Confessions of a Mad Librarian

Defective by Design is a campaign by the Free Software Foundation to highlight user-unfriendly features caused by digital rights management (DRM) and certain other IP-protective but anti-consumer practices.

DbD is calling on libraries to remove DRM tech from collections:

Recently, we took action against the Boston Public Library (BPL) demanding that they embargo the use of DRM technology on their collection and create a policy that respects the motto that hangs above their door: "free-to-all." To send a message to all libraries that they too should respect their patrons' freedom, we urge you to sign our open letter. To take action against your local library, we urge you to customize a letter from our template.

Please, let us know if you have contacted or written your local library, and please let your friends and fellow patrons know about the open letter.

In solidarity,

Josh, John, Matt, Peter, and the DRM Elimination Crew.

Color me supportive but skeptical. Making people more aware of DRM and how it can inhibit reasonable and fair use of material is a good thing. And hasn't DRM died already? But unless I'm much mistaken, DRM isn't added by the libraries directly or even at their sole discretion - the publishers/vendors want it, they add it in and they may even control what gets shut off or turned on and under which parameters. Libraries seem to be a bit downstream of the process.

But if libraries are willing to add their voices to the DRM mix, so much the better ...