Matt, I'm pretty sure that's not a solution that would satisfy me. Libraries usually let you take books home. Or would you imagine libraries making online acquisitions that people could read from anywhere by going through the library's network? Even then, how would in-links work? And why would anyone use access that wasn't through the library? Libraries and bookstores coexist because many copies are needed. When things are on the network, and you want links to go to one copy, the problems get more difficult to think through. But it's certainly thinking we need to start doing.

When I was growing up, my local library used what I now recognize as a form of micropayments: hot books (the latest Stephen King or whatever) would be lent out on a pay-per-day basis: a nickel a day or something like that. The goal was not remuneration, but rather getting the book back into circulation as fast as possible (if you're racking up a nickel a day you're not going to leave it sitting under the bed after you finish it). In retrospect, I'm curious as to the legality of this scheme (how does it fit into IP law?) But my main point is that libraries employ a variety of different lending practices, and that micropayments should be accommodated somewhere within them.

I guess I'd say that, from all I can tell, micropayments are antithetical to the dream of the public school and public library. For that reason, figuring out a way to accommodate them in library lending practices may be a very difficult challenge to meet.

Why is this hard?

1) Library plunks down a quarter, acquires a copy of McCloud's _Right Number 1(1) for one of its machines.

2) McCloud sends a cookie to the library computer, just like mine.

3) Patrons are happy. McCloud is happy. Noah sees library patrons queuing up behind this public access machine, and he's happy too.

4) Library patrons in wrong queue are unhappy, of course. But they're library patrons; the book is out; nothing unusual. Maybe the library plunks down another quarter.