Amazon, your future library?

In the changing online world we may be seeing a renewal of the subscription library service. Yes, the libraries that most people are familiar with are public libraries, and people do think that they are free, but they are actually supported though regional taxes, and I know that my library has been having trouble with budget cuts, so they have never actually been free. For a long time subscription libraries were common, actually the first library in the US, when in 1731 Benjamin Franklin established a subscription library called the Library Company that started by sharing collections of individuals - a library that still exists today. While I am always saddened when I hear about library closings or cutbacks, I'm glad to hear that others are stepping up to improve book access. While Amazon my be doing this though a direct cost to the users, there are also the recent creation of online book sharing organization that will allow people to lend books out of their personal collection. So if you can please do provide support to your local community library, but also lets support the other organizations that are promoting book sharing (even if we do have to pay). One thing that will need to be addressed in communities though is how will children that can't afford the subscription fees have access, while right now that isn't an issue because we would see it as an extra option, but one day it may be a school requirement. We have already seen the research on the lives of children based on their access to books at home, we may need to make sure that all children have access to such services.

Amazon eBook Rental Service
Amazon is in talks with book publishers about launching a digital library for customers, almost like a ‘Netflix’ for books. Amazon, the company who effectively created the booming ebook industry, is now trying to revolutionize it. Expected to only be available in the US, customers would pay a flat yearly fee of $79 to access a library of older digital book content. 9/12/2011 IBTimes.TV http://tv.ibtimes.com/amazon-readies-for-e-book-rental-service-before-release-of-new-kindle-tablet/1867.html

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