Many comments here compare the cost of a physical library to near-zero cost of the internet, but that&#x27;s not a fair comparison itself.<p>The cost of a physical library is physical, not informational. The article describes a situation where information sharing was challenged by the industry that has a physical monopoly on media (books). They were not granted informational monopoly, they only have monopoly on physical manufacturing.<p>Thus the absence of physical cost (or difference in efficiency) of sharing information does not change the concept of a library.