Quote:
Originally Posted by applewine
Is there anything stopping me from just buying printed books and starting a for-profit library? Is there anything stopping the same thing with e-books? Is there some kind of terms of sale when you buy an e-book that says you can't put it in a shared library? I'm talking about a direct-sale from a publisher, not from a reseller like kindle or Barnes and Noble which is not really ownership, but a special copy in their library reserved for you all the time.
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Yes, there is something stopping you from starting your own e-book lending library (either for profit or non): Licensing. No one ever actually buys an ebook. They are all licensed (sadly).
To start a library you'd have to work directly with the publishers or a "library" vendor. And as a librarian, I can tell you that that is where you would run into trouble. Publishers charge libraries MUCH more for an ebook than a regular consumer because they will be read by multiple people and more times than a single person buying a book.
Any deviation from the licensing agreement you agree to when you "buy" it, is open for a lawsuit. Even though you didn't get to agree to the terms before purchasing.