Quote:
Originally Posted by ApK
Libraries are legal. They have permission to lend the books.
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Legality isn't the issue here, though. The effects on authors are the issue.
If the free availability of a book affects sales, then it will affect sales whether it's legally or illegally free. If piracy reduces sales, library copies will reduce sales; if one doesn't, neither will the other.
Libraries are less physically convenient; illicit downloads are less morally convenient. Which wins out in terms of numbers? I have no clue. But a non-sale is a non-sale, whether someone copied the ebook, checked out the pbook from the library, or just didn't read it in the first place.