Zuzana Kocsis

Ms. Dasher

Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition

10 September 2008

The E-book Debate

In a world of everything from e-mail to e-hugs, the one electronic version of a commonplace item not heard about enough is the e-book. While it has been around since 1971, copyright law, as well as personal preference for the traditional paper books, has limited the spread of this technology. E-books provide widespread access to literature and, therefore, should be encouraged instead of limited.

E-books are “[e]lectronic books that readers can download from the Internet or borrow through a library and read using a handheld device [or computer]” (ESLS). People can download them for free, pay for an individual book, or buy a subscription and download unlimited numbers of books for a time. Some e-books exist in text-only formats, while others are in Adobe® Acrobat®, and still others are in special formats specific to handheld readers. E-books originate from typed-up books, scanned books, and books originally written on a computer. Several organizations publish only e-books not under copyright, because much controversy revolves around those e-books that still are protected by it.

As the Enclyclopædia Britannica defines it, “[c]opyright law confers upon the creators of “original forms of expression” (e.g., books, movies, musical compositions, and works of art) exclusive rights to reproduce, adapt, and publicly perform their creation.” These “creators” can sell, or in some countries only lease, these rights to a publisher (Greskova). Today copyright, together with patent and trademark, is known by the collective term “intellectual-property law” (“Intellectual-Property”). A federal judge has ruled that the rights to publish a book in print, and the rights to publish it as an e-book are separate. This means that if an author signed the rights to publish a paper book over to a publisher previously, that publisher cannot automatically publish an e-book. Publishing an e-book requires a separate contract, which does not have to go to the same publisher (“Profile”).

Even The Constitution of the United States addresses intellectual-property law. In Article I, section 8, paragraph 8, it states that authors will have exclusive rights to their creations for a limited time. It follows that after the limited time the creators will no longer have those rights. After the expiration of copyright, a work becomes a part of the “public domain.” Books with a publication date earlier than 1922 are public domain books (Weller 42). Although the Constitution did not define the length of time, other laws under the Constitution did. At first, the end date was 14 years from publication. Later, new laws re-defined the length of time to 28 years from publication, and now it is until 50 years after the death of the author (Hart). This ensures that most books released today will not become public domain within the lifetime of those interested in reading them already; a person cannot wait until a copyright expires to avoid paying for the book. It also means that in order to make e-books out of copyrighted works, e-book publishers have to request permission to create them, and often cannot make the e-books for free.

The United States differs from many other countries in that copyright in the United States can be sold or signed over to a publisher. Elsewhere, authors always retain all rights to their writings, and publishers can temporarily lease the rights to print the book. Even then, the author has a say in any changes the publisher may wish to make (Greskova).

Although copyright limits e-books, their advantages are so numerous that, to describe them, they must be separated into two categories: advantages to the single user and advantages to society. Paper books, while they have spread knowledge and provided companionship for centuries, cannot keep up with our current demands. These advantages have become more obvious since the spread of the Internet, but e-books have existed for years before the Internet was widely available.

Whether it is for research in non-fiction sources or to review a character’s background in a fiction novel, leafing through a paper book can be tedious. Searching within text is much simpler on a computer, with a simple “Find” or “ctrl+f” command. The entire process of flipping pages and skimming them for a phrase can be condensed to only a few seconds when using a computer to read an e-book (Freeman 40).

E-books not only simplify searches, but they enhance the content as well. While paper books allow words and occasional pictures, e-books have room for audio or video clips as well (Freeman 40). Some concepts in science or music may be difficult to explain within the constraints of a two-dimensional page, but moving diagrams or melodies within the text of an e-book already exist. They are most often found on the internet or on CD editions of textbooks, but there is much room for expansion in this field.

E-books also have room for personalizing literature. On a small scale, readers can choose font size, font type, and other such attributes, and can also choose as to display the book in portrait or landscape format, depending on their situation. Furthermore, readers can annotate their books, and they will be able to search within their notes in the same way that they can search the text. They can also choose to buy only parts of books, if doing research, when one may not need the entire textbook but only chapters that pertain to their topic. This way they can save money. Some websites also provide services to print, bind, and deliver those custom books. Like a music playlist, a person could, for example, choose his or her favorite Edgar Allan Poe stories and leave out the others to create a personalized edition less bulky than a Complete Works volume (Freeman 40).

E-books help readers with personalized editions and search features, and through the Internet they aid authors to reach a wider audience. Douglas Rushkoff commented on this, “So far, the Internet has been nothing but great for my own writing career and those of just about every other writer I know. Even better, the Internet serves to disseminate our ideas, which is the real reason anyone worth his or her pulp should be writing in the first place” (Adams). A society can become more knowledgeable by allowing new technology to spread ideas instead of restraining it for fear that a small group within that society would lose money.

