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While I'm well able to and would not mind paying for myself, I have to say that I think this is a TERMINALLY BAD idea.
It defeats the very purpose of public libraries - to make information freely available to all. Period.
I grew up dirt poor in a single parent household - we weren't on food stamps or other assistance because we were 'proud'. But double shifts were a way of life.
We practically lived at the public library - we couldn't afford many books of our own, but we devoured the library, especially my older brother and I. Even a small pittance per book would have been beyond our means.
Times are tough enough already without jerking books out of the hands of the poor and needy.
And the 'if you own an ereader, you can afford to buy ebooks' argument doesn't hold water if someone receives a reader as a gift with the understanding that they can check out library books.
One day ereaders will be as cheap as calculators are now (remember when THOSE cost an arm and a leg?) - let's not set a bad precedent for those who don't own them now but will undoubtedly own them later.
No bars to knowledge!
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