Syllabus: The Value of Content
So the market experience indicates that, yes, content has value. Consumers—college students and faculty—will pay for content, when the content is "fairly” and thoughtfully priced [and readily available - ed].
The problem, of course, is that providers and users have very different expectations about the value of content. The library experience suggests that the market metric should be dimes, not dollars. Unfortunately, book, music, and media publishers still seem focused on dollars.