The Open Library project, run by the Internet Archive, has suddenly become considerably smaller, at least in terms of the number of e-books it's able to lend to people around the world. After a US district judge ruled in favour of publishing companies suing the Internet Archive for breach of copyright, the organization had no choice but to remove access to over 500,000 books for the vast majority of its users.
In a post on its site, the Internet Archive calls the decision a "devastating loss" (via Ars Technica) and is in the process of appealing the ruling in order to return access to all users. The organisation claims that the service does not impact e-book revenue nor does it breach any particular law. At the moment, patrons with print disabilities are still able to borrow digital copies of the books in question.
