What was the basis for the legal ruling or whatever that took the books for sale out of the public library? I went to the Westlake library today, and there were no books for sale on the shelf. I enjoyed them, and it’s a shame that they’re not there anymore. I want to know why.

Michael Sawyer, Calcasieu Parish Public Library director, said Friends of the Library, the group that runs the sales, is “reorganizing at this time, and will open the book sales to the public again when the process is complete.”

The Informer is unsure what legal ruling the reader refers to, but it knows of one notable case.

The ruling — a federal appellate court opinion — doesn’t apply to Louisiana. But it could make things more difficult for libraries, used-book dealers and textbook resellers in the court-covered areas.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in August ruled that the “first sale doctrine” — a legal principle that says the initial buyer of a book can lend it or sell it — applies only to books made in the United States.

The case, John Wiley & Sons Inc. v. Supap Kirtsaeng, involved a man who had family members in Thailand send him foreign editions of textbooks, which he then sold online. He reportedly earned about $1 million from the practice, which he used to fund his graduate education.

In its decision, the court lamented what it said was ambiguity in U.S. copyright laws and ruled that the statutory phrase “lawfully made under this Title” applies only to works produced in the United States.

The problem: Many publishers have their works printed overseas, and libraries and used-book sellers worry the ruling could force them to track down a book’s provenance — and gain a publisher’s OK — before lending or selling it.

“It seems highly unlikely that publishers would ever seek to stop libraries from circulating books because of where they were printed. But the ruling creates uncertainty …,” Andrew Albanese writes on PublishersWeekly.com.

“It does not seem so unlikely, on the other hand, that publishers might use the ruling to stop the sale of used books — especially textbooks, a secondary market at which publishers have long chafed.”

The court acknowledged the ruling could create unintended hardships and lead to questions, but it said the responsibility for clarifying the law rested elsewhere.

“If we have misunderstood Congressional purpose in enacting the first sale doctrine, or if our decision leads to policy consequences that were not foreseen by Congress or which Congress now finds unpalatable, Congress is of course able to correct our judgment,” Judge Jose Cabranes wrote for the two-judge majority.

The 2nd Circuit encompasses Connecticut, New York and Vermont.

• Online:

www.ca2.uscourts.gov

Gulf Highway to get overhaul in 2013

When will the state resurface the road on Gulf Highway from Boone’s Corner north to the Calcasieu-Cameron Parish line? We have deep ruts when it rains, and it’s so bad that you could run off in the ditch.

The road will receive an overhaul as part of the state’s Roadway Preservation Program, but not until June 2013, said Steve Jiles, the highway department’s district engineer administrator.

“The project may be advanced if additional funding becomes available,” Jiles wrote in an email. “Maintenance crews will address problems with the condition of this roadway until these planned improvements can be made.”

The Informer answers questions from readers each Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. It is researched and written by Andrew Perzo, an American Press staff writer. To ask a question, call 494-4098, press 5 and leave voice mail, or email

informer@americanpress.com