I had no idea that Amazon’s announcement would signal the end of the world, or at least the end of public libraries, or as my friend & colleague Andy puts it, the library apocalypse or I would have included this in yesterday’s post. First let’s talk numbers about the Amazon Lending Library* Prime costs $79 a year, that’s roughly $6.58 a month. You must have a Kindle (not an app) to use the Amazon Lending Library, those start at $79. There are 5,000 titles available, (here’s a breakdown by genre) None of the six largest publishers in the U.S. is participating. You get one book per month, that doesn’t roll over. Now library ebook/book numbers (I’m not even going to get into other library services and the availability of a real live person to help you) No additional cost, its covered by taxes You can use any number of devices for ebooks and no device at all required for print Untold numbers of titles available 3 of the largest US publishers allow ebook titles in libraries, all allow print. Unlimited books per month Now let’s talk some other numbers. 12% of U.S. adults own an ereader. Not a Kindle, an ereader, which includes all other dedicated ereaders.
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