Valentine's day has to go away forever

JSWolf · 02-13-2018, 06:47 PM

Because of Valentines Day, it seems that libraries are buying way way way too many romance eBook for Overdrive. It's disgusting. So Valentines Day needs to go away so this sort of thing doesn't happen.

GlennD · 02-13-2018, 07:00 PM

Or you need to expand your tastes.

fjtorres · 02-13-2018, 07:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlennD

Or you need to expand your tastes.

That'll be the day.
And not Valentine's.

JSWolf · 02-13-2018, 07:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlennD

Or you need to expand your tastes.

How can you expand what you read to include books you won't like? Not possible.

meeera · 02-13-2018, 09:57 PM

And someone tied you down and made you read them? Poor you.

DNSB · 02-13-2018, 10:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Because of Valentines Day, it seems that libraries are buying way way way too many romance eBook for Overdrive. It's disgusting. So Valentines Day needs to go away so this sort of thing doesn't happen.

One might wonder how many romance genre books you have read? Don't knock it till you've tried it.

HLS · 02-13-2018, 11:11 PM

I hate romance books Ughhh

AnemicOak · 02-13-2018, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcladyz

I hate romance books Ughhh

Then aren't you lucky that there is no requirement that you read them.

Blossom · 02-13-2018, 11:51 PM

As someone who only reads romance I love all the new additions. Unfortunately wait lists a mile long. So there must be many out there who do read them besides me.

Sent from my XT1528

HarryT · 02-14-2018, 06:01 AM

Romance is supposedly the most popular genre of fiction. Hardly a surprise that libraries cater to what their patrons want.

issybird · 02-14-2018, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Romance is supposedly the most popular genre of fiction. Hardly a surprise that libraries cater to what their patrons want.

They cater overmuch to a subset of their patrons, to the detriment of other patrons who have no interest in romance.

I suspect libraries like romance because it boosts their circulation numbers. The books are quick reads and are consumed like potato chips; they're also cheaper to acquire. I admit I get discouraged when I check the new additions and it's virtually all romance.

I think libraries should shift their focus to treating all their patrons in a roughly equitable fashion; they should try to meet at least all mainstream interests to the same level of satisfaction. And if someone reads five romance novels a week, say, I bet that purchase price would add up to the price of a history book that one patron took two weeks to read.

Terisa de morgan · 02-14-2018, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

I think libraries should shift their focus to treating all their patrons in a roughly equitable fashion; they should try to meet at least all mainstream interests to the same level of satisfaction. And if someone reads five romance novels a week, say, I bet that purchase price would add up to the price of a history book that one patron took two weeks to read.

Problem es: if the history book is read by a person and the romance book by 20, it's reasonable that, if you want to treat the same all the patrons, you purchase 1 history book and 20 romance books. Same purchases of every genre, if there is not the same reading percentage, is not treating fair all the patrons.

HarryT · 02-14-2018, 06:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

They cater overmuch to a subset of their patrons, to the detriment of other patrons who have no interest in romance.

I suspect libraries like romance because it boosts their circulation numbers. The books are quick reads and are consumed like potato chips; they're also cheaper to acquire. I admit I get discouraged when I check the new additions and it's virtually all romance.

I agree. Fortunately that's not the situation with my local library. They buy a lot of romance, but also a decent amount of other genres of books, too.

issybird · 02-14-2018, 06:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Terisa de morgan

Problem es: if the history book is read by a person and the romance book by 20, it's reasonable that, if you want to treat the same all the patrons, you purchase 1 history book and 20 romance books. Same purchases of every genre, if there is not the same reading percentage, is not treating fair all the patrons.

I'm not suggesting equal purchases of all genres; I'm suggesting equitable treatment, so that people who prefer more serious reading get a proportionate claim on the library's resources relative to their reading. The person who reads one history book every two weeks (you doubled my comparative figures, but since I made them up, it doesn't matter

) doesn't need five history books each week, but they should have that one every two weeks. However, that would devastate circulation numbers.

Circulation numbers are a handy tool, but they're a very rough approximation of satisfaction overall.

Alohamora · 02-14-2018, 07:40 AM

It's not just Valentine's day, there's too much romance being added year round. I'd be less grumpy about it (maybe) if they'd add any of the books I recommend.

02-13-2018, 06:47 PM	#1
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 80,740 Karma: 150249619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Valentine's day has to go away forever Because of Valentines Day, it seems that libraries are buying way way way too many romance eBook for Overdrive. It's disgusting. So Valentines Day needs to go away so this sort of thing doesn't happen.

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02-13-2018, 07:00 PM	#2
GlennD Wizard Posts: 2,120 Karma: 17500000 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The Pacific NW Device: sony PRS350, iPhone, iPad	Or you need to expand your tastes.

02-13-2018, 09:57 PM	#5
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,862 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	And someone tied you down and made you read them? Poor you.

02-13-2018, 11:11 PM	#7
HLS Wizard Posts: 2,134 Karma: 16342480 Join Date: May 2017 Device: Sage, Scribe, Boox Note 2 Plus, iPad Pros and Samsungs S6,S7,S8	I hate romance books Ughhh

02-13-2018, 11:51 PM	#9
Blossom Treasure Seeker Posts: 18,708 Karma: 26026435 Join Date: Mar 2010 Device: Kobo HD Glo, Kindles, Kindle Fires, Andriod Devices	As someone who only reads romance I love all the new additions. Unfortunately wait lists a mile long. So there must be many out there who do read them besides me. Sent from my XT1528

02-14-2018, 06:01 AM	#10
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,560 Karma: 93980341 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Romance is supposedly the most popular genre of fiction. Hardly a surprise that libraries cater to what their patrons want.

02-14-2018, 07:40 AM	#15
Alohamora Evangelist Posts: 446 Karma: 8897438 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: USA Device: Android phone, Fire tablet, ios phone	It's not just Valentine's day, there's too much romance being added year round. I'd be less grumpy about it (maybe) if they'd add any of the books I recommend.