"The modestly funded West Haven Library has spent more than $12,000 over the last three years to lease just 276 additional digital titles beyond what patrons can access through a consortium of public libraries. Eighty-four of those books are no longer available. If that same amount had been spent on paper books, it would have covered about 800 titles."
#books #reading #libraries #publishing #writers #news #press #media #bookstodon
@noellemitchell How stringent are the rules against uploading the print versions mechanically?
@noellemitchell
I'd put a big sign on the front desk that says "Sorry, we don't have ebooks anymore as publishers want to charge taxpayers frankly immoral amounts for them. Definitely don't pirate them though. While it's extremely easy and 100% free, you might make the multi-billion dollar publisher sad. Have a good day!"
@noellemitchell @cathygellis I think libraries should drop ebooks. DRM and the various ToS are 100% antithetical to everything libraries stand for. Make the physical libraries as great as they can be, so people want to visit and stay there to read, focus on physical books and tools and instruments and seeds and bikes and anything else physical that people might need to borrow, and tell the ebook vendors to fuck off with their draconian, anti-democratic demands and price gouging
Just goes to show they can recall books they lease instead of bought ones such as the paper copies for whatever the reason, if any given, be.
To digress for a bit: Maybe if the following becomes the case costs will come down. If society has no cash then negative interest rates can happen and that would result in lower prices.
The following person has written books and blogged about the publishing industry (and some other topics):