BYU suspends Kindle loan program
By Paul Biba
I wonder why Amazon can’t seem to make a commitment on this. Thanks to Len Edgerly for the link. Check out the article for more details:
BYU’s Harold B. Lee Library is suspending a short-lived pilot program using Amazon.com’s electronic book, the Kindle, as a substitute for interlibrary loans.
The program, which has been available to faculty members for about a month, created some buzz on library-related blogs for breaking ground in the uncertain area of lending books on the Kindle.
Although BYU had verbal permission to proceed with the program, Roger Layton, communications manager for the library, said the program is on hold until the university has a clearer picture of Amazon’s legal concerns.
“We are playing it safe,” Layton said. “Two people here said we have verbal permission. But if we don’t have it in writing, that’s a different thing. We don’t want to do anything that Amazon doesn’t completely agree with.” …
The Lee Library pursued the program after Gerrit van Dyk, the library’s document delivery services manager, was told by a representative of Amazon that the Terms of Use agreement prohibiting distributing Kindle material to third parties applied to for-profit uses, not for public or university libraries.
With more attention focused on the library’s pilot program, the university decided Tuesday to suspend it until it has Amazon’s approval in writing.
“We are not comfortable doing the thing until Amazon is 100 percent behind it,” Layton said.
June 18th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Seems like Amazon is still not interested in libraries, or any books they can’t make money on.