[Publib] Curious question

[K.G. Schneider]

> >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

The Benton Foundation did a study about ten years ago that found that
library use and book purchasing go hand in hand. People who read a lot also
consume books from various sources. Of the piles of books I have in work
right now, about half are from the library and the rest are either new
(emergency airport reading, paid full price; bought from Amazon; or bought
in a special setting, such as a bird guide I bought at a specialty store
while shopping for feeders) or used (bought through Amazon). 

Though when you can buy used books for one cent plus $3.50 shipping, it's
interesting to ponder if the dynamic will change. 

Karen G. Schneider
kgs at bluehighways.com