[Cadaverous Pallor]

Some places still have bookmobiles. They're usually a stopgap for cities that don't have enough money to build more branches. I've heard of high tech bookmobiles that are also computer learning centers/internet cafes - big ol' RVs filled with workstations.

Rental books have been around forever, just not widely used by consumers. You remember when all libraries seemed to be moving towards rental of current bestsellers? It's because libraries of almost any size rent extra copies of bestsellers from companies. No one wants to buy 10 copies of the new Sue Grafton because you really don't need that many in the long run, though you do need that many when it's red hot. Some libraries are now passing that cost onto the patron. (Ours gave up charging patrons.)

Even with 10 copies, we always have an extremely long holds list for the red hot new books. I just called a patron to tell them we finally got "A Thousand Splendid Suns" in for her, and she was ecstatic.

In short - this is a great idea for people who want the newest stuff right now, and don't want to pay a full purchase price.