[Publib] Curious question

[Jesse Ephraim]

>Another take on libraries' buying trashy books:  
>If your library buys a hot trashy book, and 
>11 people read it, then that's as many as ten
>copies that the author did not sell 

The RIAA has tried to use that same argument to justify their
exceedingly high lost revenue numbers from music pirating, but it isn't
necessarily true.  The assumption is that people would buy all the books
they check out if the library was not around to supply them with free
copies.  Though some people may have the money to buy as many books as
they want, most do not.  I will probably check the book out just to see
how ludicrous it is, but I would never choose to spend my own money to
get it from a bookstore.

Jesse Ephraim

Adult Services Librarian
Southlake Public Library
1400 Main Street, Suite 130
Southlake, TX  76092
(817) 748-8247
jephraim at ci.southlake.tx.us