Books are considered Intellectual property it is much different than the comparison to the car industry. “Giving out cars for free, will cause the car industry to collapse” is a terrible comparison to the services public libraries provide. Books are not considered to be a part of the entertainment industry, although there is literature that has been written for entertainment purposes, books are intellectual property and in most cases can be used as curriculum. The guardian article was very bias it spoke only from the perspective of a money hungry author. I am an avid reader; my books of choice are self-help books, and entrepreneurship books. I have notice many authors who write books in these two genres release their first published book for free electronically to allow consumers to appreciate the product and shared information causing readers and consumers to invest into the author by purchasing more recent books, or subscribing to their success academies. These website subscriptions are where writers connect directly with their audience through live webinars and building success and entrepreneur strategies for the consumers to follow.
If the author Terry Deary in the Guardian article wants to compare books to the entertainment industry he must realize that successful entertainers reach wealth and remain wealthy by partaking in multiple business ventures that allow multiple sources of income. This goes for screenwriters, executive producers, actors, directors, and musicians. They create a large media platform through social media and building websites, to advertise and attract people to the product they are selling. If authors and bookstores are struggling it is time they adapt to the times and improve with more modern business strategies. If we want to believe books are a part of the entertainment business authors must understand that with almost all forms of entertainment and media some products must be given out for free. Free content allows people to sample and consume products to see if they actually want to spend their money on this product. This happens with music and televisions shows today. A music single and album is released on streaming services a week before official release and this allows consumers to try the product and make up their mind before investing in the product or producer. The same goes for television shows and pilots today, many sitcoms release a pilot online long before it airs on television to see how their television build a buzz and get mentioned on social media, or trending on Facebook and twitter. I believe books should be free and in a country where an education is your American right. Books should be accessed for free through public libraries.
Author Terry Deary as of February 2016 is 70 years old “he is a British children’s author of over 200 books, selling over 25 million copies in over 40 languages best known as the writer of the Horrible Histories series, which he began published during the early 1990’s nearly 20 years ago” according to terry-deary.com. He is obviously very successful. His age worries me and makes me believe he may have had a difficulty adapting to modern marketing strategies many modern successful authors use. Weather libraries are closed or not people will still be taxed, this will not lower taxes, what evidence does he show to support where the library tax money can benefit other areas. After shutting down public libraries what’s next, public schools, and public colleges?
