‘Espresso’: Print on demand books at the New York Public Library—and a possible inspiration for a ‘permanent checkout’ model for e-books?

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By David Rothman

Even high-contrast flavors of E Ink won’t please the really picky. But maybe they’ll go for the print-on-demand titles they can “brew” up via the “Espresso” machine at the NYPL (Engadget and GalleyCat via Peter Brantley). Most of the printable titles are apparently in the public domain. But what about the copyright issues for those that aren’t? Any special arrangements that NYPL has made with publishers? I’d assume they exist. If so, how about moving on to copies e-books that patrons could legally keep, as long as they didn’t redistribute them? Use quotas and social DRM if need be. But do experiment.

Detail: Other Espressos are on the way to other libraries, including in New Orleans. See news release from OnDemandBooks.

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