We’re Fighting for Library Rights in Court This Friday – Join Us!

Friday is our day in court. After four long years of legal action, we will be in New York for the appellate oral argument in Hachette v. Internet Archive, the publishers’ lawsuit against our library.

Show Your Support!

Throughout this four-year process, our patrons and supporters have asked how to help in this fight. Here are actions you can take to stand with the Internet Archive:

1. Watch the oral argument on Friday, June 28.
The proceedings will be livestreamed starting at 10am ET. Join via https://ww2.ca2.uscourts.gov/court.html, Courtroom 1505.


2. Tell the publishers: Let readers read!
We’ve created an open letter to the publishers, asking them to restore access to the 500,000 books they’ve removed from our library. Add your signature today!


3. Stay connected.
Sign up for the Empowering Libraries newsletter for ongoing updates about the lawsuit and our library.

A quick recap

After the lower court sided with the publishers last March, we committed to appeal the decision. The appeal process kicked off last fall, with our opening brief filed in December, followed by amicus briefs in support of our library and library lending two weeks later. On Friday, we’ll appear in the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, continuing our fight for library digital rights.

What’s at stake?

The lawsuit is about the longstanding and widespread library practice of controlled digital lending, which is how we lend the books we own to our patrons. As a result of the publishers’ lawsuit, more than 500,000 books have been removed from our lending library. The impacts on our patrons have been devastating:

210 thoughts on “We’re Fighting for Library Rights in Court This Friday – Join Us!

  1. احمد عبدالرحمن صالح الطاهري المصعبي

    انا معكم قلب وقالب وانتم من ينشر العلم ويساهم في تطوير وترقية المجتمع والعالم أن اسهل وسيله للانتقال السريع في سلم الترقيات والتحديثات لهذا العالم هي عن طريق نشر واعارة الكتب العلم مثل ارشيف الانترنت موقعكم

  2. Misha Eletsky

    What bothers me the most is that it might become a trend. I’m pro-Internet Archive and always was. Pay the fine (if required) but do keep the books. This is the only way we can preserve what will eventually (in paper or plastic media) will be lost forever!

    1. Pan Kok Long

      Internet Archive may be the only way for us in third world countries to read good books. Although they may be bought online, the cost effectively discourages us.

    2. Paul Pakyz

      Not to quote a highly respected and widely distributed ancient book of some historical renown . . .
      Ecclesiastes 8:9 – All of this I have seen, and I applied my heart to every work that has been done under the sun, during the time that man has dominated man to his harm.
      Yep, still true.

  3. MarioW

    This is Stupid just to remove 500,000+ Books. The Striking of my Account TheNicktoonsFan2010 back in the day due to me preserving lost 2009-2014 Nicktoons Bumpers and a installer for League of Legends was already bad, but the removal of 500,000+ books is even worse. if any more books (and potentially games, music, and movies, especially cartoons due to what Kyle Scott McNeal is doing to some Looney Tunes Archives) get removed, then Internet Archive could potentially end up like Yuzu/Citra. Lets Not Give Up and Go save all those 500,000+ Books before they become lost to the sands of time!

  4. osborne mcclintic

    this is purely appalling to any one. such a disgrace our country is in the middle of,, from people whom simply want power over others.. freedom never came cheap, but destructive power hungry people do. the wound this is causing for many disabled people who rely on this library, support it , and my library gets taken to court, power and greed is why.. there is no other reason or motive.

  5. Bárbara Vitória

    I’m from Brazil, I’ve been reading since childhood and it’s a tragedy to know how so many books are lost due to unfair court decisions. I join my voice with others, let’s shout for everyone to hear. We have the right to access these books, let us read them!

  6. Greg Dudley

    This archive gives me access to titles I could d never find in local libraries.
    Reading books from 125 years ago is a treasure.

  7. Yadzia Onnis

    I am going to be 77, and I love to read .. years ago, I owned a business, and I used to sit by the microwave and I had these huge thick books from the library that took me to different parts of the world or a different life… These are books like Château, Shawna, a stranger in the mirror .. box by Cynthia Freeman And so many that I count to remember right now, but I like the older ones from the 1940s 50s and 60s 70s… and… they had the best stories and sometimes the further back to go the better of the book.. I’m looking for the sequel to a tangled web.. call deceptions, by Judith Michael.., and everywhere you look their either $25 or more… and the library would have to order it in… but sometimes you just want to read it now…. and just to borrow it and return it… I hate our library Libby… we used to have, Ontario library service consortium.. it was so easy to use, and if you couldn’t find something.. you could recommend it..

