The Washington Post is running this story about the Association of American Publishers' attack on libraries' use of digital documents. The article leaves rather open the question of what the publishers really want, but it certainly stomps on the whole Information Wants to Be Free idea. While I can't blame underpaid editors and authors for wanting to make sure that they get their slice of the digital pie, I get the feeling that this might also represent a move by the big media guns (TimeWarner etc) who are busily consolidating what we used to call publishing into its own more aggressive idea of a "content-based revenue stream."

Of course, maybe I'm way off base on this, and the libraries really are ripping off publishers. Somebody enlighten me.