"Why eBooks Wear Out Faster Than Everyday Paper Books"

You’ll be reading that paperback decades from now

article. Why we need libraries to *buy* books not rent them.

https://www.lifewire.com/why-ebooks-wear-out-faster-than-everyday-paper-books-6831842

Why eBooks Wear Out Faster Than Everyday Paper Books

A paper book can sit on the shelf for decades, and anyone can pull it out and start reading. Digital books are way, way harder to maintain.

Lifewire
@brewsterkahle Trueish, though I'd argue that 1 open industry standard format (epub) + abolishing DRM would go a long way to resolving the main problems, and that paper isn't indestructible either (especially low-quality. The number of old paperbacks whose pages have literally crumbled after not so many years, and / or come unglued...). I still want to be able to borrow ebooks though for reasons like accessibility/reading comfort so I think the two offers should be considered complementary.
@brewsterkahle On the other hand ebooks can be better for individual readers, who may not need / want / have room for entire life-long archives of every single book they've ever read, or a good outlet for one-time reads. And for people like me who read a lot (the border is generally given as over 20 books per year) ebooks can be more ecological than paper, which is worth taking into account I think.