  8. Bouchaib Hachkal

    Archive has helped thousands of readers around the world who don’t have access to thousands of books only archive make them available to them. I support 100% to restore access to those books.

  9. grant

    Commercial interested are pathetic, the court system should realize the world needs access to a broad spectrum of knowledge or the consequences are potentially so awful if illiterate children are left to posterity because of a flawed court and justice system. I am surprised this is even being questioned since it’s obviously something the public is entitled in this new era of electric commerce, however I see the automated capitalists are trolling the lobbyist again in an attempt to make three or four people more wealthy at the expense of the substance that makes society worth living in. I give my best wishes to the free thinking open minded volunteers who make such a essential service possible for the world. I have great interest in knowing what companies are responsible for creating such a incident as they will be getting nothing but negative reviews for any review I leave if this legislation is passed.

  10. Bluejay Young

    These crackdowns are part of the continuing narrowing and disappearance of the public’s access to information itself. The lawyers who own the corporations who own the publishing companies who own the authors are well on their way to owning the Internet Archive as well.

  11. Luciano Coutrim

    The Books are the important object of humanity, because they are the registry of history of all Mankind, all types of registers like: Bible, Romances, Encyclopedias, Historical Documents, and others

  12. Collin Maher

    Please restore our books. I miss it really bad. It actually got me reading more, and it is sad that 500,000+ books are unavailable. Please restore. Please.

  13. Michael Somerset

    The Justices in this court case should be asked to consider how their lives would be affected if 500,000+ legal books were to be locked down with zero access. That might make them think.

  14. Nicholas

    The ability to access books that are not readily available here in Japan is a godsend. The internet Archive is a treasure to be protected

  15. Aric Hansen

    Through the misguided actions of a single man, thousands of potential literary resources have been taken away from those who need them. It’s not right. I stand with the Internet Archive in their hopes to restore these resources, to allow access to things otherwise unseen, unknown, and unheard. In a world where the power of a single person can ruin others people’s fun, or worse yet their lives, we should all stand in the face of petty and unplaced righteousness.

  16. Matthew

    We the public in all countries need and should have access to all and any books and material that will provide the whole planet to be a better place because of being more informed and knowledgeable. Banning books is so ridiculous and history tells us this.

  17. Collin A Maher

    Please restore 500,000+ books. Internet Archive actually got me to read now and then, and by getting rid of 500,000+ books, it’s not only hurting me, but also to everyone else. So please restore the 500,000+ books.

  18. Jorge

    En el mundo de hoy, el acceso al conocimiento es crucial para el desarrollo de nuestras sociedades. Muchas gracias por la labor realizada.

  19. Zoe

    i have used internet archives for many years for study and education it must be preserved

  20. Matt

    If only they could agree to something like, ‘if there’s no other way to get a new copy for a reasonable price’ then that could set an awesome precedent that may keep pubilshers to keep things accessable. That way it causes them to do their own preservation by continuing distribution and then when they can’t keep it up, when they don’t feel there is a profit, then digital preservation is there to keep part of our history.

    Recently, I re-read a story from my childhood/adolescence that has been stuck in a memory of my mind that has been bugging me. I did pay for this once upon a time but would have no access to today without great difficulty and/or cost.

  21. Sayed Sayeedullah Husain Magrabi

    “The Internet Archive is one of the most useful tools to find citations and verify facts. By removing books from the Internet Archive, it hinders the ability to find sources for an open encyclopedia.”

  22. David Salgado

    Mucha gente no tiene las facilidades de adquirir libros, a veces de consulta que son necesarios para sus carreras, est es un medio necesario, espero que se sigan sumando a apoyar este sitio.
    GRACIAS!

  23. Steven w lowe

    Original manuscripts are very important and should be made available to everyone. Anything that has been given by Gods Inspiration should be free for everyone to read.

  24. Châu

    When tell time of event should have UTC/GMT of time zone for help people calculate local time.

  25. Tinyel

    We all need to fight for the rights of libraries and their patrons. We cannot allow greedy corporations to tell us we don’t actually own the books we’ve bought and paid for, and say we’re not allowed to let other people borrow them from us. Libraries need to exist. We cannot let these people turn books into the next subscription-only service that bleeds libraries dry. If someone buys a book and donates it, the Internet Archive should have the right to lend that book out to anyone who wants to borrow it. It’s no different from lending it to a neighbor. We cannot let libraries turn into the next Netflix where they want to make sharing your password with family illegal. I am poor. I am disabled. I cannot drive. I cannot walk all the way to my public library. I cannot afford to buy books I might hate. But I can read the books that people have generously donated to the Internet Archive. And then I can go out and buy the books I now know I’ll cherish for the rest of my life. Without the Internet Archive, I wouldn’t be reading half as much as I am right now.

