Quote:
Originally Posted by John F
People keep repeating "pbooks deteriorate". I gave a number on the average number of annual checkouts (I have no idea on its validity). I'd be surprised if at a rate of 1.4, they are deteriorateing that fast.
And given that quite a few patrons' treat them quite well, they won't deteriorate that fast.
I would hope if patrons are repeatedly abusing books, the librarians would give them a good talking to, and eventually ban them.
I have to say, when I look at pbooks on my libraries' shelves, they look relatively good. Given that libraries are on a budget, they are not going to replace it just because it has a little deterioration.
With pbooks, the libraries pick what is acceptable deterioration; with ebooks, it is fixed by the publisher.
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One of my teenage jobs was working at the local library for a summer. The answer is that yes, paperback books deteriorate fairly quickly under normal usage. Hardback books can last a lot longer.