their customers (e.g. Nvidia). You can't have it both ways.
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who cannot read them." -Mark Twain
if it's broke FIX IT! (Score:2, Interesting)
almost a great idea (Score:1)
My wife would love to be able to download content instead of drive to th
Agreement for foreign language training too (Score:2)
already online audio books and ebooks (Score:2)
Interesting use of the word "free" (Score:1)
If you have you cant copy it to your mobile media device to watch it during the commute
If there are restrictions on my freedom to use it the way I want to
Our public institutions should not be supporting corporate agendas, like "you must run Microsoft".