Fight! For your right! To use eBooks under guidelines that favor access over proprietary limitations!

Sarah Houghton-Jan, on the Librarian in Black blog, posts “The eBook User’s Bill of Rights,” not so much a description of actual rights but more a declaration of freedoms, which include:

* the right to use eBooks under guidelines that favor access over proprietary limitations
* the right to access eBooks on any technological platform, including the hardware and software the user chooses
* the right to annotate, quote passages, print, and share eBook content within the spirit of fair use and copyright
* the right of the first-sale doctrine extended to digital content, allowing the eBook owner the right to retain, archive, share, and re-sell purchased eBooks

The piece concludes with a series of short paragraphs proclaiming the necessity of keeping information free:

I believe that authors, writers, and publishers can flourish when their works are readily available on the widest range of media. I believe that authors, writers, and publishers can thrive when readers are given the maximum amount of freedom to access, annotate, and share with other readers, helping this content find new audiences and markets. I believe that eBook purchasers should enjoy the rights of the first-sale doctrine because eBooks are part of the greater cultural cornerstone of literacy, education, and information access.