An interesting Wired article regarding the "rentership society" got me thinking about libraries. Libraries have been in the "rental" business for a long time and it seems to be working, right? In the article, Suellentrop states that ownership is "for suckers" and I see his point. He goes on to say that ownership can be a burden and I know this feeling fairly well too (especially the last few years) since I do own my own home. Hopefully, the investment will pay off in the long run, but we'll have to wait and see.
Getting back to the point, I used to own thousands of CDs/DVDs/books and I still do, but I haven't bought a CD, DVD, or book for personal use in years because I simply can't find space for this stuff anymore. Conveniently, I now stream and/or download all my music and moving pictures. Occasionally, I will have Netflix mail me a blu-ray disc, but for the most part I have instant access to entertainment. The point is, I don't mind paying a monthly fee to have unlimited entertainment. I access content (e.g., music, film, documentaries, etc.) whenever and wherever I want, but I don't have this option right now with eBooks! I personally won't pay $10 for a single eBook EVER! Finally, Suellentrop wrote something that hit me hard in that "the winner of the ebook sweepstakes will be the bookseller who becomes a book renter." Wow, doesn't this sound like a perfect fit for libraries or is it just me? Having a library Netflix model for books in any format would be fantastic, wouldn't it?