  26. Harsj

    Let the world read! I’m with the group who has helped so man of the people by providing these ultimate service. I am commenting to give them full support to restore the 500k books.

  27. Gary Roberts

    The internet archive is one of the last bastions of the internet, if it loses those books, it may truly be lost to time. Knowledge is power! Bring those books back!

  28. Francisco Assis

    The loan of books is not to replace physical books, but rather to give a future customer of these publishers the chance to purchase a book that is useful and has good content.

  29. Antonella Russo

    “Knowledge is forgiveness”
    Let knowledge spread every time every place and allow people to satisfy their need to read, to research in an easy accessible way without waste of time and money which will prevent their cultural advancement.
    Thank you to all men of good will.

  30. Robyn McCann

    This should not be happening, trying to control what people watch and read that is so wrong on so many platforms. I am so glad I live in Australia.

  31. Anilkumar Ravjibhai Thumbar

    વિશાળ લોકહિત ને ધ્યાનમાં રાખી ઉચ્ચ ન્યાયાલય તરફથી મંજુરી મળવી જ જોઈએ.
    જય સીયારામ

  32. Kalpesh Davd

    Sharing of Knowledge is great humanity service, great valuable books available to whole world readers, in todays unpeaceful world reading can creats peace across communities, Please allow archive.orv site to restore access to 500,000+ books

  33. Anindya Bhattacharya

    What’s at stake is the presence of European thought and liberal values in far-off corners of India, where we’re fighting a losing battle against a fast-approaching dark age, esp. in the field of humanities. Even university libraries here often stand outside steep paywalls of the publishers of the West, and few college teachers have online/offline access to University libraries. UGC has stopped research grants. I was indebted to Archive for my research on Tagore. Rampant piracy cannot be supported, but please allow controlled access/hourly browsing access to old books. Except for a privileged few, many of us are singing inside trenches. This decision would bury us completely.

  34. David England

    In this day & age it is important to maintain free access to books, particularly those often old & forgotten. For the newer books, which often we can’t all afford, it gives the chance to enjoy. Western society was founded on free access to libraries & this should be maintained! God Bless the Internet Archive & Long May it Continue,

  35. Farheen Tabassum

    There are so many books not available to research scholars in most parts of the world, that Archive.org has stepped in to fill major gaps. As a research scholar, I make sure that all references are in place and that every author I read to build my work is mentioned in my work with due acknowledgements. My work has been possible due to Archive.org, privatisation of knowledge and its resources will not help anyone, not even capitalists.

  36. Manish Kumar sharma

    Internet Archive is the most valuable library in the world and we are commenting this to restore access to 500,000+ books for every one …
    Books are living images of God. Reading them gives instant joy and light to everyone.
    Due to lack of books today our generation is not getting proper guidance.

    I strongly recommend that court should be restore access 500,000+ books for everyone

    Thanks
    With regards
    Manish sharma
    India

  37. Saul N

    Most of the people from countries outside the US cant afford to buy books or even go to libraries becasue they are far away from their homes. So web sites like this not just improve the education, also give all those people a different view of the world.

  38. Yannick

    I am really concerned that its necessary to go over several instances to restore books! What a pity, thank you very much for your work!!

  39. Dooby

    Anyone who is against enlightenment of the people is in support of chaos among the people…

    Let there be light

  40. boubaker bekkouche

    Please drop this Court case, We want to keep information free it’s the only way to make civilizations perish faster.

  41. boubaker bekkouche

    Please drop this Court case, We want to keep information free it’s the only way to make civilizations develop faster.

  42. luna

    that is an outrage we should always have access to books they are free yes to any damage to the publishrs most people still end up buying the books many students also need these

  43. Doreen Myers

    I’m glad I happened to log in today to see this. I will be signing the petition and making a donation.

  44. POOJA VENKATRAMAN NAIK

    i am supporting to internet archive to restore access to 500,000+ books for everyone.

  45. Ray

    you guys got all my support im very thankfull for having acces to your library since it has helped me a lot to improve on my english skills and auto learn and read on my spare free time with amazing titles that are really hard to find in my country

  46. CRAZYBOY44

    ESPAÑOL
    DECIDÍ COMENTAR PARA RESTAURAR EL ACCESO A MÁS DE 500000 LIBROS PARA TODOS. ¡BUENA SUERTE!

    ENGLISH
    I DECIDED TO COMMENT TO RESTORE ACCESS TO OVER 500000 BOOKS FOR EVERYBODY. GOOD LUCK!

