A Harry Potter-obsessed librarian sobbed and lamented the legal muddle his unauthorized encyclopedia sparked – claiming he only wanted to immerse readers in the “genius” and wizardry of J.K. Rowling and her books.
Steve Vander Ark, 50, whose popular fan Web site won an award from Rowling in 2004, burst into tears and he could barely speak when asked whether he considers himself part of the “Harry Potter community.”
“I did,” Vander Ark blubbered, wiping tears from beneath his glasses. “I’m sorry. I do consider myself part of it.”
“It’s been difficult because there’s been a lot of criticism, obviously, and that was never the intention,” Vander Ark said apologetically, as Rowling looked on from her seat just feet away in Manhattan federal court. “I understand where it was coming from.
“This has been an important part of my life for the past nine or 10 years and to have it turn into . . .” he croaked.
A former middle-school librarian and avid “Star Trek” fan, Vander Ark said he is now unemployed except for pursuing his passion for Potter, estimating he’s read the books 30 or 40 times each. Vander Ark first felt Rowling’s wrath last fall after he inked a contract with RDR Books to publish an unauthorized “Harry Potter Lexicon” based on his Web site.
Rowling and Warner Bros. filed a federal copyright-infringement suit to stop the book from hitting the shelves.
Vander Ark testified that readers first pressed him to create a print version of his Web site during a fan convention in 2003, but he “believed it would not be allowed by copyright law.”
Vander Ark said he changed his mind when RDR owner Roger Rapoport told him there wouldn’t be a problem and indemnified him in the event of a suit.
In earlier testimony, Rowling bashed the lexicon as a “sloppy” and “lazy” rearrangement of her words that offers little analysis or commentary, while misinterpreting the meanings and origins of some character names and spells.
Rowling declined to comment on the testimony as she left court with her entourage. But she did stop to sign an autograph for a fan before climbing into a sedan.