Currently libraries are centers of this knowledge because their archives hold accounts of ideas thought to be worthy of remembering. However, these libraries require giant buildings and a huge staff to upkeep. Paper books do not last long under the wrong conditions, and creating archives requires immense sums of money. Still, there is danger of some disaster wiping out this record of human knowledge, like it wiped out the library at Alexandria. For this reason, many libraries are digitalizing their books as a back up (Greskova). Good scanners that are gentle to old books can speed up the process, but hand correction is still necessary.

These libraries already provide access to books to the public. It is not without reimbursement to the authors, but an individual does not have to pay to loan a book from a public library. Taxes or private organizations that donate to libraries provide the money that goes back to the author and the publisher (Greskova). If taxes can pay for paper books in this way, it is feasible that they could pay for e-books as well.

Those who claim that e-books would rob authors of profit should instead rejoice that e-books reduce the role of a publisher, and in doing so give authors a chance to receive more profit. Few writers can afford their own campaign and printing press, but even amateurs can access websites and post their work. E-books can be cheaper simply because they do not need to be printed, so that when a customer pays for an e-book, a larger percentage of that price may potentially reach the author. If e-books eliminate publishing houses, writers could receive payment more directly, and less of the final price would go to intermediaries.

In addition to profit for authors and practical advantages, non-economic reasons for spreading e-books include ecology, updating, and the possibility of serial-novels. Reducing the use of paper and ink would keep trees from being cut down, and decrease pollution caused by chemicals in paper and in ink. Fewer trucks distributing books to stores would not use as many fossil fuels and would not release pollutants into the air. The only disadvantage is the amount of electricity needed to run servers, personal computers, and hand-held readers.

Beyond these environmental benefits, e-books take less time from final editing to availability to the reader. While many paper books are outdated before they even reach bookstores, e-books would not have this yearlong lag. Even if a situation does change, e-books can be updated after they have been published to reflect the change in the world (“Hudson’s” 15). When the Soviet Union dissolved, history textbooks still had maps that did not show it, and schools could no longer use them, even if they were in good condition otherwise. E-books would never cause this problem.

Yet another advantage is that e-books could result in a revival of the serial novel (Freeman 40). Serial novels used to appear, chapter by chapter, in newspapers, but have died out, due to a preference for complete stories in books. Publishers do not find it profitable to print many extremely short, incomplete stories, but e-books do not bring the extra cost in the way that traditional books do. Many novels known today were not written as one work, but as weekly or monthly installments. Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens, is one of these. Authors can keep a reader interested by leaving “cliffhangers” at the end of each chapter, which are more pronounced with a wait in between chapters than when the next chapter is readily available.

Despite all these advantages, like any debate this one has at least two sides, and opponents of e-books are outspoken about several unfavorable changes e-books would bring. The most common one is fear that writers would not make enough money to continue writing. These people emphasize the importance of publishers in guaranteeing money for writers and for promoting their works. They fear that without publishers writers will not gain as large an audience and with cheaper books will not make enough money, so only a few wealthy people will be able to afford to write (“Future” A20). A related fear is that the lower price of e-books will make the value of them seem lower (“Hudson’s” 15). As explained above, today’s authors have found broader audiences through publishing their work online. Many writers created their masterpieces while continuing their former career, and wrote for enjoyment and for adding to literature, not for money (Adams). Lower prices on books are likely to be understood by buyers as a result of buying the text, not the paper. In Europe (and elsewhere), beverages are sold in glass bottles which can be returned, once empty, for approximately half the price of the beverage in the bottle originally. Those manufacturers do not fear that the cost of the bottle will diminish the consumer’s view of the beverage.

As many praise the ease of publishing e-books, others fear it. They prefer the “hierarchy of information” and the “primacy” and “authority” of the book caused by the criteria and the judgment of the publishing process (Max 116). Each new idea or piece of writing goes through that process, and “finally we decide whether it merits permanent remembrance. If so, it finds its way into a book.” (Max 116). They also prefer a solid base of information: “The codex [developed in approximately 400 A.D.] was proof (some would say misleading evidence) that there were ideas that lasted, that deserved special respect. The invention of the e-book will push us to the reverse conclusion--that knowledge is in perpetual flux. It will make relativists of us all.” (Max 116) The solid base of ideas will not change simply because of e-books; people will continue to give “special respect” to ideas that deserve it. They will simply be able to continue building on that base, and to keep up with the times. However, this view of book supremacy is biased toward the ideas of people with money or connections to publishers, because they are more likely to submit their work, while it may intimidate others. It also tends to favor people who already have published works, instead of unknowns with ideas on approximately the same level.