  47. Ana

    Three main reasons why I think that Internet Archive should win in court:

    = I buy books, but I read much more on the Internet Archive because I can’t afford to buy every book that I want to read or scan through. Books exist to be read, and not to stay unsold in bookstores.

    = I used to live in a country where access to books in English or other languages was very scarce and difficult. I didn’t use the Internet Archive then, but oh how much I wish I could. Books should be accessible for every human on this planet.

    = Books that are out of print are like uncut diamonds – priceless and almost impossible to find. I recently found the favourite book of my childhood on the Internet Archive (English translation of a Hungarian original) and was extremely happy that I could share it with my kids. Old books should not be forgotten.

    Internet Archive gives life to books. Allow Internet Archive to continue their wonderful work.

  48. Rosetta Reed

    We should all be allowed access to these books .,remember a mind is a terrible thing to waste .reading increases knowledge, imagination education all books should be allowed to be read freely to all people .its all about freedom
    Thank you
    Rosetta Reed

  49. Rishi ChetanSagar

    Internet Archive is doing a great service for the general public. It is bringing knowledge to people. Otherwise all these fine books would just gathered dust in libraries. I have no words to describe how much I have been helped by access to the digitized books of internet archive. I lend my full support to internet archive. I shall soon make a monetary contribution to keep the site running.

  50. Jason

    Knowledge and entertainment for free can divert people from using drugs and spending time doing alot worse things than reading. Society needs all the commen sence it can get. We don’t won’t the world getting anymore stupider if it can be helped…. People woild pay to read if they can… Free access to material in sites are generally used by the poor who have no other option…

  51. Nick Ettema

    I think this is a tragwdy if it’s not restored. And if not, then how do the publishers think anyone will ever know or read their books? Public libraries *used to be* the only way people ever learned about most books, but since the internet they have fallen out of favor, to be replaced in large part by Archive.org. By doing what they do they’re actually doing the publishers *a big favor* by increasing exposure to their work. So I suggest please don’t bite the hand that feeds you..

  52. Bela

    I hope Internet Archive website wins the Appeal! I love Internet Archive for all the books, the information and the collections that it provides. Good luck on friday!

  53. Michael R Goucher

    I discovered Internet Archive when I worked for the American Museum of Natural History. I found the Archive to be a useful source for my research back then. In retirement now I have discovered it to be a valued source of entertainment and learning. In my opinion the evisceration or shuttering of Internet Archive would mean the devastation of a valuable learning source which remains free to all. Yes, we in America are a capitalist nation; but we don’t kill the goose, either. Please retreat from this ill-advised attempt to shut down an open and valuable source of information and learning. A footnote: I am a contributor to the Archive.

  54. Suraj

    We have benefitted tremendously from your work. The idea of stopping this service is in itself petty and borderline criminal. We are with you.

  55. Dr M Kinsella

    Control over access to content is exactly how all tyrannies begin.
    Free content means free minds. Anything less is subjugation.

  56. bohn

    Archives is as valuable as Wikipedia, which are two places that are more important than any TikTok junk, the accessibility to useful books & other media makes having a computer even more important, this is a resource that’s more important than most websites.

  57. sarah

    this is so wrong. i had an operation last year and this online library was my saviour from boredom and cracking up. i love to read and am reaally missing being able to loan books fom here.

  58. Israel Pedro

    Do not take away freedom, enlightenment and a bright future from we the young!!!

  59. Tiago Pereira Dos Santos Silva

    Archhive.org is important. More than library of worls and internet archive is knowledge ark of world.
    Archive is alexandre library of XXth Century and XXIth Century

  60. LIBERT A M

    Don’t forget students from Africa. Most of them do not have access to a library. It is impossible for them to research books published in the 19th or early 20th century.

  61. Rahul Ghosh

    It is wrong and a crime to deny people access to books and knowledge. The digital ecosystem with multiple tools, software, and AI-powered mechanisms has changed people’s way of extracting, narrating, and sourcing the facts in their own way—denying to do so is similar to withholding, suppressing, or distorting the truth.

    A particular library’s copyright to a specific content or published work is passe. Libraries, government, digital archives need to work together to create a central repository for people’s consumption of the varied types of books irrespective of their region and language.

  62. Nelson

    Having access to books and other material has help me in my life. Please do not let this happen and I pray and hope you win. I feel like the burning of the Alexandria Library….burning it down to the ground.

  63. Vasant J Rajwade.

    As a reader of on-line books, I fully support your legal fight in the court to regain the books back. Wish you every success in your endeavour. Regards.

