Is the Harvard Coop Asking for a Boycotting?

The Harvard Coop went all RIAA on students last week and told students that they couldn't bring pens and take notes because they don't want students buying cheaper books. And Thursday they called police on three students who were taking down ISBN numbers so they could find those books online.

The Cambridge PD clearly felt it was a waste of their time because they let the students stay. They weren't shoplifting. And, besides, it's the police's job to protect the people, not the Coop's bottom line.

The Coop is feeling competition from crimsonreading.org, which allows students to compare prices on books from online retailers. Now the Coop wants to hoard ISBN info - as if students can't get ISBN info from somewhere else. And Crimson Reading talked to an intellectual property lawyer, who probably got a good laugh out of what the Coop was trying to pull.

The Coop has apparently not heard of online shopping engines that have been around for ages, like Shopzilla and mySimon. They could use those sites to find cheaper books. It doesn't really matter - the fact remains that the Coop can't fight competition, and students have the right to buy cheaper textbooks.

Image of stuff you can buy at the Coop that doesn't include books from the Coop's official site. In short, there's plenty of ways the Coop can make money instead of harassing crimsonreading.org.