online "libraries"

[Garson O'Toole]

Ronald Butters wrote
> There are many online libraries such as 'Questia', 'Open Library', which =
> offer online access for books and journals (Reading online), after the =
> fee of subscription is paid.=20
>
> Are these legal?

The PRNewswire website has an article indicating that Questia obtains
licenses for content from multiple publishers:

Questia Media Partners With Transaction Publishers to License Nearly
1,000 Titles for Online Access

[Begin excerpt]
The Transaction joins more than 250 other top commercial publishers and
 university presses, including Oxford University Press, Cambridge University
 Press, Perseus Books Group, Taylor & Francis, Greenwood Publishing Group,
 Princeton University Press, Palgrave Macmillan, and Columbia University Press,
 among others, who have licensed their content to the Questia library.
[End excerpt]

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/questia-media-partners-with-transaction-publishers-to-license-nearly-1000-titles-for-online-access-54223502.html

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