Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
They did, in that the library bought a copy of the book. For many authors, library sales form a very significant source of revenue.
Many people compare piracy to libraries, but this is a very misleading analogy. If 1000 libraries buy a copy of a book, that's 1000 sales for the author. Very often too, publishers produce special "library editions" of books which cost more than the normal book. If 1000 people download an illegally scanned copy of a book, that's zero sales for the author (well, perhaps 1 sale if you count the original book).
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On the other hand, how many more people are now exposed to how many more books that they would never seek out in their local library, much less purchase from the store. If the authors care more about money then they are indeed getting screwed. If they care about recognition and exposure then things are looking up.