Matter of Survival? Library Becomes a Publisher

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Produced by Andrea Dukakis and Elaine Grant

With the growing popularity of e-books, libraries have been struggling to find ways to reinvent themselves. And it hasn't been easy. Libraries have complained publishers aren't always willing to sell e-books to libraries. When big publishers do, they often charge high prices, especially compared to discount rates libraries get for traditional books.

Enter Jamie Larue. He runs the eight libraries in Douglas County, south of Denver. Larue came up with an idea that could revolutionize the publishing world. His libraries have begun buying books directly from authors and publishing them as e-books. And the approach is getting a lot attention in the library world LaRue talks to CPR's Elaine Grant.