Libraries Can't Meet eBook Demand

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by astrodad

Not in my library. They have popular music and movies in DVD and Blu-Ray.

As do mine, but they charge for renting them, so they may well be a profit centre and be subsidising the books.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

I'm a little fascinated about the obsession you show about opening hours. My library, in a very small town (pop. <6.000) is open 24/7. We use our library card to gain access when it isn't staffed. That way they know who is there and when. You can check out books on your own, sit and read, make copies, use the bathroom fascilities if so inclined. Maybe something to discuss with your local librarian?

My city has a population of almost 400000 people. My district (or at least, my zip code) has over fifty thousand.

With only 6000 people nearby, a library might be willing to take the risk of theft or damage, knowing that if either happened, they'd be likely to be able to track the culprit. With 50k nearby and a connection to a rail system with access to about a million more within half an hour's travel--the person whose card opened the door may not be the one who caused any problems. Certainly, it wouldn't be reasonable to hold a person liable if they were forced to open the door.

And while "raid the library" is not a common activity of Oakland street gangs, part of that is the lack of ability. If all it took was a card to get in when the library's unattended, the shelves would be bare. Or at the very least, the floors would be covered with homeless people.

[tomsem]

Returning to the OT, I'm finding that the holiday surge in library borrowing has subsided. At its peak, my 30 title wish list had less than a handful of available titles. Now more than half of these are available. It could be more copies have been added overall, but most of the ones I'm interested in have only 1 or 2 copies.

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

And while "raid the library" is not a common activity of Oakland street gangs, part of that is the lack of ability. If all it took was a card to get in when the library's unattended, the shelves would be bare. Or at the very least, the floors would be covered with homeless people.

This is true. I lived in the SF Bay Area for a while, and worked out in the Dublin/Pleasanton area. I often used the Dublin library. They kept a shelf of "sale books" in a spot the librarians couldn't easily see it, by the entrance, and it was on the honor system. They charged $1 for a hardback and 50 cents for a paperback. You put your money in a lockbox right there by the books.

They got really great books too on those sale shelves, I mean pristine, first edition hardcovers with dust jackets. I bought a number of these nice books in the fantasy/science fiction genre and turned them around on eBay for a modest profit. Until they stopped putting them out because some turd was STEALING them.

And this was Dublin/Pleasanton, a relatively nice area.

I can't imagine what would happen at the Oakland library. Think of all the library computers that might either be stolen or put to uses that the library would not approve of.

Love the idea of 24/7 library access, but can't see it being practical in larger towns and cities.

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Returning to the OT, I'm finding that the holiday surge in library borrowing has subsided. At its peak, my 30 title wish list had less than a handful of available titles. Now more than half of these are available. It could be more copies have been added overall, but most of the ones I'm interested in have only 1 or 2 copies.

Not seeing any subsidence myself. Just put a book on hold and I'm number 140 on the wait list. Library has 5 copies. If it were one of my favorite authors, I'd just buy the book, but as it is a new author for me, I'll wait it out. Or maybe check out the paper version if I get impatient.

[Hellmark]

Not at my library. Some books I'm waiting for, the library has bought more copies, and the wait gets longer and longer. The one, 19 people were in the wait list, despite having the library having 4 copies.

[Kumabjorn]

I just discovered that e-book lending in Sweden (or my library, but they come from a central depository) is restricted to three books in a seven day period. Although bummed since I read fairly fast, I can see that it makes sense.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

I just discovered that e-book lending in Sweden (or my library, but they come from a central depository) is restricted to three books in a seven day period. Although bummed since I read fairly fast, I can see that it makes sense.

That's really strict.

Do you like the selection of ebooks available?

[cghipp]

I was disheartened when I first "drove" my reader to my local library, and saw how few books were available as e-books - and how many people were on the list for each of them. In fact, there were only two books that were immediately available, and both of them were children's books. Only 50 e-books were in circulation.