  64. Ciaran Brady

    Internet Arhive is an invaluable source foer scholars. It has performed vital work in making free books and other materials which in places Google Books have been restricted unmecessarily for the purposes of profit

    I am an Emeritus Professor of History at Trinity College Dublin

  65. Jean Colson

    iT WOULD BE NICE IF KNOWLEDGE WAS FREELY AVAILABLE or Accessible to all, NOT JUST THOSE WHO CAN PAY SOMEONE FOR THE PRIVILEGE.

    Learning should be a human right, not a privilege
    It should be comparable to the idea that access to clean water is be a right. Eg. Dumping sewage in the water ways kills people. Closing down free access to libraries and schools also kills people

    I suppose the next thing we will hear is a proposal that corporations will close Public Libraries and run them as businesses for the ‘special people’ who probably don’t care.

  66. MOHAMED KAMEL GRIMI

    access to 500,000+ books It’s very interesting, you’re doing a great job, I’m delighted to join you.

  67. GAMBOT

    This is devastating and absolutely very wrong move! They do a such big error. They should stop this lawsuit right away. We won’t let them winning!

  68. Charumathi A P

    Many people who are not able to access all the books due to economic status and area where they live. And in many rural areas, there are no library which provide valuable books. Internet Archeive encourages students to read and research through lending books. so I’m commenting this to restore access 5,00,000+ books for everyone.

  69. Artur Nerkowski

    An author myself (computer programmer), I am amused how abusive “intellectual property rights” has become over time. Especially that in present world, business models exist, that allow authors to earn money on their work without the need for IP laws other than recognising the right of the author to be attributed as an author.

    I really don’t understand how people can not see the difference between forgery (attributing your work to someone else), theft (appropriating someones property in a way that prevents the owber to further use the property) and sharing/copying (where the original author is not loosing the ability to use their property).

    IMO only the uncreative (either by nature or by degeneration) authors need to resort to stricter IP laws to be able to earn money. We shouldn’t extend the laws just because of the inaptness of these authors.

    I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you guys – you’re doing good work.

  70. Adam Matthew Walter

    I wish you all the best of luck in this I pray thee for where would I be without your books because you can’t even buy some of the books that I read you guys have I’ve tried been to every Library perused every other place possible thank you so much as soon as I get a dime in my pocket I will make another donation thanks again keep up the struggle God bless you

  71. Alia

    Access to education and literature is a basic fundamental tool to ensuring our youth grows up culturally and spiritually enriched

  72. Bensu

    This is a corporate coup against the democratic practice of libraries that serves an inalienable sociocultural function: ensuring the access to information, and hence, self-education. The Internet Archive is possibly the most valuable resource any student, reader, and intellectual could ever ask for. Carrying the library culture one step further by allowing people from all over the world to read the often out of print and field-specific niche books, Internet Archive democratised access to information via books on an unprecedented level. While physical libraries with decent collections might be regular in the US, they are unfortunately not the reality for most of the world. Internet Archive granted me access to books related to my field, when my own university’s library did not carry them. I owe thanks to Internet Archive for aiding me in the completion of my degree when my local libraries failed me. Not only that, but Internet Archive proves to be an invaluable asset for humanity in its amazing work of digitising books for posteriority. Physical books can be lost to the years and the elements, but this digitised library will persist. The decision to block Internet Archive from lending 500k+ books to readers from all walks of life and all around the globe is callous at best, and truly hostile towards communities with less privileges and opportunities at worst. This case is not merely Hachette v Internet Archive; but Hachette v The Global Human Right to Access Information, Hachette v The Democracy of Libraries, Hachette v Solidarity. I sincerely hope the courts of a country that prides itself of being the land of the free will keep these values in mind when deciding the appeal.

  73. Barbara Widdows

    I am appalled that the public has been deprived of all these book on Internet Archive. Many of which wete publish in the 1930s ana 40s.
    How can copyright apply.

  74. Dorothy

    Rooting for open library I love this site gives ke so much joy reading the books I loved as a kid. I hope yall win

  75. ahmed

    I have just have a question for the Open Library.

    What was the organic motivation behind the organization establishing such a rich library with extensive resources, that only favor only the advantage few people to access educational resources while many disadvantage from poor background have no leverage to empower themselves?

    I’m here advocating for the org to restore 500,000+ for everyone.

  76. Mitch Green

    This is a “National Treasure” There is so much and more that should be saved since some do not like to preserve the media that you have stored.

  77. Jacob

    Save the internet archive! Theres no other place on the internet where you can share and archive lost and obscure media and even old copies of websites. its a shame that companies want to take it down due to selfish reasons , It’s very important that it stays up.

  78. Dorris Tyson

    This is a great place to find books that are not available elsewhere!
    All libraries are useful and necessary to keep people informed.

