Developments in the Google Library Project Case

Hello readers – we’re taking a moment today to talk a bit about a landmark case for the future of books and the publishing industry. In case you haven’t been following the news, Google has scanned millions upon millions of library books into a searchable database. From their site, readers can “see… information about the book, and in many cases… a few sentences....” In the future, Google wants to provide entire works.

What does this mean? Supporters argue that the world’s population, especially the poor, could potentially access and benefit from any book Google found. The very last copy of a book, out of print for 200 years and left at the bottom of one of our nation’s research library’s shelves, could suddenly find new life. Fans herald the effort as nothing short of a revolution in intellectual life as we know it.

Many people are resisting. Why? Google copied, without permission, work protected by copyright. Copyright is important because it says to an author “when you work hard to create something, you will be able to tell people how they can get what you’ve made. You can make money from it.” It’s hard to do for a living what others give away for free.

Those against Google’s plan sued. Google attempted to settle the case, but the settlement agreement, discussed by Publisher’s Weekly, was rejected in New York Federal District Court. The full rejection by Judge Chin can be found here, and more reactions can be found here.

Among the issues, Google wanted to secure future rights in the proposed settlement agreement. They tried to define a book as “orphaned” (without a rightsholder) any time the rightsholder could not be found. One woman pointed to a book her father, since deceased, had written. Because it was self-published, and her father had died, the book would be hard to locate rights for, even though the author left the rights to his daughter. Books whose rightsholders were simply too hard to find would automatically become free for Google (and only Google) to use, from cover to cover, unless an existing rightsholder both knew about Google’s use of the work and demanded that Google stop using it. The settlement would have turned copyright law on its head, opponents argued, giving Google the option to take any works that authors didn’t (perhaps repeatedly) nail down.

What do you think, readers? Do the benefits of such a library outweigh some protections that ensure authors can sell what they write in the first place? Or should Google have known better than to copy 12 million books and use copywritten content without asking? Is an “opt-in” option sufficient, given rightsholders who have passed on and taken their rights with them cannot “opt-in”? Are alternatives, such as a non-commercial public library preferable? Feasible? Weigh in in our comments!

O!, Orr, and Poetry

If you didn’t happen to read David Orr’s essay, “O! Poetry,” let me recommend it to you (New York Times Book Review, Sunday, March 27). The focus is the April issue of O: The Oprah Magazine, which features a web headline “Spring Fashion Modeled by Rising Young Poets.” After stumbling over exaggerated shock (Orr’s first line begins “The signs of the coming apocalypse are many, but none are starker than this Web headline…”), he offers a provocative article. If you’re like me, you’ll find many parts disagreeable, but disagreeable in the best possible way – Orr takes a stand and, to process what he has to say, you’ll need to give him some time and think about what he’s saying.

He gently indicts the fashionable co-opting of poetry by names like Terrell Owens and Ashton Kutcher, yet admits that it’s difficult, if not impossible, to broaden poetry’s audience. He makes populist appeals (“First, only a snob or an idiot complains when the magic wand of Oprah is flourished in his direction”), and gives the pleasant, offensive suggestion that Important Literary Folk (his caps, not mine) merely uphold gender biases and sneer at fashion “because it’s girly.” He also argues that Oprah offers a limited but valuable nod to poetry in a culture that is not particularly interested in it. He even takes Margaret Atwood to task. She had remarked “the question ‘What is the role of poetry?’ is like asking, ‘What is the role of eating?’” Orr’s pragmatic sarcasm leapt out of its metaphorical seat for this one, which is good, because Orr’s irreverence helped him prove the weakness in Atwood’s metaphor. “People who don’t eat," Orr writes, "seem generally to be dead.”

The gulf between fans of poetry and folks who just aren't interested won’t be filled by what Orr calls “Magical Poetry Talk,” or “comments that make poetry sound like God’s own electric Kool-Aid acid test.” Orr pines for coverage about the experience of a poem – a single poem, and what it does for a fresh reader. We are, after all, a pragmatic culture – we often want what we want now, and, when learning, we like to begin with how a thing works. Whomever Orr may offend with his grounded views, he makes a wonderful point: should we love poetry as if it were something impossible, remote, or unattainable, then that’s what it will remain.

What do you think, readers? Be sure to add your feedback in the comments section! Perhaps we can do some exploration of poetry right here? If you’re new to the discussion, be sure to check out Poetry For Beginners, written expressly to help the new reader appreciate poetry for the first time!

Announcing the "Where Do You Begin?" Contest Winner

Our congratulations to our very first “Where do you begin?” contest winner, John Fueston! His entry, Evolution For Beginners, has earned him a $20 Starbucks gift card. That’s not all – if his title is selected for a future manuscript, you’ll be seeing his name credited in a brand new book. Stay tuned for future contests, where you can win gift cards and other prizes, including the chance to be credited in one of our upcoming titles! Check out http://www.forbeginnersbooks.com/contest.html for details.

