Quote:
Originally Posted by queentess
26 sounds like a really low number to me.... 26 checkouts would be a year of constant use, but what about all those times the book is checked out and never even cracked open?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by abookreader
I have extreme doubts that 26 loans is "a year of use" since a good number of library users are heavy readers and will finish a book in a day or two and return it.
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I agree that 26 is probably a bit low. However I'm guessing they did not pull the number out of a hat, they likely did a survey to find out the average life span of a paper book, and cut that number by a certain percent.
I suspect, though, that the people who are upset about this may not want to accept any restricted lifespan on the ebooks, regardless of any economic implications. I also have a feeling that if HC backs down on the policy, they may charge libraries a substantially higher fee per copy, which has its own drawbacks.
As to the "checked out, never read" -- that might be a consideration, but I don't think that standard is particularly relevant. Carrying the book out of the library runs the risk of wear and tear, even if all it does is sit in the bottom of a backpack for a week.