In some ways, paper books are supreme and will not disappear completely, even if e-books replace them on a day-to-day basis. Some people will allow the argument of a book’s authority to sway them (Max 116). Others will treasure the tradition of a paper book. “For many who regard favorite books as treasured friends, a computer file will never seem quite the same” (Freeman 40). Paper books have texture, dimension, and an odor that a computer cannot duplicate. This depth will keep the paper book from dying out completely, despite the advantages of e-books, for as long as they have some supporters (Greskova).

When a new technology spreads to the public, it usually originates from multiple sources, each with its own format. Likewise, e-books range from pure ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) to image files. Some types work well with personal computers, while only specialized e-book readers can read other formats. These readers, such as the Kindle at $359, are expensive (Amazon). Often the quality is low, due to pixilation and small screens (Freeman 40). It is not certain whether the future will see e-book readers or portable computers to view e-books, but both need a common format (“Hudson’s” 15). However, it is very likely that a standardized format will help the spread of both e-books and newer, better hardware, because it will raise demand for both (Hoggle 50).

Difficulty in finding a common format combines with a distrust of digital merchandise to impede the spread of e-books, because as soon as the music industry went digital, stories about piracy and fears of artists losing money became top news. E-book publishers expect their customers to be more honest and mature than music pirates (Hoggle 50). Others accept that much content is already available for free and that e-books will mean more filesharing but hope that “people will pay if they believe they are getting value for money” (“Hudson’s” 15).

Random House recently experimented with the sale of audiobooks. They sold them DRM-free. Digital Rights Management originally appeared with the sale of music. It prevents copying and file-sharing the material illegally, but Random House did not encode their audio books using DRM. There was nothing keeping people from downloading the files, but when Random House checked after six months, none of their audiobooks were on file-share websites. They concluded that e-book customers are simply more honest (Hoggle 50).

Throughout all this, e-books may seem like an abstract idea, a good plan for the future, or a threat to traditional, paper books. However, a collection of e-books has existed since 1971. The Gutenberg Project started as a typed Declaration of Independence. The founder of the Gutenberg Project, Michael Hart, believed that it was the best use of the computer time available to him. After 37 years, it is the largest collection of free e-books in the world (Hart). It is the modern Library of Alexandria (Weller 42). As a virtual entity, it is accessible from any computer in the world, provided it has an internet connection, easily able to be copied, modified, and searched, as well as safer than the ancient version (Hart). Fire and plunder cannot easily destroy the knowledge stored in the Gutenberg Project because copies of the e-texts exist on multiple servers and in many other computers as well; the Project is not limited by physical boundaries.

Small amounts of data storage limited the project in its infancy. The small size of the Declaration of Independence was not an accident. The data storage of the seventies could not hold much more than the text of the Declaration. Over time, as disk size grew from ordinary bytes to kilo and megabytes, Hart was able to digitalize longer texts: short stories, poems, and individual plays, later novellas, and eventually even long novels. He also had the option to expand beyond plain-text versions of the novels, but chose not to, for longevity and compatibility. By now, mega has grown to giga and to tera, and soon petabytes may appear. The amount with the next prefix, the exabyte, can hold all words ever spoken by human beings, according to some (“A Collection”).

Hart’s plan for the project was, and still is, to spread literature, whether through disks or by using the Internet. The Internet, along with a growing information storage size, has helped the project expand tremendously. It is still run by volunteers and keeps its staff as small as possible in order to keep unnecessary costs down. Anyone can contribute material, regardless of quality, and people can volunteer to edit other submissions as well. Currently, the number of volunteers and money donated to the Project limit its size.

Project Gutenberg’s mission is “[t]o encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks” (Hart). It does not have a political or economic agenda. In fact, it is suspiciously altruistic. It seeks permanence. Such a database of knowledge can be extremely valuable to future generations, like the Rosetta Stone on a far larger scale. Hart hopes that unlike the Library of Alexandria, the Gutenberg Project will outlast any natural disaster or political instability. The books are distributed around the world, and copies are posted on other websites so that no one regime can erase the wealth of knowledge protected by the Project (Hart).

An immense accomplishment of Project Gutenberg is its simple, standard, format. Hart refers to it as “Plain Vanilla ASCII.” Having learned from the difficulty of opening text formats which have come into disuse, and from the incompatibility of e-book formats made for handheld readers, he stubbornly refuses to change the format of Project Gutenberg. To him the issue is closed, although some e-book promoters still argue it. the Project’s goal, as described above, is to provide literature to everyone. ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) reads on practically all computers today, making it the preferred choice for any free e-book collection that wishes to reach a wide audience now. If another code was to replace ASCII, it would have conversion capabilities. Since Hart plans that the project will last more than several decades, and aims for centuries, the format must have a high probability of remaining legible, the same way that scrolls and books from centuries ago are still legible to us. ASCII fits these qualifications and is already the standard for more e-book collections than the Gutenberg Projects.

