Richmond Public Library (RPL) is a four-branch suburban library with the highest per capita circulation of any comparable library in Canada. While DVDs naturally fit into RPL's emphasis on popular material, circulating them using the standard model proved problematic: Long hold queues built up, DVDs idled on the hold shelves, and the circulation…

This article uses three case studies to examine the intersecting developments of technology, capitalism, and globalization through the contradictions and paradoxes of copyright governance and piracy. China is used as a case study to investigate the relations among the state, law, and global capitalism. (Contains 7 tables and 9 notes.)