WHY BOOKS ARE BOUGHT AND BORROWED

Books are among the most diverse products of our civilization. They combine a simple technology with the complexity of human thought to provide knowledge, insight, and entertainment. But little is known about why people use books the way they do. This article is a thought experiment, like Einstein's train, which will consider part of this question. It will develop a model of the costs to people when they buy or borrow books. The underlying premise is that librarians, booksellers, and publishers do not have a clear understanding of the costs—especially the cost of time—involved in using their services. Their successes tend to be the result of trial and error.