BookSwim vs the Ottawa Public Library

Did you ever want to rent a book? Well you can with the new site BookSwim. You choose the books you want to read on their web site, they ship books to you, keep the books for as long as you want, and you return books with pre-paid postage. All for $20 a month.

Um, did these guys ever hear of a public library? Let me compare and contrast the service offered by BookSwim to my local library, the Ottawa Public Library.

On-line interface?	Yes	Yes
Free shipping?	Yes	No, you have to pickup your books
Rental time	Unlimited	3 to 12 weeks
Cost	$20+	Free

While BookSwim has a few advantages as it allows you to keep books for as long as you like I don't see why someone would want to pay $20 or more a month to get a service that your local library provides for free. My advice is to save your money and donate to your public library to make sure it gets the funding it needs.