the internet, now for something besides porn

[adularia]

Grrrr. Public libraries rarely ever have the books I want. I still don't have a Netflix account, but if one were started for books - even, or especially, with library-style borrowing constraints - I would get a lifetime membership NOW. We have ILL, this ought to be possible.

Comments

[gipsieee]

On a family vacation as a child I saw a lending library program similar. It was a prestigious library in England that I recognized at the time and cannot currently recall. Pretty much, they'd let you check out one book at a time, and keep it as long as you want, no individual shipping fees, all for an annual fee of a mere 500 pounds annually.

I was quite impressed. My mother was non-plussed and thought that the system was only interesting for those who had more money than sense. I proposed that for a bookworm living somewhere very isolated, I believe the example was Alaska, this could be a lifesaver. She agreed, but I think it was simply to get me to drop the subject and move on.

[northernflights]

Interestingly, the state of Alaska funds two libraries, one in Fairbanks and one in Juneau, to provide books by mail to rural residents throughout the state. The library pays outgoing postage and the customer pays return postage. They send a package of up to 20 books every 6 weeks or so.

[pauldf]

um, go Google for netflix for books

[northernflights]

Indeed, bookswim.com seems to fit the bill nicely. Shame that they don't sell lifetime memberships.

[burtlo]

I had to grab a Safari Books Online to get my nerd book fix that the library could never approach.

[adularia]

One of the books I wasn't finding was an O'Reilly book. Decided I had to have it on paper, but I know what you mean. Libraries aren't set up to deal with rapidly changing subject areas.

[northernflights]

Safari Books Online works great for me with 2 monitors. Can't make it work with one.

[heinousbitca]

i wrote a business plan for an idea like this not too long ago, i think in 2004 before i moved out here. (it could have been 2003...) i did point out that i felt that it was a bit elitist, but that as long as they funneled 10% of their profits to public libraries i wouldn't complain. in other words, kind of how Starbucks buys off people commenting too much on their exploitation of coffee labor by, you know, saving assloads of lives with clean drinking water. i think that while this is an inherently elitist concept, elites do a lot of good so we need them.

anyways, it got shopped around for VC, they got like 50 grand so they paid me, and then there was a messy business partnery breakup so it didn't happen. i was sort of sad.

[adularia]

wow, that's really cool that it got that far, even if it didn't pan out.

also, "saving assloads of lives" gets some sort of prize for phrasing.

[tcepsa]

Huh... I'd had the thought of doing... what would you call it, NetBoox?... but then figured that between the competition from libraries and the fact that it costs more to send a book than a Tyvek-wrapped DVD it wouldn't be a sustainable business model. Still, now that someone else has said it as well, perhaps that wasn't so crazy an idea. After all, gipsieee and I watch one or two movies per month through NetFlix, but I don't remember the last time I checked out a book from a library.