[haertig]

I use 7 local libraries (Denver, CO metro area). They all let "anybody in Colorado" join. Usually you can get a temporary member number online that you can use immediately, but it only lasts for maybe a month. Then you have to drive over to the library to pick up your physical card. It took me a day of driving around the metro area to collect all my cards (which I never physically use, I just do the eBook thing via Overdrive).

Limits:
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20 borrows / 30 holds
10 borrows / 40 holds
10 borrows / 10 holds
12 borrows / 20 holds
10 borrows / 12 holds
6 borrows / 5 holds
5 borrows / 5 holds

I have so many because I've found that with me being a slow reader, often times I don't finish a book before it is due. And if it is a popular book, there is a waiting list so I can't re-check it out. So I try to coordinate by placing an extra hold or two at other libraries so that when my current borrow comes due, and I'm not finished, and no re-check-out is available ... I borrow one of the "extra" holds from a different library. The way holds work, is you can "suspend" your hold and you'll keep moving up on the list until you're #1. Then you stick there at the top of the list until you "resume" your hold and you are first in line. So for the no-re-check-out case, with carefully managed suspends/resumes, you usually only have to wait a few days to get back to the book you were reading.

Also, each library has a different selection of books. Many popular ones are available at all libraries, but sometimes only one out of these 7 libraries has a particular book that I want. Of maybe one library has two out of the five books in a series and I have to use other libraries to find the other books from the series.

Also, popular books and new releases typically have a long waiting list. Sometimes it can take months. By putting a hold on the desired book at multiple libraries, I can get a copy sooner. As soon as a copy becomes available, I immediately cancel or suspend my holds at other libraries so I don't get multiple copies. And it doesn't work to simply pick the book from a library with the shortest waiting list. I have seen things like I'm "7 on the list for 3 copies" (position 7/3 = 2.3) at one library, but I actually get the book faster from a different library where I am "22 on the list for 5 copies" (position 22/5 = 4.4). I guess people must read faster at some libraries than at others.

So there are lots of benefits to subscribing to multiple libraries and utilizing the hold feature. It does require a bit of active management though. As far as multiple concurrent borrows, probably only 2 or 3 at a time would be sufficient for me (but I don't know about avid readers though - some people read REALLY fast!) Also, some people may check out multiple books not intending to read each one in depth. Maybe they're just borrowing books they've already read in the past and looking to re-read a few choice passages, not the entire book. Or maybe they're doing some kind of research, or just trying to get a taste for a particular authors style - kind of like browsing book jackets in a physical book store trying to figure out what they want to read next. Some folks may read book A very fast, then move on to book B, but want to go back and re-visit a few things in book A before turning it back in. Some folks may have a family of avid readers, and borrow multiple books on one "family" library card and divide them up among family members. My point is, just because one of us does our reading in a particular way does not mean that everybody else reads in the exact same manner.

I always return an eBook as soon as I finish it, so other people don't have to wait. That's all part of my "active management". I get emails every time a book on hold gets automatically checked out, and that triggers me to go do my "active management" of other holds for the same book at other libraries. I can only recall one instance where I was a little slow in maintenance and ended up with two copies of the same book coming from different libraries. I just immediately checked one back in that time. I sent back the first one and kept the second, because that extended my total loan time by a day or two.