Date: Tue, 13 Feb 1996 16:00:27 -0800 From: noring@netcom.com (Jon Noring) Subject: --> Effect of the CDA on Electronic Libraries Hello, After writing my press release regarding the effect of the CDA (the so-called "Indecency" provision of the Telecommunications Reform Act) on the electronic book publishing industry, it dawned on me that the CDA would have equally disastrous consequences on the future development of electronic libraries. For the press release, check either 'comp.org.eff.talk, or try http://www.aros.net/~noring/pressrel.txt This press release gives a good background to the ramifications of the CDA, most of which will not be repeated here. My view is that in a CDA-free world, electronic libraries have a very bright and promising future. I and others have written elsewhere that it is only a matter of time (possibly in as little as 15-20 years) when electronic books will outsell paper books. This will make it possible to move many of the functions of public libraries to the digital realm, allowing citizens to download (or rent on-line?) many electronic texts and documents from central locations, thus freeing up local libraries to focus their scarce resources on local-specific holdings, which, in principle could also be electronically accessible. The possibility of going all electronic for public libraries has its profound economic and convenience advantages -- it would not be surprising if billions of dollars per year could be saved by our communities and give the library patrons a much greater selection of documents as well as convenience. Of course, it will be quite a while before the necessary infrastructure is put into place, such as the development and market penetration of ultra-high- resolution and dirt-cheap portable book readers containing very high density storage (this may be a couple of decades off). There are also the legal and copyright aspects of electronic lending libraries which must be dealt with, but this is solvable, in my opinion (and a side-issue to this discussion anyway.) Thus, it is not a matter of "if" total electronic public libraries are possible or desirable, but "when". However, if the current CDA is kept intact, it will effectively outlaw the kind of public libraries we have today from going electronic, to the loss of the citizen as well as costing us billions of dollars per year, since the cost of operating "paper" libraries is getting prohibitively expensive. And why would they be outlawed? It is easily seen that well over half of all books today contain one or more of the so-called 'seven dirty words' which are defined to be "indecent", and which the CDA will not allow distribution on any public electronic network under *any circumstances*. Even many legal decisions, such as the "Pacifica" ruling which determined these "seven words" to be "indecent" (and not obscene, big difference), cannot themselves be electronically distributed, thus affecting electronic law libraries as well! Even the King James Bible is "indecent" by the "Pacifica" ruling! In addition, the electronic libraries will not be able to carry anything dealing with abortion, birth control, human sexuality, gay/lesbian/bi issues, etc., not to mention anything else that the most conservative community in the U.S. has unilaterally decided to be "indecent", since by the provisions of the CDA, as well as complementary court rulings, their overly-broad definition of "indecent" will be forced on the rest of us! The ramifications of this to our socially-accepted right to have free access to *all* information is severely infringed, not to mention the profound First Amendment and other Constitutional implications of the CDA. And it will cost us billions of dollars to keep a few folks in Tennessee placated. This is no way to run a public library. In essence, the CDA is very bad public policy and needs to be struck down (preferable), or drastically altered to better reflect sane public policy and a balance of *all* peoples' rights -- some citizens should not have more rights than others. And let's not forget the billions of dollars the CDA will cost us in higher public expenditures to keep obsolete libraries open, as well as the negative effects on U.S. business as I outlined in my prior press release. Jon Noring OmniMedia ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- OmniMedia Electronic Books | URL: http://www.awa.com/library/omnimedia 9671 S. 1600 West St. | Anonymous FTP: South Jordan, UT 84095 | ftp.awa.com /pub/softlock/pc/products/OmniMedia 801-253-4037 | E-mail: omnimedia@netcom.com -----------------------------------------------------------------------------