  79. Jenna Dennison

    This is where I come to read to my daughter. We live in a small studio apartment and can’t fit many things here and the public library it too far to go all the time. We NEED this.

  80. Oisín

    I hope freedom of literature will win once again against federal censorship, as so many times before. These lawsuits are the last gasps for breath of a dying tyrannical regime! #longlivetheinternetarchive!

  81. Sara H

    Just like any other library, Internet Archive lets you borrow books and i found so many books from my childhood i couldn’t find from local libraries! Please don’t end Internet Archive!!!!

  82. GREGORY

    SEÑORES !!
    UN SOLO LIBRO O MILES DE LIBROS DA LO MISMO , – SIN LECTORES -, UN ABSURDO, , SE MUERE ABANDONADO, APOLILLADO EN UNA ESTANTERÍA, COMO PAPEL VIEJO, INSERVIBLE, COMIDO POR LAS RATAS !!
    EL LIBRO DIGITAL Y ACCESIBLE PARA TODOS ES LA COMÚN UNIÓN DE LOS PUEBLOS , EN SUS INFINITAS LENGUAS, EN NUESTRO, COMÚN Y BREVE DESTINO, EN ESTA TIERRA !!
    BRAVO !! ARCHIVE.ORG !!

  83. GREGORY

    A SINGLE BOOK OR THOUSANDS OF BOOKS MAKES THE SAME, – WITHOUT READERS -, AN ABSURD, IT DIES ABANDONED, MOTH-WEATHED ON A SHELF, LIKE OLD, USELESS PAPER, EATEN BY RATS!!
    THE DIGITAL AND ACCESSIBLE BOOK FOR ALL IS THE COMMON UNION OF THE PEOPLE, IN THEIR INFINITE LANGUAGES, IN OUR, COMMON AND BRIEF DESTINY, ON THIS EARTH!!
    BRAVO!! ARCHIVE.ORG!!
    TRADUCCIÓN GOOGLE

  84. QcTheCat

    Knowledge should be free, not locked behind corporate doors. Long live Internet Archive.

  85. Kelsey

    Here’s something major that i just learned from Naomi Moist from San Francisco USA, this can help your case people: Penguin made $720 million in profit last year. Wiley’s CEO expects “material performance and profit improvement in fiscal 2025 and 2026.” For the first six months of fiscal 2024, HC sales were up 4%, to $1.07 billion, with profits jumping 67%, to $150 million, giving the publisher an operating margin of about 14%. The Lagardère group [i.e. Hachette] delivered €5.914 billion in revenue in the first nine months of 2023, up 18.1% on a reported basis. These are all direct statements from these companies.

    This is literal proof that the internet archive isn’t effecting the sales of these publishers and they got nothing to support their arguments, use this as evidence against your enemies. I’m praying for your victory, please know that there’s over 31,000 people supporting you people on change.org and it keeps on rising, please give your best fight and remember all the people who love you and support you to the end!

    1. Hunter Fenton

      I enjoy this library so much and I will continue to be at your side and support your fight for the return of all of the missing titles. These books bring back great memories, and we can’t stand seeing an important piece of history gone for the face of the web. We’re all there for you! Let’s go read a buncha books! (Rah-rah sis boom bah-BOOM!)

  86. vbbhasti

    Poor people who can not afford to pay for books HAVE the RIGHT to ACCESS human knowledge. Knowledge is NOT just for a part of humanity.

  87. Gabo

    Total support for free education and complete approval of the ideas of freedom that this digital library promotes.

  88. Cynthia Sorgenfrei

    I believe it would help authors sell books in the long run and they shouldn’t fight it. I can’t tell you how many books I’ve purchased on Amazon because I had to have the hard copy because I loved the electronic version I was able to sample on Archive. It’s free advertising for publishers and authors. I love archive.org.

  89. josie j.

    praying to god that the good guys (internet archive!!!) come out on top through this greed-fuelled lawsuit. archive.org is a library bettering our society by preserving various media types, helping people of all income brackets LEARN, and keeping history from being altered/removed. pengoon, wiley coyote, all of those publishers care about nothing more than “muh almighty buck” and couldn’t give 2 —-s about those that cant afford to digitally rent (not own! despite claiming “buy”) books, or those that were trying to respect covid lockdowns and, you know, not spread that deadly virus to everybody. bless archive.org, preserve libraries, fix copywrong and digital ownership laws, and boycott these publisher scumbags

  90. Anna, Educated Citizen of the World

    Yeah, “best of luck!” and all that, but expect disappointment and defeat.

    You are up against very cynical, very greedy, very ruthless, ideologically-extremist, American rentier-capitalist predators — a very polarising, very virulent, very pathogenic, massively metastatic and malign force working against the Common Good on this beautiful blue marble orbiting the Sun.

