It has been sometime now that library.nu has been forced to shut down. There was first the infinite pangs of loss. The feeling of loss was a collective one. Initially we sought help from the community looking for that last resort url - a work around - to the most treasured secret library of the world. Then there was the search for alternative sites. Followed by the scampering to download all that was still the outside the clutches of the 17 publishers who moved with stealth to shut down library.nu. For there was a regret that we should have downloaded 'everything' from library.nu while it was available. The question is should we spend our time downloading everything we can find?
The answer to this question, according to me hinges around two views of the digital world. First, though the cost of data storage is falling rapidly, we can never estimate the amount of data that we might need to store. For serious bibliophiles, and particularly researchers, the trajectories of one's interests are ever evolving. Knowledge builds on knowledge. What I read today will determine what I may want to read tomorrow. So how am I to know what I might want to read tomorrow? Shared storage of books is the in such case the best option. And in the digital age there can be multiple copies of each article. So shutting down of multiple sources would be impossible.
Second, perhaps the scamper to 'steal' books while they still remain 'unguarded' perhaps stems from a belief that we are doing precisely that 'stealing' books. Also the hype created around the SOPA and ACTA has been engineered to create a demonstration effect to tell the users on the net that their life as 'pirates' are numbered. However, the fact is that the number of sites sharing free ebooks, and certainly awareness about them has grown, since the demise of library.nu. Both the growth of such sites and the visitors who have sought them out have worked with quest for cheap and indeed 'free' source of knowledge. Knowledge is free, like the sun, water and the volcano. It would require an infinitely strong worldwide 'police state' to stymie these forces.
So here is my answer. Instead of spending time madly downloading stuff knowledge hunters should try to accentuate the dissemination. Library.nu was what it was because volunteers put up so many books. If we continue to do so the sources of knowledge would grow.
The answer to this question, according to me hinges around two views of the digital world. First, though the cost of data storage is falling rapidly, we can never estimate the amount of data that we might need to store. For serious bibliophiles, and particularly researchers, the trajectories of one's interests are ever evolving. Knowledge builds on knowledge. What I read today will determine what I may want to read tomorrow. So how am I to know what I might want to read tomorrow? Shared storage of books is the in such case the best option. And in the digital age there can be multiple copies of each article. So shutting down of multiple sources would be impossible.
Second, perhaps the scamper to 'steal' books while they still remain 'unguarded' perhaps stems from a belief that we are doing precisely that 'stealing' books. Also the hype created around the SOPA and ACTA has been engineered to create a demonstration effect to tell the users on the net that their life as 'pirates' are numbered. However, the fact is that the number of sites sharing free ebooks, and certainly awareness about them has grown, since the demise of library.nu. Both the growth of such sites and the visitors who have sought them out have worked with quest for cheap and indeed 'free' source of knowledge. Knowledge is free, like the sun, water and the volcano. It would require an infinitely strong worldwide 'police state' to stymie these forces.
So here is my answer. Instead of spending time madly downloading stuff knowledge hunters should try to accentuate the dissemination. Library.nu was what it was because volunteers put up so many books. If we continue to do so the sources of knowledge would grow.
