iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Mek @mek.fyi · 04/09/2025

I'm not a lawyer, I am speaking for myself, etc, etc.

Mek @mek.fyi · 04/09/2025

Leasing can expand access, but it should never be the only option. For copyright law to function as intended, there must also be a path to true ownership — even if time-limited — that restores the public’s ability to exercise rights like First Sale and preserve works under §108.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/09/2025

Example 3: The end of Preservation. 17 U.S.C. § 108 gives libraries the right to make archival versions to preserve the media they own. If a library or archive can't own the material, they can't preserve it or enable access to those with disabilities.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/09/2025

Example 2: Evasion of the Public Domain. 17 U.S.C. § 302–305 sets a limit on copyright. But there is no requirement for publishers to release DRM-free version of lease-only material in a way that can enter the public domain. And breaking DRM is illegal via 17 U.S.C. § 1201.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/09/2025

Example 1: The right of First Sale (17 U.S.C. § 109) is what gives Americans the right to buy a book, lend it to a friend, and sell it after they're done. Publishers bypass this by only offering ebook leases that you license and don't own (Amazon included)

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/09/2025

Leasing is problematic when it is used as a tool to capture markets and evade legal protections or societal responsibilities. Here are 3 examples.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/09/2025

Renting (e.g. a movie) can be a good option to increase access and lower upfront costs. However, it should be illegal to offer a product or service exclusively as a lease to exploit customers or strip them of rights essential to intended use, preservation, or civic value. mek.fyi/posts/the-le...

mek.fyi

The lease trap

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Mek @mek.fyi · 14/08/2025

This could be in careful partnership (API relationship) with a supplier like amazon (though they'd likely wish to be strategically weary of delivering this patron info to amazon on a silver platter).

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Mek @mek.fyi · 14/08/2025

Patrons could visit a page with products or services directly related to complimenting their queries. Both dystopian, by definition useful, and most inevitable.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 14/08/2025

I think LLMs open up a new world of potential opt-in advertising which could be really powerful. For instance, in a news feed, proactively presenting a passage of interest... And if the patron reacts positively, maintaining a list of *products* (e.g. books, etc) related to the patron's query.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 14/08/2025

I'd hope the patron would have to go/swipe to a special page/feed (similar to google news on android) as opposed to receiving "messages" or alerts or advertisements mid-conversation.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 14/08/2025

These platforms enjoy a huge advantage of a feedback loop, in that the same interface for broadcasting content can also be used to accept feedback. I'm positive it both exists and is being worked on 🤷

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Mek @mek.fyi · 14/08/2025

One opportunity for @anthropic.com and others are to evolve a system that not only answers questions when asked, but also (based on question history) generate a [e.g. Wiki of the day] feed of answers/news the patron may be interested in (as a news feed or learning tool).

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Mek @mek.fyi · 14/08/2025

It occurs to me how closely systems like ChatGPT approximate Niklas Luhmann's Zettelkasten -- essentially a shoebox of well labeled / organized notecards for synthesizing findings. Many workflows emerging to perform this novel synthesis.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 08/08/2025

It made me sad that some of the covers on your list were missing so I added them for you! Happy reading

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Mek @mek.fyi · 06/06/2025

An perspective I fear is becoming forgotten in the US today: The idea of investing in the American people -- public schools, libraries, transit -- in return for equity in an improved America. What can be more American than uplifting Americans and benefitting from the growth?

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Mek @mek.fyi · 26/05/2025

The current Omnibus budget combines 3 separate tactics which, combined, worry me as a nonpartisan citizen. 1. It's an Omnibus bill which is compromised 2. It's too large to review and understand, short of using error-prone AI 3. It's presented as a "reconciliation" requiring minimal votes.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 26/05/2025

Such bills have another tactic which can be used to pass more easily. Once a year a "budget reconciliation" bill may be permitted which only requires a simple majority.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 26/05/2025

When an Omnibus bill is intentionally made very large, it employs a tactic that seems less about compromise or good faith negotiation, and more about "security through obscurity".

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Mek @mek.fyi · 26/05/2025

A failure mode of omnibus bills is, as they get longer, they can become harder to evaluate or "code review". The current budget reconciliation, for example, is more than 1,000 pages long and contains over 100 sections and is too big to reasonably discuss. www.congress.gov/119/bills/hr...

congress.gov

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Mek @mek.fyi · 26/05/2025

In politics, when a bill faces difficulty passing, one strategy is to bundle the controversial bill as a “rider” to piggyback on more popular bills, as a method of compromise. This can result in a large, sometimes confused, bills — called Omnibus bills — that are sometimes thousands of pages long.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/04/2025

Thank you for your kind words, Richard, I just shared your message with hundreds of the project's volunteers who I am positive feel uplifted and supported by your choice to share these reflections :)

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/04/2025

J, I'm so glad the resources are useful to you! We just imported 10k reading levels to improve our k-12 library, are introducing on-the-fly translations into bookreader to be accessible to more non-native speakers, better collections, & are preparing to import nearly 1M new books into the catalog!

