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Does no one realize that libraries pay the publishers for each book in their collection? And that they pay a lot more than the consumer does? Sure, a lot of people can read that same book, and the per-user cost trends toward zero, but money does change hands.
I point this out only because borrowing a book from a library is often equated with snagging an e-book off the darknet, but it's not the same. It's only equivalent in the micro view, that of the reader. In the macro view, it's different. With publicly-supported libraries, budget requests are supported by citizen participation. Higher budgets mean more services and more books purchased for the collection. Borrowing the book from the library supports the entire library system and serves to compensate the publisher and author, albeit at a lower rate than retail does.
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