Custodians to the Defense

Ah, this is priceless:

In a letter (PDF) to the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the American Library Association (ALA), the Association of College and Research Libraries, and the Association of Research Libraries, say “active supervision of the settlement by the court and the United States will protect the public interest far more than any additional restructuring of the settlement.”

They also ask for representation of academic authors on the Book Rights Registry and remind the DOJ that libraries would be primary consumers of institutional subscriptions and thus deserved to have their voices heard. A fairness hearing is scheduled for February 18, 2010.

Ah, yes, the historical custodians of knowledge are scrambling for relevance. This should be interesting to watch. From a reader's perspective, digitized content is a wonderful thing. Access from anywhere, not just from brick and mortar custodians of the flame, is a reality. My Kindle Wireless Reading Device is hungry for more content.