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Originally Posted by issybird
My initial thought was that this was going to be good for me. I can generally roll with more than one book showing up at once, but audiobooks are a challenge. Right now, I'm racing to get through one so I can finish another before it expires.
But on considering it more, I can make a guess what's behind the change. I have to assume that OverDrive has a pretty good sense of how many books are never opened. The data from the OD and Libby apps and Kobo devices has to be readily accessible. Even if they can't see what's going on with sideloaded or Kindle reads, they've got more than enough data for analysis, especially since as everyone keeps making the point, more and more ebooks are read on phones and tablets.
And, I bet it's a lot of books that get returned unread and OverDrive knows this. So not only are readers held up as loans languish until they expire of their own accord it also eats up a loan for books where the license is only good for 26 loans and the same effect is felt when losing two unread weeks on a book that expires in a year. It seems to me, quite simply and logically, that OverDrive is trying to cut way down on the unread problem that chews up licenses as well as time. Good for them. Frankly, this is a case of score one for the reader.
Speaking personally, I know to my shame that I haven't always remembered to cancel all my holds on a book once one of them lands. While I return a duplicate right away as soon as it shows up in an account, I know I may have caused a charge to the number of permissible loans. Now I keep good records and don't slip up, but there must be many out there, probably most, who have no idea of the issues..
This really is good news for library borrowers. No more unintentional borrows when someone's changed their mind or knows he can't get to a book in a timely fashion. It means more actual readers for books with those exploding licenses.
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I've never liked auto-borrow. All it does is cause the wait list to get longer. If someone cannot be bothered to download the eBook in the time alotted then it should go to the next in line.
I do try to cancel multiple holds on the same eBook, but I don't always do so. But when I get the notification that a duplicate is available, I will cancel it and let the next person have at it.
One thing I really dislike is when a library only has a limited number of holds. With the lines so long, we do need more holds. 10 loans at a time is plenty. Lets say you have one eBook, one audiobook, a couple of magazine, and a video, that's 5 right there. And if you share your account, then you have enough slots for someone else. I know I share with my wife and my mother-in-law. So more holds would be good.
I'm the technical one when it comes to eBooks. So I do the work. I don't mind. I used to do all the work for my mother when she was alive.
Oh and as for the 26 loans, that's gone now for newer eBook purchases. Yes you will get limited loans. But one copy won't have expire all the others will.