The Aaron Swartz library has now opened its web doors to all McGill University students. The library is in fact my office (room 300N, McConnell Engineering Building), and the books are a subset of my private collection. Any McGill student may borrow any book at any time!
The library is named in honor of Aaron Swartz (1986-2013), an American computer programmer, writer, political organizer and internet activist, who committed suicide after MIT, the book publishing industry, and federal prosecutors went after him with a big stick for the so-called crime of having downloaded a few million research articles. Swartz has been instrumental in the campaign to prevent passage of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), and has been a role model for civil liberties, especially as related to the internet. MIT and the publishers now have blood on their hands.