Quote:
Originally Posted by kennyc
Right, but it could still be somewhat equated with the nebulous "lost sales."
|
Of course, but just like with the illegal downloading, it's not one-for-one. There are quite a few people who use the library who simply can't afford to buy many books. Not everyone who borrowed the book from the library would have bought it new had it not been available through their library. Many would likely have waited for a price drop, bought the paper copy used or borrowed it from a friend. Not every ebook fan is ebook-only like I am. Plus, some people may have read it simply because it was available. They may not have gone looking for that title in particular but considered it because it was available for loan. If they couldn't borrow the book, they might rather read other books they didn't have to purchase, like Public Domain or illegally downloaded material. Still, I think many publishers likely regard providing titles to the library as good corporate citizenship even though they know it will lose them some sales. Can you imagine the PR cost of not doing so?