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Library users sort of are freeloaders. Calm down, don't yell at me yet. The people reading the library books are getting them free, because as a culture we've decided that books should be available to everyone and not only the rich. Someone is still paying for the books, which is all publishers should care about.
Library books aren't as different from any other book sale as the publishers and authors make out. Lots of individually purchased books pass through multiple hands. People share books within their family or circle of friends, they exchange them in book exchanges, or sell them to used bookstores and the cycle starts all over again.
Books in libraries are good for authors and publishers and the public, Penguin is cutting off their nose to spite their face and I really hope all their authors are pitching fits. Sadly, they probably all drank the "ebooks are evil" and "libraries are full of freeloaders" koolaid and don't realize how much this will hurt them.
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