I think the sadder part of this is that this licensing model means that a cartel of publishers will set ebook pricing as high as possible to squeeze every surpl

I think the sadder part of this is that this licensing model means that a cartel of publishers will set ebook pricing as high as possible to squeeze every surplus dime out of libraries. High enough to make libraries make extremely difficult budgeting systems but not high enough to strangle their golden geese. In the past, libraries could buy physical books and that was it. But once, own forever. Maybe they’d need to purchase a lot of copies of popular books or replace damaged and lost items. Otherwise, the rest of the money could go toward local programs that help the community. Now, publishers will try to essentially extract surplus funds away from the community for extra profit margins that they don’t need to stay in business. In the past, a library that stopped buying books still had books. Now, a library that fails to pay their tithe will become a shell.