PG writes “From the Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Now a trip to the library is just outside your door”
http://www.startribune.com/384/story/1182809.html
“BookSwim aims to be the “Netflix of books.”
“Hold on, guys. Don’t libraries lend books for free?
“The big complaint is most libraries have working hours — they typically close at 5 p.m.,” Siddiqui said. And someone may have checked out the book you want.””
Librarian/poet/book person Emily at Posey Galore offers her thoughts on BookSwim.
Sounds like a winner…
…for anyone who lives in a community where per-cap funding for libraries exceeds $180 and where the libraries actually close at 5 every day. Oh, and where the libraries just stock mass-market paperbacks anyway.
I’m not aware of any such communities. I’d be surprised if there are many communities where funding is even, say, $60 per cap and the libraries close at 5 every day. They sure don’t around here. (Well, OK, our library closes at 5 on Sunday, but that’s different.)
It’s not even a Netflix clone: Netflix stocks everything (except maybe NC17?), and makes a point of having all the indie flicks. This is like Netflix shorn of all the specialty stuff.
Not the first
http://www.booksfree.com/
Has been around for about two years at least if memory serves. They seem to do the same thing.