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/04/2025

I am deeply saddened for those public-good-committed individuals within the Library & Archives community who have had their grant funding frozen, and I am available for a call if I can be a helpful resource for navigating next steps.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/04/2025

This is why: the stock market could crash to zero, I could lose my job, and policies could make it harder for libraries to exist, and these would be all the more reasons to conscientiously advocate for and build towards the compassionate, inclusive world of library values everyone deserves.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/04/2025

"Information is power. But like all power, there are those who want to keep it for themselves. The world’s entire scientific and cultural heritage, published over centuries in books and journals, is increasingly being digitized and locked up by a handful of private corporations." - Aaron Swartz

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/04/2025

The world deserves more reader privacy and open metadata, not vendor lock-in. @openlibrary.org is one open source alternative to amazon's goodreads that makes all its book data publicly available for free each month: openlibrary.org/developers/d...

openlibrary.org

Open Library Data Dumps | Open Library

Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Read, borrow, and discover more than 3M books for free.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/04/2025

The library ethos is to support humans and create opportunity. As a community, @openlibrary.org has mentored and graduated more than 30 engineering & design fellows internationally, helping many make impact, enter graduate programs, and jumpstart their careers. www.linkedin.com/posts/mekarp...

linkedin.com

Folks often tell me they're surprised to learn that OpenLibrary.org and… | Mek Karpeles

Folks often tell me they're surprised to learn that OpenLibrary.org and its 7M patrons are served by a small team of ~3 full-time staff. We couldn't do what we do without the help of Lisa Sea...

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/04/2025

Thousands of readers with qualifying print disabilities rely on platforms like @openlibrary.org because digital access is literally the only way they can read print books. These audiences shouldn't have to worry about a sudden change in policy potentially leaving them behind.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/04/2025

While library systems in many nations are paddling upstream, against predatory corporate leasing schemes, to continue serving patrons, many nations have yet to establish libraries. @openlibrary.org ensures all nations have basic access to a Public Domain. mekarpeles.medium.com/content-land...

mekarpeles.medium.com

Content Landlords and the Eviction of American Libraries

Netflix and many other content landlords want to force you to pay rent instead of being able to own your home. This makes them more money…

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/04/2025

@openlibrary.org remains home to thousands of challenged books: openlibrary.org/collections/... Do I agree with all of them? No. But I believe in the value of protecting authors' free speech. I trust in my neighbors to reach healthy conclusions. And I believe in the power of books to get us there.

openlibrary.org

The Banned & Challenged Books Library | Open Library

Open Library is an open, editable library catalog, building towards a web page for every book ever published. Read, borrow, and discover more than 3M books for free.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/04/2025

More than ever, the world needs libraries: safe spaces, supportive community, reliable information, basic resources. Meanwhile, the world's libraries are increasingly under threat by lawsuits, exploitative leasing models, funding cuts, and never-ending copyright. www.linkedin.com/pulse/uncert...

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Mek @mek.fyi · 04/04/2025

Hi, I'm @mek.fyi and for 9 years I've run the @openlibrary.org at @archive.org, where 11M patrons world-wide rely on us to preserve society's library books, many which can't be accessed elsewhere. 🎲 Markets, politics, employment could change: I pledge to keep Aaron Swartz's Open Library OPEN 📖. Why?

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Reposted by Mek

Internet Archive @archive.org · 17/06/2024

More than 500,000 books have been removed from our lending library due to the publishers’ lawsuit, including more than 1,300 banned and challenged titles. 📚🕳️ Sign our open letter to the publishers urging them to restore access to these books. 📖✍️ #LetReadersRead 👉 blog.archive.org/2024/06/17/l...

“I live in a very small town in the Portuguese countryside and this was my main source of information related to my job has an archaeologist.”
Joel S. C.
Gouveia, Portugal

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Mek @mek.fyi · 21/11/2023

fortune.com/2023/11/18/s... 😟

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Mek @mek.fyi · 08/11/2023

Maybe they'll let you buy a new envelope using a raincheck?

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Mek @mek.fyi · 08/11/2023

Yikes www.eff.org/deeplinks/20...

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Mek @mek.fyi · 19/10/2023

cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2023/10... Yes to a neutral net that both favors equitable access and consumer protection & privacy

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Mek @mek.fyi · 18/10/2023

Oh no, I'm next

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Mek @mek.fyi · 05/08/2023

Hearts, stars, and horseshoes

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Mek @mek.fyi · 05/08/2023

Lots of mushrooms on our hike in the white mountains.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 25/07/2023

Made a chess set last week!

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Mek @mek.fyi · 25/07/2023

Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Concord, MA

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Mek @mek.fyi · 30/06/2023

But really, seeking investment

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Mek @mek.fyi · 28/06/2023

Honestly, no accomplishment will come close to the warm fuzzies of somehow convincing Ted and Tim to appear in the same photo. For anyone who knows the history of the web, this is a rare pepe.

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Mek @mek.fyi · 28/06/2023

When you bump into your undergrad friend in the woods across the country

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Mek @mek.fyi · 28/06/2023

When you spontaneously bump into your Cambridge neighbor across the country at a techie event in the woods.

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