One advantage of e-books is that they’re virtually indestructible.
But a decision by publisher HarperCollins to limit the circulation of library e-books is rousing librarians, who have started a boycott via blogs and Twitter protesting what some consider the digital “destruction” of books.
Under a policy that began Monday, libraries can “lease” (for a fee) new HarperCollins e-books and loan them no more than 26 times. At that point, the book disappears — digitally — unless the library pays to lease another copy for the next 26 readers. (Libraries lend e-books one at a time, just like print, unless multiple copies are bought.)
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