Famous Thinkers in History: Foucault

Michel Foucault studied in and influenced fields as wide-ranging as gender studies, criminology, literary criticism, history, and philosophy. He was a quiet advocate for gay rights, and is often cited by the gay rights movement. Foucault was involved politically, academically, and even briefly as a journalist.

After World War II, the world was fascinated with how populations were controlled, especially as they had been by fascist dictators. Foucault suggested that this approach to understanding “control” was poor. The big names, dictators especially, got a lot of attention. Foucault instead pointed to much more subtle systems of control, especially discipline and punishment, which convince us to “normalize” and consider “abnormal” behavior bad. It often isn’t a willful speaker striking a pulpit who influences our daily behavior, our acceptable dress and manners, and even our prejudices about homosexuality, race, or entitlement. This behavior is more typically learned from schools, the military, prisons, and factories, Foucault argued. Today, the anonymity of the internet offers a space where these controls can fall away. This gives us the infamous trolls, as well as whistleblowers like Julian Assange, who make it very difficult for governments to control information. Is the freedom to act anonymously, without the social restraint of identity, a useful good, or is the abuse of the internet proof of its danger? Perhaps both?

Foucault also recognized the influence of spirituality, and foresaw many social developments. If you missed Foucault, you missed one of the great thinkers of the 20^th century. Don’t worry, though – it isn’t too late to pick up your copy of Foucault For Beginners and learn about this amazing thinker today.

Linguistics and You

Why do people in one part of the country say "pop" and in other parts say "soda"? How can "blimpie," "submarine," "grinder," and "hoagie" all mean the same thing in one language? Why do some people pronounce "don't you" as "doan-chu"? These are all questions a linguist - one who studies languages - can answer.

The field of linguistics covers everything from multi-lingualism (learning multiple languages), to how a language uses sound to make meaning (phonetics), to how the meaning is composed, delivered, and interpreted (semantics). By studying language, we learn where words come from, and writers and artists play with them all the time. In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Hermione and Harry cast "cave inimicum" to protect their tents. That's classic Latin for "beware the enemy," and "inimicum" is also where we get the word "inimical" in English!

If you're feeling a little overwhelmed, we have a wonderful primer for you to learn more in Linguistics For Beginners. We're proud to announce the title even got a recommendation from Ultimate Vocabulary. They recently posted a series regarding linguistics, and gave their recommendation for our very own Linguistics For Beginners, calling it a "comprehensive overview of linguistics" that was also "written in such a clear and direct style that it's very easy to understand." If you've ever wondered about this fascinating topic, Linguistics For Beginners is the book for you.

March 8th is International Women's Day

Welcome back, friends. We’re celebrating today because not only is it International Women’s Day, but it’s the holiday’s 100th anniversary!

From internationalwomensday.com, “International Women's Day (8 March) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women's Day is a national holiday.”

We’re proud to announce that work is already underway on the upcoming Women’s History For Beginners. Women’s History for Beginners offers a lively, playful, provocative overview of this important (and controversial) academic field. Who are the great women of history, and why don’t we know more about them? Look for more with our upcoming title, expected February of 2012. Also coming in 2012: Jane Austen For Beginners! If you’re not familiar with the master of social drama and intrigue, this will be a treat especially for you.

While you’re waiting, why not take the afternoon off, put your feet up, and enjoy a good read? You can learn about black women throughout history in Black Women For Beginners. Or, read up on the exploits of famous figures like Emma Goldman in Anarchism For Beginners. Goldman was an anarchist, suffragette, and feminist who championed equality for women and union rights, and who faced deportation for her outspoken opposition to the draft in World War I. We hope you’ll enjoy these titles as you think of the women in your life and join us in celebrating International Women’s Day.

S. Pearl Sharp in the Spotlight Again

Our congratulations once again go out to S. Pearl Sharp, whose award-winning documentary The Healing Passage/ Voices from the Water has been picked up by the Documentary Channel! Tune in with us to the next broadcast on March 9^th at 9:00pm (ET). In this documentary, prominent cultural artists explore the present-day echoes from the slave trade, and explore the use of artwork in creating paths to heal, using everything from dolls to altars, ritual, music, dance, and the spoken word. The documentary, finished in 2004, runs 90 minutes, and was called “Beautiful and Challenging…” by the Los Angeles Times. Find it on DISH Network channel 197, or DIRECTV channel 267, and learn more about the movie at www.TheHealingPassage-Voices.com. For even more of the vibrant and varied hallmarks in black history, be sure to check out S. Pearl Sharp’s book, Black Women For Beginners.