Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by xhkkffbf 1434 days ago
But why do you say that? Kindle unlimited is a pretty similar to a library and many publishers support it and include their books. Yes, it costs something per month, but it's much less than the overhead costs for librarians, heat and a building. Many municipalities could actually save money by closing their libraries and giving everyone with an active library card a subscription to Kindle unlimited.

I'm not suggesting they do that. I like the old buildings. But it's important to note that copyright holders are coming up with many new and innovative ways to help readers get books and authors get paid.

3 comments

there is a massive difference between a company selling a subscription service and the government using public money to provide free access to everyone with no strings attached
> Kindle unlimited is a pretty similar to a library and many publishers support it and include their books. Yes, it costs something per month, but it's much less than the overhead costs for librarians, heat and a building.

How much do you think you personally pay for libraries? 1 cent a year? Half a cent a year?

And it's not "many publishers support <a proprietary thing>", it's "libraries are obliged to have all books, and in many countries publishers are made by law to provide libraries with copies of their books".

> But it's important to note that copyright holders are coming up with many new and innovative ways to help readers get books and authors get paid.

None of those ways are innovative.

> How much do you think you personally pay for libraries? 1 cent a year? Half a cent a year?

More on the order of $40/yr.

https://www.amacad.org/humanities-indicators/public-life/pub...

Thank you for finding this!

Still three times less than a Kindle Unlimited subscription :)

I'd guess the Kindle is more convenient, no waiting for a title, no late fees, and has a vastly larger selection (on average).

Plus one can put their own content on Kindle, thereby taking lots of titles on trips or elsewhere.

Yup. Convenience is hard to beat.