Brittany Wong writes: “If you check out a book from the library, are you hurting an author’s bottom line? Should you feel guilty if you’re a dedicated library-goer rather than a book purchaser? Many authors―lifelong users of libraries themselves, in many cases―welcome library checkouts of their books. Publishing houses, who have much to gain from individual purchases, are considerably more conflicted about libraries, especially when it comes to ebooks. However, ‘What research has been done shows that libraries are one of the best unofficial marketing and promotion arms of book publishers,’ said publishing industry reporter Jane Friedman.”