Comments on: Books on Demand? http://manchesterlibrary.org/read/1290 Manchester, NH's Online Library Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:45:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Michael http://manchesterlibrary.org/read/1290/comment-page-1#comment-130 Michael Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:00:51 +0000 http://manchesterlibrary.org/?p=1290#comment-130 I do not believe it will have much of an effect on libraries. I buy books often, and it would be a wonderful way to shop for them but I borrow many more than I buy. The library is much more than a bookstore. It is a refuge from the stress of the world outside. It is a place to explore, to sample the riches of our collective knowledge. A quiet comfortable place to sample, to share and discover. I have found all my favorite authors there. And while I will then sometimes buy their books I will always be back to uncover more. Perhaps if I had the wealth to sample by buying I would use the library less, but I doubt it. I would still crave the sights of row upon row of ready-bound volumes, the smell of the paper, the ease with which I can borrow a book, or cd or video without the obligation to read or listen to the end that comes when I have spent my increasing valuable money on them. I do not believe it will have much of an effect on libraries. I buy books often, and it would be a wonderful way to shop for them but I borrow many more than I buy. The library is much more than a bookstore. It is a refuge from the stress of the world outside. It is a place to explore, to sample the riches of our collective knowledge. A quiet comfortable place to sample, to share and discover. I have found all my favorite authors there. And while I will then sometimes buy their books I will always be back to uncover more. Perhaps if I had the wealth to sample by buying I would use the library less, but I doubt it. I would still crave the sights of row upon row of ready-bound volumes, the smell of the paper, the ease with which I can borrow a book, or cd or video without the obligation to read or listen to the end that comes when I have spent my increasing valuable money on them.

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