So nowadays we are comfortable with two facts:
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- Books can be digital. It is good for distribution, near zero marginal cost of production, no burden on environment, reducing the barrier of knowledge.
- There are public libraries that provide free borrowing for resources including books (physical).
Then here comes the question – why libraries don’t provide free digital version of books.
The Answer could be very simple.
No one will buy books then…..
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Then there is another question – since public libraries are funded by governments (tax payers) and donors, why are books not subsidized by governments like healthcare or education.
Why don’t governments make a list of knowledge-based books nearly free?
Authors should receive a stream of cash flows from taxpayers, for the contribution of their books.