[Andrew H.]

It's interesting to me that, so far, only a handful of libraries seem to be meaningfully interested in out-of-state patrons for its e-books, as demonstrated by the fact that you don't have to apply for borrowing privileges in person. (Philly's library seems to be by far the cheapest, too.) My home library, for example, has twice as many books as Philly's (despite the city being substantially smaller), but in order to get a card, you have to appear in person and pay $65: there is no limited e-book card.

I'm interested in people's opinions on whether Philadelphia-style arrangements are going to become more common. The appeal of such plans to the library itself is obvious: the library receives extra income and has to do no extra work.

But libraries are, of course, funded by taxpayers. And if I did more borrowing than I do (which is almost none, despite having the bluefire app), I might be annoyed if wait times were significantly longer at my county library due to out of state patrons (I'm surprised that this isn't an issue in Philadelphia, specifically, since their e-book holdings are meager and yet they appear to be the go-to place for out of state borrowers).

So the real question is, I guess, whether appeasing taxpayers will prevent more libraries from going to a Philadelphia model, despite the benefit to the library itself.

For my home library, my guess is that they won't permit easy out-of-state lending. Although they will continue to allow non-residents to buy a library card for $65 by applying in person. (The same fee was in effect when I moved here 15 years ago, interestingly). I'm basing this primarily on the fact that the $50 million overbudget new library has put them in dutch with the taxpayers, and the not-unrelated reduced hours haven't helped matters any.

But those are features that may be unique to my library. Does anyone have any thoughts on what will happen to their home library, or whether the Philly-style system will expand?