However, in the three weeks since I put myself on the waiting lists for some of those books, I've been able to download three of them. In fact, it's almost inconvenient that the last two became available within the last week, because the lending period is only two weeks. At least in the case of the second book (Irene Nemirovsky's Suite Francaise), I can read the first section and, if I'm not finished in time, return it and get on the waiting list to read the second section.

So, to sum up, I was pleasantly surprised. I will be interested to see how often they update their selection; at this rate I will read all of their offerings that hold my interest in short order.

[Kumabjorn]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

That's really strict.

Do you like the selection of ebooks available?

The books i was hoping for was there. One is by Eva Gabrielsson about her life with Stieg Larsson and the legal battle about the royalties from the Millenium trilogy. Another was the auto-biography by the Swedish soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimoviç (discussed in another topic) and the third was "The Road to Jerusalem" about a Swedish Knight of the Templar Order by Jan Guillou.

I have to admit that I haven't checked it out thoroughly but just making a search for "ebok" (Swedish for e-book) at least generated a result of several thousand. Most have a selection of PDF, epub and mobi (mobi requires a PID, so I'm not sure if i can get it on to my Kindle (don't know its PID), so far I have chosen epub for my Sony.

To read all three books (I read English and Japanese books at the same time) will probably require almost a week from the first lending (soccer biography) and that will open an opportunity to lend a fourth book, so spreading out your lending is probably a good strategy.

[mikaelalind]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

I just discovered that e-book lending in Sweden (or my library, but they come from a central depository) is restricted to three books in a seven day period.

Hmm. Last time I borrowed a book it was 5 books/ week. But I think it is a necessary restriction since otherwise the publishers would be unwilling to allow library books. ( A couple of the major publishers have already decided to start windowing library ebooks according to svb.se )

[T.D.02809]

I was thinking how there are varied libraries. Some are for a local region, some are for the local region and the larger area like a county, and some none i know of maybe for the entire state? Colleges and universities are open to the residents aren't they? Naturally private libraries will do as they see fit. It would be a good will gesture toward the community as they receive fire-police-sanitation from the local government.
Then maybe just maybe it would be possible to connect all these town,city, state, college & university libraries thru some massive web structure.
Does anyone know how or what places like The Library of Congress of the US Government and huge universities like Harvard, John Hopkins, Stanford are operating and their accessibility? Sounds like a research project to put on my to do list.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

As I have learned in this thread, publishers already sent up a physical presence trial balloon in October, and got a lot of negative feedback about this being a war on libraries and so forth. And, since then, nothing good has happened in terms of more publishers cooperating with Overdrive.

That's in the UK. Doesn't count for the US.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by Phogg

On what planet? the one where only major costal metro areas exist?

More and more, I live on Planet Google

I did, before writing the post in question, google to get statistics on what percentage of US public libraries offer services to the homebound. I failed. You are welcome to do the same. But your statement about homebound library services only being in coastal areas can be easily checked up on, and then found to be mistaken, by googling terms such as:

homebound library services oklahoma
homebound library services texas
homebound library services montana

etc.

OK, Texas has a coast, but I think you get the idea

[Elfwreck]

I looked at the top Google link for each of the three mentioned states' homebound library services. None of them are "if you can't come to us, we'll bring the books to you."

Originally Posted by SteveEisenberg

homebound library services oklahoma

Tulsa offers books by mail for the blind, or sending books to a branch office for someone to pick up. There is no "bring/send books to your home if you can't leave your house."

homebound library services texas

New Braunfels offers to bring books to you, one day a month--"Tell us your reading preferences and we'll select up to four books especially for you." You don't get to choose the books--and you get up to four per month.

homebound library services montana

The city of Billings has homebound library services--for Senior Citizens who either live in a nursing home/senior center, or are entirely homebound. Nothing for younger people with disabilities.

The big cities on the coasts aren't much better. (South San Francisco brings books to people every *three* weeks.) After a bit of poking around, I feel confident in saying that more than 80% of US citizens live outside the range of a homebound library program that brings the books they want to read within a week. My city doesn't offer any deliveries, just the option to authorize one or two people to pick up books for you, and place extra holds on books.