Quote:
Originally Posted by DuckieTigger
Subsidized? Read again, who said anything about subsidizing? Treat pbooks and ebooks equally when it comes to libraries. It is akin to charging double and more for an ebook compared to a pbook just because you are spared the expense of having a bookshelf at home. Publishers don't do it to you, why do they do it to libraries?
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Why treat something the same, when they aren't the same? Loaning ebooks is more akin to subscription services than it is to selling ebooks. I suspect that at some point in the near future, ebooks will be much like music, i.e. many if not most will get most of their content via subscription services while a core of customers will continue to buy so they can own it. At that point, I suspect that libraries will simply be a specialized subscription service when authors (and publishers) get paid per use rather a one time paid price.