Currently, the Gutenberg Project accepts any books submitted by volunteers, provided that they are not in violation of copyright laws. Copyrights have to have expired, or special permission must be granted to the project so that the e-books can be released for free (Hart). A change in copyright law has the potential to make thousands of books open to creation as e-books. However, current laws do not provide a solution to the e-book issue. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 addresses some of the issues, but it is full of exceptions, without providing clear guidance on e-books (“The Digital”). This is because e-book technology, especially the Internet, is new. Laws concerning paper books may not apply well to e-books (“Profile”). This is because laws do not anticipate changes in society. Changes in society cause the people to request amended laws (Bramlett).

Perhaps people faced these same issues when the Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press circa 1450. Nevertheless, that spread. After all, finding a monk scribe to copy out a book must have been much more selective than any publishing company. The new books were far cheaper than manuscripts, but they did not devalue the ideas of the author by being produced in bulk. Standardization of the machine and some of the other moral issues must have also been problems, yet people overcame them. In the same way, e-books are the logical step forward, despite those issues. Are we going to prove ourselves less adaptive to new technology than people of fifteenth century Europe?

Works Cited

ADAMS, NOAH, and DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF. “Commentary: Advantage of e-books.” All Things Considered. NPR. 20 Nov. 2000. Transcript. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Sequoyah High School. 20 Aug. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com//.do?prodId=IPS>.

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Bramlett, Jeff. Personal interview. 18 Aug. 2008.

A Collection of Estimates of the Quantities of Data Contained by the Various Media. 28 Aug. 2008 <http://www.uplink.freeuk.com/.html>.

THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1998. Pub. L. 105–304. 28 Oct. 1998. Stat. 112 STAT. 2860. copyright.gov. 18 Aug. 2008 <http://www.copyright.gov//.pdf>.

ESLS. “Glossary of Terms.” ESLS. 2000. Eastern Shores Library System. 28 Aug. 2008 <http://www.esls.lib.wi.us/.html>.

Freeman, Matt. “Midmorning in the e-book Age.” Reading Today Oct.-Nov. 2000: 40. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Sequoyah High School. 18 Aug. 2008 <http://proxygsu-sche.galileo.usg.edu/?url=http://wf2dnvr8.webfeat.org:80/VK124/=http://search.ebscohost.com/.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=3665617&site=ehost-live>.

“Future for Writers in an Age of E-books?” Letter. The New York Times 9 June 2008: A20. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Sequoyah High School. 20 Aug. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com//.do?prodId=IPS>.

Greskova, Miroslava. E-mail interview. 21 Aug. 2008.

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Hoggle, Becky. “Opening Up e-books.” New Statesman 17 Mar. 2008: 50. MAS Ultra - School Edition. EBSCO. Sequoyah High School. 18 Aug. 2008 <http://proxygsu-sche.galileo.usg.edu/?url=http://wf2dnvr8.webfeat.org:80/VK15/=http://search.ebscohost.com/.aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=31270504&site=ehost-live>.

“Hudson’s digital pros and cons.” Bookseller 16 May 2008: 15. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Sequoyah High School. 18 Aug. 2008 <http://proxygsu-sche.galileo.usg.edu/?url=http://wf2dnvr8.webfeat.org:80/VK15/=http://search.ebscohost.com/.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=32473684&site=ehost-live>.

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Max, D. T. “Against the E-book.” The Wilson Quarterly 25.1 (Winter 2001): 116. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Sequoyah High School. 20 Aug. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com//.do?prodId=IPS>.

“Profile: Federal judge rules that e-books are not books under copyright laws.” All Things Considered. NPR. 12 July 2001. Transcript. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Sequoyah High School. 21 Aug. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com//.do?prodId=IPS>.

United States. “Article 1.” Constitution. Section 8, paragraph 8. The Founder’s Constitution. 2000. The University of Chicago. 19 Aug. 2008 <http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu///_8_8.html>.

Weller, Sam. “Project Gutenberg Sets 10,000 Book Goal.” Publishers Weekly 3 Apr. 2000: 42. MAS Ultra - School Edition. EBSCO. Sequoyah High School. 12 Aug. 2008 <http://proxygsu-sche.galileo.usg.edu/?url=http://wf2dnvr1.webfeat.org:80//=http://search.ebscohost.com/.aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=2994437&site=ehost-live>.