    There are those who seek to include, to liberate, to empower, and to enrich Everyone.

    And then there are those who scheme and manoeuvre to Restrict, to Exclude, to Enslave, to Disempower, and to Exploit everyone else — seeking only to enrich themselves (financially, and psychologically).

    We all know which tribe has been in the ascendant for decades.

    Your very use and endorsement of the loaded partisan term “I.P.” means, sadly, the extractive-abusive tribe has already long-since Won.

    But yeah, Good Luck!
    .
    :S

  91. Terence Love

    The actions and motives of the publishers seem to me like they should be widely regarded as archaic in 2024. They may even be dangerously out of sync with the needs of the present and future in such a rapidly changing world where having unobstructed and immediate access to information may be absolutely essential.
    Existing laws around digital rights may need to be adapted to the reality and circumstances of these times if they cannot serve our essential interests.

  92. Abdullah Rakeeb

    Millions of people search for knowledge and access the Internet Archive to find it which otherwise would be impossible for the masses to avail due to the cost or price of the publication. This does not mean we do not buy printed and digital publications such as books magazines or journals. Everyone has a spending limit and therefore a limited capacity to purchase where the Internet Archive and similar knowledge-sharing platforms help everyone further their knowledge without over-burdening themselves. Huge libraries offer such services for a given locality but the Internet Archive opened its doors to everyone from every corner of earth. I appreciate publishers of all sorts for their efforts to disburse knowledge and reward writers. However, they do not keep their publications for public access nor archive them for future generations what the Internet Archive is doing. There are some govt archives appreciably accessible to the public. Let the Internet Archive be there with them and last forever for everyone who loves to know, read and research. Do not let it down for mere monetary profit. ‘Knowledge is power’ and this power makes men the true human!

  93. Arlene Olster

    Well-stocked free public libraries are the continuing education we need. Anyone can be an autodidact. Anyone can explore the enjoyment reading bestows.

  94. Adolfo Martin Fuentes

    Dear Daniel, dear Chris,

    in these times, when it is even possible to make an appointment for the doctor without having the need to move for those people who cannot do it, it should also be possible to borrow a book easily from a library for people who cannot move like the elderly or cannot afford to buy it like poor families.

    The denial of such a fundamental right is against the nature of developed societies, where free access to education is one of its bases.

    On the other hand, history has shown, that when the access to the educational resources are free, not only education, the quality of living and the democratization of society improves, but also the revenues of the publishing companies.

    Thank you very much to you all for your support.

    Sincerely,

    Adolfo

    the Internet Archive Library.

  95. Rick

    I have no other way to read. Retired & no extra cash for books, cable tv
    etc. This is my ONLY entertainment. DO NOT take it from me.

  96. Luisa

    Publishers should be happy their books are consulted on archive.org. It is also a form of advertisement. After glancing at them this way, and having ascertained that they are interesting/useful/worth buying, scholars often order them for themselves or their University or departmental libraries. Most academic books are really expensive nowadays and certainly one would not buy them simply because they have an attractive title. In other cases, books are no longer in print, and cannot be bought, and on archive.org they have a chance to be read all the same all over the world.

  97. Randolph Washington

    History is free and public information. No one person creates or dictates what history is going to be. History shows what is affecting and has affected people within that era of time. We must learn from it, freely, continue what is good and not allow a repeat of what is bad. Wayback Machine and other free open archive libraries must be preserved to help accomplish the preservation of humanity to a more loving, unifying light. No entity should be allowed to restrict or sale activities and events which happened beyond its control. History is an unpredictable activity of humanities daily living.

  98. Elizabeth E

    Open library, thank you for making these books accessible to many people across the world, who would, for many different reasons, be unable to access these books otherwise. I wish us all good luck in this fight.

  99. Anonymous

    I frequent used-book stores and national archives. I enjoy the joy of discovery, the joy of having immediate access to great works that are created by great people in the past. They remind us how great humanity is. They restore our trust in humanity. I cannot imagine what a person i will become without services internet archive that provide equal access to knowledge, and thus providing equal development opportunities. To be free men and women, we need to have free minds. To have free minds, we need to have free knowledge. I can say that most of my college education is not classes, but time spent in the libraries and archives, digital or not. These great works by great people will fall into oblivion and simply forgotten if not for services like IA. And we will sure have less great people for the generations to come. It’s not that they will vanish —— but they will be limited to the elites, studying in elite schools. I can confidently say I had educated myself at the quality of the elites —— something not possible without services like IA.

  100. Maurice Gravelle

    Let’s restore access to 500,000+ books for everyone!!!! Let’s spread the news!!!

