As reported on the "Wired Campus" blog from the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Textbook Torrents website was shut down.

http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/3178/textbook-piracy-site-now-offline

This website offered free downloads of textbooks for students. Think how you filled your Ipod, only this time with Organic Chemistry.

We've written about textbook prices in the past:

http://www.winonadailynews.com/articles/2008/04/02/school/01school0402.txt

and how they are part of the dog pile of costs students are receiving these days. To be fair, institutions like MnSCU are trying to at least do something

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/06/20/textbook_rentals/?refid=0

as evidenced by the pilot book rental program (which WSU or MSCST are not a part of).

The vast majority of internet users have at least skirted with the idea of copyright infringement, at least when it comes to music. I'll be honest: I'm 23, I listen to music, and I've used the internet once or twice. That pretty much tells you all you need to know involving music downloading and yours truly.

Most, however, haven't gone that far when it comes to books. I will also admit that, as a former employee of the Temple University English Department, I looked the other way a few times while staff and students pushed the limits of the Fair Use Doctrine.

I'm interested in what readers feel about copyright infringement when it comes to textbooks. While few offer a more nuanced justification for "illegal" downloading of music beyond, "I wanted it," I wouldn't be surprised if those same people would say getting free textbooks was crossing the line.

Or maybe I'm wrong?

With the costs of school rising and textbooks continuing to add on to that, should students have leeway here?

What do you think?

Nolan Rosenkrans

507-453-3519

nolan.rosenkrans@lee.net