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Originally Posted by John F
I'm not sure where you are coming from. I haven't heard anyone in this thread say they want it for free.
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I saw on another site where the average checkout per year is 1.4 times. So 2.8 every 2 years. So you are saying that an average pbook deteriorates every 2.8 checkouts?
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Well, yes. Paper books deteriorate based on time and exposure as well as usage. Given that quite a few patrons don't treat library books particularly well, books can deteriorate quite a bit. There is a reason most libraries tend to carry mostly hard back books.
I remember reading that at one time, libraries were the major source of income for quite a few authors. It makes sense if you think about it. The average number of sales for an average book is somewhere between 5,000 to 10,000 depending on topic and genre. For some non fiction or specialized books, the majority of their sales are to libraries. Then add in that most libraries tend to buy hardback books. No publisher is going to not sale to libraries, that's cutting off your nose to spite your face.
The flip side of that is that ebooks can change the dynamics quite a bit. Publishers have no control over a paper book once they sale it. This is the first sale doctrine. However, ebooks open up other possibilities, so publishers are exploring those possibilities. eBooks also open up other risks. People like to share books. Depending on how that's done, it can mean reduced sales for a given author and publisher.
There really are two sides to this particular issue and neither side is completely in the right or wrong.