原文地址：美国图书馆协会主席发布公开信向数字出版商宣战作者：竹帛斋主

转者注：觉得原文翻译的不好，建议有英文好的，给正确翻译。觉得是图书馆趋势值得研究—zzz

An Open Letter to America’s Publishers

Submitted by Beverly Goldberg on Mon, 09/24/2012 - 09:58

http://www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/e-content/open-letter-america-s-publishers

The following open letter was released by ALA President Maureen Sullivan regarding the refusal of Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Penguin to provide access to their ebooks in US libraries:

It’s a rare thing in a free market when a customer is refused the ability to buy a company’s product and is told its money is “no good here.” Surprisingly, after centuries of enthusiastically supporting publishers’ products, libraries find themselves in just that position with purchasing ebooks from three of the largest publishers in the world. Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, and Penguin have been denying access to their ebooks for our nation’s 112,000 libraries and roughly 169 million public library users.

Let’s be clear on what this means: If our libraries’ digital bookshelves mirrored the New York Times fiction bestseller list, we would be missing half of our collection any given week due to these publishers’ policies. The popular Bared to You and The Glass Castle are not available in libraries because libraries cannot purchase them at any price. Today’s teens also will not find the digital copy of Judy Blume’s seminal Forever, nor today’s blockbuster Hunger Games series.

Not all publishers are following the path of these three publishers. In fact, hundreds of publishers of ebooks have embraced the opportunity to create new sales and reach readers through our nation’s libraries. One recent innovation allows library patrons to immediately purchase an ebook if the library doesn’t have a copy or if there is a wait list they would like to avoid. This offers a win-win relationship for both publishers and library users since recent research from the Pew Internet Project tells us that library users are more than twice as likely to have bought their most recent book as to have borrowed it from a library.

Libraries around the country are developing mobile applications and online discovery systems that make it easier to explore books and authors on the go. Seventy-six percent of public libraries now offer ebooks—double the number from only five years ago—and 39 percent of libraries have purchased and circulate e-readers. Public libraries alone spend more than $1.3 billion annually on their collections of print, audio, video, and electronic materials. They are investing not only in access to content and devices, but also in teaching the skills needed to navigate and utilize digital content successfully.

Librarians understand that publishing is not just another industry. It has special and important significance to society. Libraries complement and, in fact, actively support this industry by supporting literacy and seeking to spread an infectious and lifelong love of reading and learning. Library lending encourages patrons to experiment by sampling new authors, topics, and genres. This experimentation stimulates the market for books, with the library serving as a de facto discovery, promotion, and awareness service for authors and publishers.

Publishers, libraries, and other entities have worked together for centuries to sustain a healthy reading ecosystem—celebrating our society’s access to the complete marketplace of ideas. Given the obvious value of libraries to publishers, it simply does not add up that any publisher would continue to lock out libraries. It doesn’t add up for me, it doesn’t add up for ALA’s 60,000 members, and it definitely doesn’t add up for the millions of people who use our libraries every month.

America’s libraries have always served as the “people’s university” by providing access to reading materials and educational opportunity for the millions who want to read and learn but cannot afford to buy the books they need. Librarians have a particular concern for vulnerable populations that may not have any other access to books and electronic content, including individuals and families who are homebound or low-income. To deny these library users access to ebooks that are available to others—and which libraries are eager to purchase on their behalf—is discriminatory.

We have met and talked sincerely with many of these publishers. We have sought common ground by exploring new business models and library lending practices. But these conversations only matter if they are followed by action: Simon & Schuster must sell to libraries. Macmillan must implement its proposed pilot. Penguin must accelerate and expand its pilots beyond two urban New York libraries.

We librarians cannot stand by and do nothing while some publishers deepen the digital divide. We cannot wait passively while some publishers deny access to our cultural record. We must speak out on behalf of today’s—and tomorrow’s—readers. The library community demands meaningful change and creative solutions that serve libraries and our readers who rightfully expect the same access to ebooks as they have to printed books.

So, which side will you be on? Will you join us in a future of liberating literature for all? Libraries stand with readers, thinkers, writers, dreamers, and inventors. Books and knowledge—in all their forms—are essential. Access to them must not be denied.

