Mandy 🌼 🌷 ☀️Mar 17

Another day, another instance of someone on the Fediverse telling people not to do something which is essentially a public good.

This time it's a librarian telling people not to borrow ebooks from libraries. The other option isn't cheaper, permanent physical books, I'm afraid. For many people, it's immediately available ebooks on pirate sites.

It's taken me so long to get my friends, nieces and godchildren to use Libby and BorrowBox (for audiobooks).

It is very disheartening to read something so exclusionary and privileged. I know most librarians want you to take advantage of anything and everything a library has to offer because their use justifies their expenditure.

#bookstodon

Show threadBomkattMar 17

@mandy
I love my system's ebook services, and i borrow plenty of print books.

i do agree the business model for library access to ebooks is a bad deal for libraries (at least in the US), but that isn't the fault of libraries or borrowers

Show threadCharlie Stross

@bomkatt @mandy It's entirely the fault of the US government for stubbornly refusing to adopt Public Lending Right.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_lending_right

Public lending right - Wikipedia

Mar 17 at 1:46pmWeb
Show threadMandy 🌼 🌷 ☀️Mar 17

@cstross @bomkatt I'm in the UK so can't speak to the US.

However, whatever the regulations in any country, there is honestly no need to shame readers of ebooks from libraries.

Whether by choice or necessity, they are reading and they are choosing a library over piracy