"I even know poor people who have computers."

Seen all over:

Why would we pay for libraries no one needs?

A letter to the editor in a small city newspaper (well, a small city sort of near Seattle, so I guess that's a...distinction) makes the Internet explode! This is one of my favorite things, the Internet exploding, and I mean that sincerely, because I love the righteous solidarity that bursts forth with it. Screw you, dude! You're so wrong on almost all counts (most of which are addressed in the comments, read those for a nice fruity palate cleansing) that it's gut-bustable. There's only one I feel really compelled to address due to my current job, and it's this:

You can also read most books online at college and university websites.

Who told you that nonsense? No doubt someone who knows the ins and outs of college ebook availability. It must be someone who helps catalog the college ebooks, someone who makes sure that each ebook record's link to the ebook itself has a proxy prefix, which is something that ensures only college students, staff and faculty may access the ebook (and all others) with their personal login information. Was it that person? Oh. No, wait, that's me, and I don't know you, sir. Thank god.

Pull your head out of your privilege-sparkled fairyland, go to your library, and read a library book. Maybe you could even borrow a DVD - for free! But I shouldn't get your hopes up. The DVD's probably all scratched, and the book probably has offensive words or ideas between the covers. You're better off staying home.