Wednesday, September 28, 2005
We were so very excited from the past one week for the book fair that was to commence from today. But the much anticipated fair turned out to be a major waste of time! What was more, the sense of inability to buy all that one wanted was at its highest. The titles were excellent, the subjects were very appropriate and I don’t think any subject offered in the university was left out. We usually don’t find many books on Mass Communication but over there the selection and collection of books was excellent. What didn’t suit us was the price. They were all original and brand new books none under Rs 500. We could only look at the books with the longing looks of a child at a candy counter.
H finally decided to buy one book [Writing for IMPACT] which in Indian rupees was for 240. but converted into Pak Rupee it cost us about 375. These are all the titles a library should have, but although our library boasts of more that 10000 books and journals, all are really outdated.
What can one do if not to opt for the pirated versions of the same books which cost only a fraction of the original?? I know its blatant violation of the copyright laws, but then what?? There’s a picture in today’s Metropolitan of Urdu bazaar shopkeepers protesting arrests for selling pirated and photocopied versions. But if they don’t provide us with the copies how will we, the book worms be able to devour all the books we want to?? I know that I wont be able to buy all the Dan Browns, Grishams, Coelhos etc if it were not for the pirated versions available at various shops. Apart from a selected few, what will all the others do when (if there ever is!) there is a complete ban on all such books? Its not only the fiction books I am talking about, almost every one bought local prints for A Level course b’cuz the originals are simply out of reach of an average person.
This is one thing where I really am not sure about implementation of law. But there certainly should be an alternative of original books!