以下转载“图书馆员”

下面的这封公开信发布的ALA总裁莫琳·沙利文拒绝西蒙与舒斯特，麦克米伦，企鹅提供他们在美国图书馆的电子书：

这是一个罕见的事情在一个自由市场时，客户的拒绝购买公司的产品的能力和被告诉的钱是“没有好这里。”令人惊讶的是，经过几个世纪的踊跃支持出版商的产品，库发现自己只是那个位置从三个世界最大的出版商购买电子书。西蒙与舒斯特，麦克米伦，企鹅一直拒绝为我们国家的112,000图书馆和大约169万美元的公共图书馆用户访问他们的电子书。

让我们清楚这意味着什么：如果我们图书馆的数字书架上反映了纽约时报小说畅销书排行榜，我们会错过任何给定的一周，由于这些出版商的政策，我们收集的一半。流行的露出你和玻璃城堡的图书馆，因为图书馆不能购买他们不惜任何代价。今天的青少年，也不会找到的数字拷贝朱迪布卢姆的开创性永远，也没有今天的大片饥饿游戏系列。

并非所有的出版商，这三家出版商的路径。事实上，已经接受了数百个出版社的电子书的机会，创造新的销售和到达读者通过我们国家的图书馆。最近的一项创新，使图书馆的读者立即购买电子书，如果库中没有的副本，或者如果有一个等待名单，他们想避免的。这提供了一个双赢的关系，为出版商和图书馆的用户，因为Pew互联网项目的最新研究告诉我们，图书馆用户超过两倍，可能已经买了他们最近的一本书，从图书馆借来的。

全国各地的图书馆开发移动应用程序，并在网上发现系统，使其更容易在旅途中探索的书籍和作者。现在百分之七十六的公共图书馆提供电子图书的数量增加一倍，从五年前和39％的图书馆已经购买并分发电子阅读器。仅公共图书馆每年花费超过13亿美元的打印，音频，视频，电子材料在他们的收藏品。他们的投资不仅在内容和设备的访问，而且在教学中所需要的技能来浏览和使用数字内容的成功。

图书馆员了解出版是不是只是一个行业。这对社会具有特别重要的意义。图书馆的补充，而事实上，积极支持这个行业的支持素养和传播的传染病和终身热爱阅读和学习。图书馆借阅鼓励食客实验进行采样，新的作者，主题和风格。这的实验刺激市场的书籍，作为一个事实上的发现，推广，和意识的服务，为作者和出版商与图书馆。

出版商，图书馆和其他实体一起工作了几个世纪，以维持一个健康的阅读生态系统庆祝我们的社会进入市场的想法。明显的价值图书馆的出版商，它根本不添加任何发行商将继续锁定库。它不添加对我来说，它不会增加为ALA的60,000个成员，它 绝对不添加数以百万计的人谁使用我们的图书馆每月。

美国的图书馆一直担任“人民大学”的读物和教育的机会，通过提供数以百万计，要阅读和学习，但不能买得起他们所需要的书籍。图书馆有一个特别关注弱势群体，可能没有任何其他的书籍和电子内容，包括返回原居地或低收入的个人和家庭。要拒绝用户访问这些库提供给他人和库的电子书，是渴望购买他们的代表，这是歧视性的。

我们相遇交谈，真诚地与许多这些出版商。我们已寻求共同点，探索新的商业模式和图书馆借阅的做法。但是，这些谈话重要，如果他们付诸行动：西蒙与舒斯特必须出售给图书馆。麦克米伦必须实现其拟议的试点。企鹅必须加速和扩大它的飞行员超过两个城市纽约库。

图书馆员，我们不能袖手旁观，什么也不做，而一些出版商加深的数字鸿沟。我们不能被动地等待，而一些的出版商拒绝访问我们的文化记录。我们必须站出来说话的的today's和tomorrow's读者代表。图书馆界的要求，理所当然地期望，因为他们同样获得电子书印刷书籍的图书馆和读者服务的有意义的变革和创新的解决方案。

所以，你是哪一方呢？你愿意和我们在未来的解放文献？图书馆站与读者，思想家，作家，梦想家和发明家。一切形式的书籍和知识是必不可少的。他们必须访问被拒绝。

原文连接：http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_7314c2800101b4rb.html