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Originally Posted by Fbone
Libraries serve the underprivileged first. A person with a home computer and ereader probably does not fit that profile. With the budget cuts they are trying to save computer access to the public. Online databases and interlibrary loans are next priorities.
In my state all internet access is provided by state funding and grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Foundation provided a grant for 2011 fiscal year but the State reduced their funding by 60%. Cuts will be made and announced in August.
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Yes, we're on the same page. Libraries will try to balance with some e-reading, because that's where things are headed longer term. They also have to offer the middle class and higher taxpayers a direct reason to support libraries. Reality is, many taxpayers don't want to pay for services they don't use. Library use actually benefits all of society, but people generally are motivated by self-interest most.