At various points throughout my time as a blogger for families.com I’ve written about my weird relationship to ebooks. “Weird,” you ask? Yes, weird. You see, as a graduate student (and a part-time instructor) I’ve got my fair share of books sitting on the shelf. I’ve also typically got a constant stream of new material flying my way and filling my existing shelves. “Ebooks don’t take up additional shelf space,” you correctly retort. No, they don’t. You see, part of my strange relationship with ebooks is that I don’t buy them.
Now before I hear all about how I’m a “pirate” (and I’m destroying the lives of authors everywhere) I’d like to assure you that I don’t illegally download books either. If I’m able to ascertain that I’d like to own a book I purchase a physical copy of it. Otherwise I use libraries (oftentimes they’re also used to gauge interest in an item), or I borrow the book from a friend/classmate, or I simply don’t read the book at all (and read only reviews of it instead). It’s safe to say that I value libraries. My universities library is a wonderful resource and I’ve also often used the local library in town. Libraries are valuable resources for the communities they serve.
The reason I don’t buy ebooks (and do buy physical copies) is that ebooks tend to come packaged with something called DRM. This backwards-thinking technology prevents you from doing what you want with your media. After being burned years ago by a proprietary filetype on some of my technology (that I had to manually recreate after switching to a different operating system because of DRM-like limitations) I vowed I’d never do business with DRM. It turns out that libraries are now beginning to directly encounter DRM-like restrictions on lending. While I’ve never digitally checked out a book (they’re also hampered by DRM and don’t play on the devices I use), it’s concerning that some publishers are trying to import the limitations of physical media into the digital realm through technologies like DRM. As a student, an educator, and an artist I need to be clear: I don’t support these actions. Support your libraries and be careful when dealing with businesses, devices, or media that puts on lock on you. The cost to the future is great — and the cost to the present is already all too visible.