Harpgirl,

borrowing a CD from a friend to listen to it is of course fine. Copying it is different - it provides an additional permanent record, which has been created outside of copyright laws. It is therefore illegal - though I appreciate that it is difficult to enforce the law in all cases. It is certainly immoral: If you want a permanent record of the CD for yourself, buy it, and let everyone who had a hand in making it share in the proceeds; don't try to get something for nothing!

For the same reason, borrowing a book from a friend to read it is fine. Photocopying it to keep a copy for yourself is certainly not fine - same laws and logic as above.

Libraries pay an additional fee to PRS (in the UK) for lending music albums. It's not high, a few pence for each.

A lot of the talk on this thread tries to justify copying works (whether music, books, or works of art) as perfectly moral, just because it can be done so easily with today's technology. Well, it is not (moral). The acid test is this: Would you be happy to advertise the fact that you are copying CDs and books, for all to know? Would you? Really?