I downloaded Modern Coin Magic from Lybrary.com today. Very nice e-book format, its so much easier to practice this way. Thanks for the info and your patience Chris. I’ll be back for more.

Lybrary is great, bought several E-Books off there, the only thing is I really hate reading off a computer screen, and miss being able to flick through as easily as with a book. I know I should get round to printing them off, but its a lot of paper, and I've not really had the chance to yet.

Yes I am probably misinformed about the 26 year rule. But, as an author and publisher myself, I feel that not finding someone to pay does not mean that you can print their works. Your site does not indicate who you did and did not pay royalty to, or perhaps I missed that. I understand the effort it takes to compile and translate the works of an author onto a disk, but there was more effort involved in conceiving that intellectual property. Your name is the clever play on words, but you are not a library, you are a business. I despised Dover Press scavengers for trivializing the masters of magic, as it diminished the value of the original works, and I refuse to applaud any business who profits that way. I also have a problem with any rule by the government to require an author to "re-up" the copyright. It should be a one time fee (if a fee at all), and the rights should be permanent.
This is my opinion and this forum is the place to vent.
I find the lybrary selection excellent and the availability of these works in an electronic format is superb, but there should be a greater effort to clarify the policy by which the rights are obtained.
-Ian

Did Dover trivialize people like Hugard and Braue, Buckley, Fulves, Anneman, Nelms, Curry, Downs, Sachs (just to read off a few names from my shelves) or did they keep their work alive?

///ark

My concern is not the artists, they stand for themselves. My concern is for the profiteering. The work of the authors existed before dover, and copies of the original bound editions are still around. Dover couldn't care less about those authors. I think the equivalent of this is the American flag. I manufactured several flag effects, but would never use a flag that wasn't made in the U.S.
The flag itself bring the sentimentality and reverence when you have our nations colors. When I see a flag made in Taiwan, or India, I see profiteering of our symbol. So, it is not the author or their works I find trivialized. Yes, Dover publications has kept the work alive but has also exposed this material by making secret journals available in cheap print.
I am having trouble trying to verbalize my sentiments, but I believe that no-one on the list you quoted ever intended to have their work commercialized by non magicians.
I am in agreement with Chris Attard comment

This would be better discussed in the "Right or Wrong" section.

A couple arguing points:
The bible: Where do you send the royalty check?
The American Flag: Do you send a check to the Betsy Ross estate every time you made a flag effect?

I think the 26 year rule (and whatever modern modifications to that rule) considers that you've pretty much made your money. If you're not around to stake your claim to it, it's better that someone else is allowed to incur the cost of reprinting it, and recovering that cost through subsequent sales, rather than have your work lost forever.

Let me describe the Lybrary.com process to reproduce an old magic book.

1) We identify an interesting old book. This could be a customer recommendation or a book I have in my own collection or something I found or heard somewhere. The goal here is to find great material which is hard to access (either forgotten books or second hand copies cost a lot)

2) Then we check the copyright records. This can take several months because these old records are not searchable and one typically has to go to a library and check the printed copyright records, inquire with the copyright office or I hire a copyright lawyer who investigates.

3) Then we check if the author is still alive, if there is an estate in his name, surviving family, friends, etc. This phase can take years, because it is often hard to get in touch with surviving family. If we find somebody who has a legitimate moral claim to the work (note moral not legal claim) I approach them with the request to republish in return for royalties or I offer to purchase the rights.

In some cases this whole process took me 4 years from the initial idea until a contract was signed. I take copyrights very serious and I try to do the right thing. My intention is to compensate people with a moral claim even if their legal claim has expired. To try to suggest that Lybrary.com is praying on anybodies property rights is simply wrong. I am part of the magic community, deeply rooted with friends and colleagues spread over the world. Dover never was a part of the magic community. Equating Lybrary.com with Dover is missing the point.

Lybrary.com is a business, but you can believe me that pretty much all of the profit is plowed back into providing more of the contents you are looking for. I hope this answers the remaining questions on this issue. If there are any particular suggestions or constructive criticism, I am always just an email away.

Best,
Chris....

Well Chris, I am almost sorry I started this thread. Your process should be posted on your site as it would dispell attitudes like mine or at least show your efforts.
When you first started, I couldn't imagine how you got the right to some of the material you sold as I was working with D. Robbins who had just purchased the right to reprint and distribute some of the books that Tannens had in their archives. Robbins rights included the Tarbell collections.
I suppose I am just misinformed and old fashioned.
When you published the Erindase, I couldn't imagine how that could be. Then, with Dover having published Bobo, it escaped me as to how you could offer that in e-book as well.
I guess I am done, thanks for your clarifications.
-Ian

Magicians,

Don't feel sorry. I'm the one who started the thread after all. I didn’t think a few business related questions would start such a commotion. Sorry about that folks.