    1. Paul W.

      Please put those books back. I use archive.org for all sorts of research I do. For instance, Russian novels, obscure essayists, biographies, out of print books, classical literature, and more.

  101. Gitangsu Kar

    That’s an imperative given the facilities unfolding every day in the age of information technology.
    It’s a most commendable effort to collectively fight for.

  102. Tapti Roy

    Internet Archive has helped me in accessing books even at the remotest village in India. It is due to internet archive that I have been able to work on my PhD which would not have been possible with the meager grants and expensive research materials. Restore Internet Archive!!

  103. Priya

    Good deeds take time to reep and this work is reeping more faster than it should be. We all are with you
    Lets Shout Out for the Winning Case..

  104. John Doe

    For anyone who didn’t catch it:
    It didn’t go all too well, at the end the court said that it was practically equivalent to photocopying a book and loaning that out while keeping the original in storage, and that the defense that the archive had was contradictory (basically that since the transformation increases efficiency and access to the books, it necessarily is affecting publishers, which is a dumb take).
    I have no legal background, not a lawyer, just someone who’s very concerned about the stupid amounts of power being given to publishers.

  105. Michael Pickett

    As hometown business shutter their doors, unable to compete with large corporate owned businnes, rural America is slowly dying.
    We have lost so much, empty buildings don’t provide employment, they don’t produce wages and they can’t provide the taxes once used to operate city services.
    Our libraries are mobile trucks at best. A person could spend hours thumbing through the thousands of books, finding new adventures, opportunities, and engaging their brains in books not drugs.

  106. Robert

    The information belongs to the people. Books educate and make the world a better place. Access to education goes hand in hand with freedom.

    The Internet Archive is a treasure!

  107. Javad Yaghoobi

    I’m writing this to support restoring access to 500,000+ books for everyone.

  108. Bob H

    This is oversimplifying but free books during the author’s lifetime means there’s no incentive to write them. But $20 for an ebook is gouging. Greed on both sides.

    Let’s leverage technology to make the cost low enough to avoid piracy during the author’s life and keep the books coming. Children of authors who did the work don’t deserve a penny.

  109. Hendrix

    Archives play an important role for humanity and therefore should be especially protected, not shat on. Sadly, it appears the bureaucrats in power seem not to care much about preserving history. They have no understanding how important preserving history is.

    The value of an archive becomes most apparent in the long term, when one tries to look for something just to realize it is lost to history.

    If I had the leverage, I would immunize archives from attacks like these. Sadly, there is nothing I alone can do.

    1. Kelsey

      There’s only so much we can do on our own, but that’s why we need to sign that petition and pray with everything that we’re made of to show how much we love and support the internet archive, here’s the link for it: https://www.change.org/p/let-readers-read-an-open-letter-to-the-publishers-in-hachette-v-internet-archive?source_location=search

      We need to get to 35,000 signatures and beyond, like and support this petition as we can make it go viral, you can also do the same for this website: https://www.battleforlibraries.com/ and make that go viral as well, we need to get the message out as far and wide as possible; use your contacts and ask them to pitch in as well.

      The people in power may seem tough, but we gave them that power; we can take it away as well. now hopefully we don’t need to resort to violence, but I’m willing to hazard a guess that there are plenty of people of this site who are willing to start riots and protests if it get’s to that point. Still, hopefully it’s not going to get to that, until then make those petitions viral as hell and spread this around to especially show support: #longlivetheinternetarchive!

  110. friedman

    I must be missing something. I would’ve expected only relatively new books (in-print / e-book available) to be affected by the decision:

    https://publicknowledge.org/some-unexpected-sanity-in-the-hachette-v-internet-archive-lawsuit/

    But still so many old books (from the 60s, 70s, 80s), out of print, out of sale, and obviously with no e-book alternative provided by the publisher, are “Borrow Unavailable”. Does anyone understand what’s really going on?

    Thanks!

  111. liam lujan

    oh hell no, they cant just do this with that many books that i bet will be not aold anymore or just become lost, so KEEP THOSE500,000 books!!, hope you guys win internet archive

  112. Kelsey

    Everyone we only need 710+ votes on our change.org petition to reach 35,000 signatures, please everyone get anyone who can sign the form do so. Use your emails, your contacts and anything else in your disposal to help the cause. please, let’s get this goal done.

  113. Hrris

    Archives should be respected and protected as it’s a milestone of importance for humanity! Therefore, logic suggests only the praise and protextion of Achives and its growth. Any action againt Archives is obvious ilogical, on purpose, against knowledge and fight to erase history. Live Long and prosper Archives.

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