citation needed, Molly White – Big publishers think libraries are the enemy. The recent Second Circuit decision in Hachette v. Internet Archive is only the latest battle in the war on libraries and the freedom to read: “I’ve seen quips to the effect of “if public libraries were invented today, they’d be outlawed.” The joke is increasingly becoming reality, most recently thanks to a decision in the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Particularly in a country where we’re seeing rapidly intensifying campaigns against books, libraries, and librarians, I am extremely concerned by an outcome that not only imposes further limits on how libraries can provide books to the people who need them, but seems to view libraries as detrimental to society. We must fight to protect our rights to read freely, and fight back against the censorship, surveillance, and rent-seeking that publishers and book distribution platforms have been working to not only normalize, but protect by law. My beliefs are simple, and hardly radical: Libraries are critical infrastructure. Access to information is a human right. When you buy a book you should truly own it. When a library buys a book, they should be able to lend it. Readers should be able to read without any third parties spying over their shoulders, or preventing them from accessing the materials they have legally obtained…”