Copyright or Copywrong?

So, I've got my new toy and I am REALLY happy with it. As the Best Buy boys said, it is easy to use. And, as I thought, it's too small, but that's OK for now. I COULD load up a bigger player with hundreds of hours of material, but I'd never get through it all. It's better that I keep my playlist small.

The device's "killer app" for me is playing audiobooks, but I'm a poor librarian and just can't afford Audible's prices. I tried downloading one of the machine-read audiobooks from Gutenberg but couldn't get into the flow of the text with the synthesized voice.

So, what did I do? I turned to my local public library and checked out a book on CD. I took it home, popped it into the PC, and a few minutes later had a complete book in MP3 form. Fantastico! I went for a walk and was having such a good time I didn't want to stop.

However, this fun and easy excercise in new-millenium media enjoyment has run me right up against the limits of copyright law. Technically, making a copy of the audiobook is illegal. Of course, I intend to delete it when I'm done, only listen to it once, etc., etc., and so I don't think the MP3 police are going to come get me, but engaging in the activity has brought to life some of the same kinds of issues that surround music downloads (requires Quicktime to view).

Should I be paying for this? Why should I pay for something I can get in another format from the library? I'm using the material as it was intended: I am a single user listening for my own enjoyment. Only the device is different. Should I have to drop $20 a title at Audible just because my library doesn't have a way to circ MP3s?

There's a big difference between my single use of an audiobook and the theft that is open-file sharing, but I've developed some empathy for downloaders. Instead of locking down the content, can't the content developers develop some other revenue models? Publishers of all sorts are crying that the sky is falling instead of seeing this vast sea of digipeople as a market. There's got to be a way to make it work that doesn't turn book nerds like me and hip kiddos into criminals.