eBook User's Bill of Rights

The eBook User’s Bill of Rights is a statement of the basic freedoms that should be granted to all eBook users.

The eBook User’s Bill of Rights

Every eBook user should have the following rights:

• the right to use eBooks under guidelines that favor access over proprietary limitations
• the right to access eBooks on any technological platform, including the hardware and software the user chooses
• the right to annotate, quote passages, print, and share eBook content within the spirit of fair use and copyright
• the right of the first-sale doctrine extended to digital content, allowing the eBook owner the right to retain, archive, share, and re-sell purchased eBooks
• I believe in the free market of information and ideas.

I believe that authors, writers, and publishers can flourish when their works are readily available on the widest range of media. I believe that authors, writers, and publishers can thrive when readers are given the maximum amount of freedom to access, annotate, and share with other readers, helping this content find new audiences and markets. I believe that eBook purchasers should enjoy the rights of the first-sale doctrine because eBooks are part of the greater cultural cornerstone of literacy, education, and information access.

Digital Rights Management (DRM), like a tariff, acts as a mechanism to inhibit this free exchange of ideas, literature, and information. Likewise, the current licensing arrangements mean that readers never possess ultimate control over their own personal reading material. These are not acceptable conditions for eBooks.

I am a reader. As a customer, I am entitled to be treated with respect and not as a potential criminal. As a consumer, I am entitled to make my own decisions about the eBooks that I buy or borrow.

I am concerned about the future of access to literature and information in eBooks. I ask readers, authors, publishers, retailers, librarians, software developers, and device manufacturers to support these eBook users’ rights.

These rights are yours. Now it is your turn to take a stand. To help spread the word, copy this entire post, add your own comments, remix it, and distribute it to others. Blog it, Tweet it (#ebookrights), Facebook it, email it, and post it on a telephone pole.

To the extent possible under law, the person who associated CC0 with this work has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work.

Sharing is caring

Last night I attended a virtual LIS networking workshop hosted by my school San Jose State University. The workshop was so insightful I thought it nice of me to share some of the key points and tips with you.

Steps to Networking
1. Find a strategy
* Whatever works best for your personality
2. Make a connection
* Introduce yourself
* Give out a business card
* Exchange emails
* Attend professional happy hours
3. Build a relationship
BY
4. Cultivating the relationship
AND
5. Taking action and following through

Tips for Networking and Cultivating the Relationship
1. Use Linkedin or Facebook
2. Meet for coffee
3. Attend a conference
4. Send a job lead or an interesting article
5. Send a quick email
6. Keep in touch with all contacts at an internship, not just with the supervisor
7. Stay in touch with librarians you meet when volunteering and other awesome people
8. Follow through, and take initiative
9. Keep track of all who interview you and send thank you letters

Don't know how to go about introducing yourself to someone, the 15 second pitch can help you set up an introduction. Also, check these websites out for more information on networking:
Job Networking Tips
Networking tips: How to work a room
Job Search Networking
ALA's Job List Guide: How do I Network?

Have any other helpful resources or ideas?

LIS Bloggers

If you're a library student, librarian, or library enthusiast and want to learn and join the conversation amongst us library folk, check out some blogs I've been following!

Librarian Blogs
In the Library with a Lead Pipe
iLibrarian
Agnostic, Maybe
Librarian by Day
Swiss Army Librarian
Librarian in Black
Libraries and Transliteracy

Library Student Blogs
Library Moth
Hack Library School
AnthroArchivist
I Found Myself in the Library
Lauren in Libraryland
Julia's Library Research Blog

Reader's Advisory Blogs
Early Word
Nancy Pearl's Book Lust

If you have any recommendations, send them my way!

Back seat library student

Until very recently I have been a backseat student. Meaning I went to school, did what was asked of me academically, and breathed. I signed up to volunteer at my local community hub, the Denver Public Library; I subscribed to the American Library Association and a few professional blogs; and just sat and read. Then!

I read this, Open Thread Thursday: Library School at Agnostic, Maybe which led me to this website Hack Library School. Whoa! Was my first impression, a very similar feeling to when walking into a dark room alone and out comes 20 shouts of SURPRISE!!!!!!!! I’m not alone?

Are you seriously asking me what I would hack out of my program? Are you seriously challenging me? Are you asking to hear my voice? Well then let me begin on what I would do different if it were up to me to rewrite the curriculum at San Jose State University...

1. I would definitely hack out the course requirements to enter the internship program. According to my LIS program, students are not allowed to apply for internships using the SJSU internship website until they have finished the 4 required core courses plus three electives. Due to this stupid guideline I lost an internship opportunity. Even though I met the requirements for the internship position, the hiring librarian had to politely decline me because my internship advisor would not give me a waiver. How does a professorate who teaches librarianship allow this to happen? If students meet the internship requirements, let them fly!

2. A healthy balance between theory and practical skills. While I thank all my professors for giving me the skills in librarianship, I feel I lack the theoretical aspect of librarianship. I am finding more and more LIS blogs attacking the theoretical topics and I feel I have lost my voice while working on my skills.

3. Collaboration between librarians and library students off campus. There is a lack of mentoring at the beginning stages. LIS schools should encourage librarians to mentor LIS students. I think this is imperative and librarians should be discussing issues, experiences, and skill sets with students to learn from one another.

These proposals come from my experience as a library student and like many of my online student colleagues have discussed over at Hack Library School, we need to collaborate, open up discussion to new ideas, and take initiative.

No longer will I be a backseat library student or future librarian. I am opening up my personal blog to discuss my experiences as a student and future librarian, and anything library related. I am not really sure what direction I am headed for, all I know is, I will be driving.

My user experience of the Kindle 3G

This past Christmas I received the most unexpected gift, a kindle with a gift card attached. It sat on my desk for a bit unopened. Every so often I stared at it and wondered is it really time for me to enter the digital world of books??? I, like many other hand held book people prefer to turn pages and physically hold a book. Well, this all changed when I finally decided to open the box and give it a test run. I am after all a soon-to-be librarian who should embrace technological innovation and be open to trying new technologies, right?
I unpackaged the very nice hand held device and plugged it in. After my Kindle charged, I read the instructions, went onto Amazon.com and purchased my very first book Decision Points by George W. Bush. I received it in less than two minutes! A huge plus. Having used my Kindle for a few weeks, I felt it was time to share with y'all my Kindle experience…
Pros:
1. Smooth, light, and easy to hold hand held device.
2. Access to an electronic dictionary while you read, very nice.
3. Screen is easy to read and not bright at all whatsoever, reads like a book.
4. Allows you to create and view bookmarks, notes, and highlights.
5. Supports PDF files with limitations.
6. Reader secrecy: know body knows what you are reading.
Cons:
1. Kindle Terms of Service does not allow me to borrow books from my library…A big boo!
2. The page numbers are whacky, rather than 1-300, pages have this notation 3935-43. Not cool.
3. You have to sync the furthest page read or else it returns you to your last bookmark after navigating away from the book. I much rather prefer a one step button to press automatically marking the last page I read.

I have yet to download a PDF file for I am a new Kindle user, and even though I am unable to borrow a library e-book, I still love my new gadget. Yay, for technology!
FYI, Project Gutenberg has free e-books you can download not only onto your Kindle but also iPad, Nook, Android, iphone, or ipod! Check it!