"There is absolutely no question about it," writes Caren Milloy. "the current e-book marketplace needs a fundamental shift to move to a more transparent and sustainable footing." That's the lesson to be drawn from "the sheer frustration voiced through the #ebooksos petition" (also on Twitter). At the same time, the main message we hear from publishers is that a sustainable business model "isn't something that will be solved quickly, and requires a concerted, collaborative effort across the community." Maybe we should stop trying to think of ways "to help shape a better marketplace" and start thinking of electronic books, at least in research and education, as infrastructure, not products. Forget about 'rebalancing' and approaches that 'inject choice'. Those are sops to satisfy entrenched interests, but don't portend real change. Start with the presumption that these resources will be free for the people who need them, and them work backward from there.
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