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Originally Posted by Harmon
Well, that's the public library mission, I suppose. But that's only one model for lending libraries, and perhaps it doesn't work well for ebooks. For one thing, in order to lend ebooks to "lower income" people, it would probably be necessary to lend EBRs as well.
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Unless they have computers in their homes, which are increasingly becoming necessary even in low-income areas just to cope with work & school requirements.
You don't need a dedicated device (which can be as cheap as $80) to read library ebooks.
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That gets a little problematical - although these days, LIP seem to have tvs & dvd players to play the dvds the public library lends out here in Chicago.
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One-time expenses that cover the family's entertainment are a lot cheaper than paying for sports tickets, museum visits, movies in the theatre, vacation camping and amusement park trips. Used TVs start at about $25, or free if a friend or relative is getting the new HD super-function model and is generous with their old one. New 19" TVs start at $125. New DVD players start at under $20.
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I can imagine an ebook lending library model which charged for lending ebooks, either on a per checkout basis, or via a monthly or annual subscription, ala Netflix.
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People have been begging for a subscription-rental ebook system for years. Publishers won't go for it. It's possible the problem with ebook borrowing fees is copyright & licensing, not whether library patrons could afford it.
Once they've bought a physical book, the copyright owner can't declare whether it can be resold or rented. But "buying" an ebook is a different matter, and the original is somewhere on a hard drive, not being handed over to the customer.