02-15-2013, 05:15 PM | #31 | |
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He also says "The car industry would collapse if we went to car libraries for free use of Porsches". Well, no, it wouldn't. If we decided to provide Porsches to the public without charge, the government would still have to BUY the Porsches. If people didn't want to have to wait for a car to become available, or they wanted a new car or they didn't want want to share a car with someone else (there's enough junk in my own car) they could buy their own. Either way, cars would still need to be purchased. He keeps saying free, free, free, but his usage is highly misleading. There is no charge to the reader, but the books are paid for. Should we ban the sales of used cars? If he thinks libraries are so bad, then perhaps his books should be pulled out of the libraries. Would that generate more sales for his books? Probably not. It would very likely result in less children knowing his books existed, which would probably result in less sales. |
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02-15-2013, 05:46 PM | #32 |
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Without libraries, children would not be aware of his books and thus ask their parents to buy said books for them.
I know I've spent thousands on books for my daughter over the years, many of which she first discovered in the school library. I know my parents could never have afforded my reading habit when I was young. I used to go to the public library after I got home from school and get out six books at a time (all my parents allowed me to have). I'd usually finish at least two if not three by the time I went to bed, and two or three days later I'd be back to the library. As for his thesis: over 150 years of coexistence proves libraries are not responsible for the decline in book sales. |
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02-15-2013, 06:05 PM | #33 |
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What puzzles me is his listing of "parenting skills" as a useful skill which kiddo should aquire before leaving school at 11. No further comment.
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02-15-2013, 07:36 PM | #34 | |||
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There are qualitative differences between artistic work and the manufacture of goods. |
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02-15-2013, 10:05 PM | #35 |
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Public libraries aren't free any more than public schools are free. They're paid for by taxpayers. Some of that money go to the publishers, a bit of which hopefully ends up in his pocket. If he feels he does not get enough, he should take it up with his publisher.
I think there's even an argument to be made for compensating authors every time a book is loaned out. This is already the case in some countries. With ebooks and automation, this is more technically feasible than ever. But he seems to want to throw the baby out with the bath water. From his rants, I suspect that this is more about philosophy than money. I'm curious what kind of stories he writes. Atlas Shrugged for kindergarteners? --- Btw, I do think that artists are entitled to royalty. Creative output is hard and not easily repeatable. Harper Lee only wrote one book. Maybe she only has one book in her. Paul McCartney is not still cranking out one classic song after another. I don't think it's because rich and lazy: he just does not have it any more. If he were poor and starving, he'd be waiting tables and doing night clubs, not making great albums. It's a rare genius who can keep putting out great works throughout their life. So I think they should be able to coast, rest on their laurel a bit, depending on the quality/popularity of their work. Not life+70 years, but a bit. Last edited by Barty; 02-15-2013 at 10:23 PM. |
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02-15-2013, 10:12 PM | #36 |
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Oh no, he writes Horrible Histories. My kid loves those books - which we discovered through our local public library. Ah well, we'll make sure to not buy any more of them, just borrow.
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02-16-2013, 12:16 PM | #37 | |||
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I disagree with his conclusions, although some of his facts are probably correct: bookstores lose *some* money from libraries, and authors lose *some* money due to libraries. And I'm pretty sure that bestselling authors lose the most money: if my library hadn't bought 300 copies of the last Harry Potter book, I'm pretty sure everyone who checked the book out would have bought it instead.
And of course libraries aren't a natural phenomenon: they are created and paid for by tax money, which means that the government, more or less, is harming booksellers and authors by paying for libraries. Having said that, though, I don't think it matters - taxes harm some people more than others; the decision to build roads in place A instead of place B harms some more than others...but we do those things anyway because we've decided that the tradeoff is worth it. And this is what we've done with libraries as well. I understand why he doesn't like the choices we've made, and of course it's helpful to sometimes be reminded that libraries aren't 100% beneficial. But since I believe that the upsides *far* outweigh the downsides, I think we should continue to fund them. Quote:
As I said above, I think he's wrong, but I don't have a problem with him pointing out the downsides: while I don't particularly disagree with the concept of taxation, I would still rather keep more money for myself, all things being equal. Quote:
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Regardless, though, although I do think he points out some perhaps uncomfortable truths, the overall benefits of libraries are, I think, much greater than the downsides he points out: I have no problem acknowledging that he makes some good points, but continuing to support libraries. |
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02-16-2013, 01:11 PM | #38 | |
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Not saying you were going here (your road analogy says you aren't going here), but just thought I'd point out the obvious counter to anyone that might. Also, I don't think this was this author's argument, as he seems to think the public benefit of libraries is now smaller than the benefit of his (and others) being more richly compensated (if I read him correctly). We've all been having a fairly easy time refuting that notion, and having a good time working up our righteous indignation. |
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02-16-2013, 01:30 PM | #39 |
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Has he forgotten that the government also set up a scheme that gives him or his publisher exclusive rights to the distribution of the book for a period of time (apart from lending in those libraries)? I haven't read his blog, but if he left that point out, then I think he hasn't considered the whole picture.
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02-16-2013, 01:48 PM | #40 | |
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02-16-2013, 02:00 PM | #41 |
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No doubt a tirade about used books stores is next on his list.
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02-16-2013, 02:03 PM | #42 | |
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And as for harming booksellers and authors, there is some truth to that but at the same time you can argue that libraries help encourage people to read. I know if I hadn't had libraries available to me when I was young I probably would never have got interested in reading as we certainly couldn't have afforded to buy many books. |
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02-16-2013, 03:01 PM | #43 | |
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What about people who are struggling financially? There are plenty in our society. They should be deprived of reading because some author thinks he needs more money? Boo hoo. What a jerk. I would not want to live in a society that think libraries aren't important or needed. Authors are a dime a dozen. |
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02-16-2013, 03:09 PM | #44 | |
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02-16-2013, 03:11 PM | #45 | |
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I'm getting a sense from this guy that he has a worship of the dollar sign more than anything else. He also comes off in his statements as an enormous D-Bag. |
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