[framebit]

FWIW, I'm not "buying" ebooks or audiobooks anymore because I found out about the magic of digital access via a library card. This is certainly not a new thing, but since it'd been years since I engaged with the public library it was new to me!

I've been tearing through material lately, all through the library app (Libby, which I think is a rebrand of Overdrive), and it's still magic to me that I'm getting all of it for free. Sure, it comes with the normal library restrictions (popular stuff has long hold waits, sometimes tough to find a specific book vs. any book, etc.) but the sheer amount of books available that spark my interest is really cool.

I fell out of the habit of reading actual books for awhile, and diving back in has been like reconnecting with a long lost friend.

[octygen]

I'm in the same boat. I do wonder how much author X makes when I borrow his/her ebook or audiobook on Overdrive. Any thoughts from anyone?

[therealdrag0]

My impression is it's similar to physical books. Libraries buy/rent them per copy and loan them out at an equal rate. So authors should get paid similarly to if a citizen bought it from the store. Except if the library already acquired the book, then them leasing it to you does not give the author any money.

[jiveturkey]

> for free

it's not free. You've funded the library (who has to volume license the book) with your taxes.

There's a wide gap between "free" and "you've already paid for it, may as well consume it". I have to mention this because people in non-USA countries always talk about "free" healthcare, which isn't.

[mierz00]

This is something that gets repeated again and again.

Yes. People in other countries get that healthcare isn’t actually free. Just that they don’t have to fork out any money at the moment they need it.

I promise you, we’re aware that we pay a lot of taxes and those taxes fund things we go on to call free.