If the public library system weren't grandfathered in it would never exist today. Too many people want their cut and nobody is willing to make a stand for the public good.

This is one of the reasons it's so crucial to support and fund libraries. There's no way we'll regain this amazing benefit to society if we lose it.

Well, they're crazy. If libraries didn't lend physical books, academic research would be set back 200 years.

Yeah, but think of all of the money that could be made by the publishers.

I think maybe that's his point. There are some crazy people in this world, so no matter how reasonable anything is there will always be somebody who gets frothing mad over it for no rational reason.

I was more making the point that it's reasonable for copyright owners to not get paid extra in every circumstance.

But we're not going to have a nice discussion about it after an accusation of theft and piracy.

Doesn't in Europe all research papers be made free by 2020:https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/may/28/eu-ministers...

Something Aron Schwartz envisioned?