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Some free magazine-related links on the CNN site reportedly last only two minutes–after which you’re told to subscribe if you want to read more. CNN is an AOL Time Warner company, of course, and the conglomerate includes a book division. A hint of what’s ahead? Even if Time Warner won’t do it, someone else will.

In the e-book world, I can understand a mix of free preview chapters and those requiring a purchase, but, really, isn’t “Timed” reading a little too much? Just the same, like it or not, we may have X number of hours someday to finish certain book chapters before coughing up more change. Will an alarm clock be a “must” for value-minded readers? If you think spammers intrude on your life and your thoughts, just wait until the more loathsome forms of pay-per-read crank up all the way.

This is yet another reason why a TeleRead-style library model would be best for both the e-book industry and the world at large. Publishers could still charge for books not covered by local libraries or a national digital library fund, but in this environment, they wouldn’t feel as free to be obnoxious about it. Remember what’s become of e-mail marketing. Business people have been their own worst enemies, not just the public’s; do we want the same to happen to books?

Meanwhile, speaking of another disadvantage of not having a public library approach and letting the pay-per-read crowd or the subscription advocates crush the Carnegie model, check out Free Speech, Free Association and Private Property at Mises.org. The author, Ninos Malek, writes: “In a true free market, businesses, parks, libraries, schools, sports stadiums, municipal golf courses, and roads would be financed privately.” And that has freedom-of-speech implications, given Malek’s belief that the owners should exercise complete control. Of course, I’m aware of the risks of government censorship. That is why a TeleRead system should rely on a mix of public and private funding–and also why commercial libraries and other alternatives certainly have an essential place, too.

(PaidContent.org, via Lost Remote and The Shifted Librarian.)

 
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