Guo Liqin, 24, works as a primary school teacher in a distant area in Yunnan Province. The Internet offers him the latest news and entertainment from the outside world. And many people like him also depends on the online libraries for the free literature(文学) reading.
A survey in China last year found the online literature is the biggest growth area of Internet entertainment.Reading for free is also popular in other countries. See what solutions other countries are taking.
Public Libraries
In countries such as Germany, Canada, and the UK, governments pay the authors to have their books in public libraries.
The pay is different from country to country. Some pay according to how many times a book has been borrowed; others pay according to whether the library has bought the book or not.
Google Books
Google Books allow users to see some free parts before buying them.
The author can choose to make from 20% to 100% of the book’s content(内容) for free reading . But you can see a full view of books that are out of copyright(版权).
E-magazines
E-magazines are usually about pop culture, and make money through advertisements. The writers are usually paid by the numbers of words they write.
Digital Library
There are many free online libraries of books which are no longer in copyright.American and European websites offer classic(古典的) literature and non-fiction texts like dictionaries for download in different languages.
