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Originally Posted by apbschmitz
What an interesting discussion, in that it never occurred to me that libraries would charge (beyond taxes) for access to content. Where I live (St. Paul, Minnesota, US) it would be absolute political suicide to suggest that anyone pay for access to library materials. There's a presumption that it's like police or fire protection — a service where it's of no significance whether you're rich or poor. Everyone is treated the same. Currently eBooks are available for free via Overdrive at the city libraries.
Of course the poor are abused in a million different ways here, but not at the library.
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Where I live, even police and fire fighters services are being cut, never mind libraries!
From across the river -
Violent crime spikes 19% in Camden (NJ)
"A dramatic increase in shootings and significant jump in violent crime in Camden since the city's massive police layoff could be a sobering omen of what's to come, authorities said Wednesday as initial 2011 statistics were released."
So, no. I wouldn't mind paying an additional fee for something that is above and beyond the lending of paper books. And if it gives them more money to buy more paper books, ebooks, or audiobooks all the better.