if you don't read library ebooks , why not?

[DNSB]

Since you listed a selection of Amazon eInk devices, sadly, your suggestion only works for some libraries in the USA. Elsewhere, public libraries do not support loaning ebooks via Amazon. If you own a Kindle in those countries, you have to download the ACSM or LCPL file, use that to download the epub, break the DRM (if possible) and send it to your Kindle. If you own a Fire, you can add an epub reader which will hopefully allow to read a DRMmed (Adobe ADEPT or LCP) library loan (not all of them do).

[Sirtel]

And that's assuming libraries in your country lend ebooks at all, or ebooks that can be read on an eink device instead of their proprietary app. In my country you can't borrow ebooks and read them on a Kobo or a Kindle. And I read fiction mostly in English, which means the only legal way for me to get such books is to buy them. No local library has any sizeable English-language genre fiction selection even in paper.

I don't buy newly released tradpub books with high prices, though. Usually I wait for the price to drop until I buy. Indies, of course, can be bought immediately as they are relatively cheap.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

And that's assuming libraries in your country lend ebooks at all, or ebooks that can be read on an eink device instead of their proprietary app. In my country you can't borrow ebooks and read them on a Kobo or a Kindle. And I read fiction mostly in English, which means the only legal way for me to get such books is to buy them. No local library has any sizeable English-language genre fiction selection even in paper.

I don't buy newly released tradpub books with high prices, though. Usually I wait for the price to drop until I buy. Indies, of course, can be bought immediately as they are relatively cheap.

If you read a lot, have you considered paying for a library membership?

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by John F

If you read a lot, have you considered paying for a library membership?

Which library? Do US, UK or Canadian libraries accept foreign customers?

[Lys]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

And that's assuming libraries in your country lend ebooks at all, or ebooks that can be read on an eink device instead of their proprietary app. In my country you can't borrow ebooks and read them on a Kobo or a Kindle. And I read fiction mostly in English, which means the only legal way for me to get such books is to buy them. No local library has any sizeable English-language genre fiction selection even in paper.

Here, they lend ebooks (but not all libraries, only if you are lucky enough that yours joined the national system), but I can borrow only 2 ebooks/month (for 15 days each). There is 0 selection for books in foreign languages (aside from a classic, here or there: paper-book selection was better, but still quite small), and even for ebooks in my language, the selection depends on what your library has bought, and the contract signed for inter-library borrowing, so the selection grows even smaller.

On top of this, my reading habits are very... temperamental, and I keep starting 5 different books before picking one to go with, so the 2 ebooks limit is really a "not for me" (for paper-books the limit is 9 books at the same time, no limit over monthly borrowing... a much better deal ), and while I can deDRM books I download through the library system, so to avoid being limited to the 15 days limit, I really don't like to deDRM them (I guess I could deDRM them, keep them till I'm done reading, and then deleting them from Calibre, but since my TBR list tends to be several and several years old, I would for sure forget to clear them out once I read them)

I have nothing against libraries, and I heavily used my library system when I was younger, and I read only paper-books, but as ebooks go, they are really not the best for me and my habits.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Fat Abe

...any novel printed on acid-free paper and bound correctly can survive for centuries.

And any novel printed on steel plates and stored in an underground vault would last even longer. But most books are not printed that way. My old Baen paperbacks from the nineties look much older than they should due to their cheap printing.

And a burst waterpipe or a flood will wreck any acid-free volume lovingly bound by a blind nun.

If my house were to catch on fire today, grabbing a hard drive the size of a pack of playing cards would save every ebook, digital comic and MP3 that I have. Just grabbing my Kobo or my old Nook STwG would save 5,000 ebooks.

Expecting anything in any format to be the one that lasts for all eternity is a fool's game.

[ottischwenk]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Which library? Do US, UK or Canadian libraries accept foreign customers?

Germany: Zella Mehlis - Payment Information

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Fat Abe

Why throw away money on a purchased ebook, if you're not stressed by the waiting period? Save your money to purchase rare/htf books, or books that are heavily discounted. In the good old days people would wait for months to borrow a hardcover book from their public library. Why are people into instant gratification?

For me, it has nothing to do with being the first to read a new release. I don't care about any of that. It's the fact that I'm not willing to give up control. I don't want to read a book when someone else says it's OK for me to read it. I want to set my own schedule. A library puts roadblocks in the way of me setting my own reading schedule. It's not about instant gratification, either. It's about controlling my own segues, taking my sweet time reading, pondering, searching, and then reading something else that caught my fancy. I don't want anyone else involved in my reading "workflow" but me.

I don't miss a single penny of the money I've spent that libraries could have saved me if I'd only been willing to give up control of my own free range reading schedule. I don't hate waiting lists, I hate lists. Period. Don't make 'em. Don't want 'em. Won't have 'em.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I hate lists. Period.

1. Don't make 'em.
2. Don't want 'em.
3. Won't have 'em.

Fixed it for you.

[DiapDealer]

Arggh!

[John F]

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Which library? Do US, UK or Canadian libraries accept foreign customers?

I believe they do.

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/EBo...ption_Services

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by John F

I believe they do.

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/EBo...ption_Services

Thanks, I'll consider it.

[HLS]

I dont have the patience to wait on a library book. i usually cave in and buy what i placed on a hold

[radius]

Originally Posted by 4691mls

Is it because the library in your area doesn't offer ebooks, or has a poor selection? Do you like to reread a lot? Do you make a lot of annotations? Do you like to read the latest best-sellers without waiting on a hold list?

I'm a devoted library user now, but back in the before times the main reason was because of wait lists. If I heard about an interesting new book and decided I wanted to read it, I was almost guaranteed to be able to purchase it, but almost guaranteed to not be able to borrow it.

The way I was converted over to library use was a combination of factors:

- changing from must read a particular book now, to reading what comes up in my wait list. I browse the libraries new purchases every week and place a hold on the books I find interesting (instead of visiting the physical branch once a week and browsing the shelves). This provides more than enough reading material for me and there are weeks I can't quite keep up. I have to return a book not fully completed around two or three times a year and get back on the waitlist

- realizing that I could request the purchase of books (published in the last couple of years) and almost all the time the library would purchase it. I think I've only missed on two so far in the last decade

- Digging into the digital resources my library offers. The library in my city has around 90k books in Overdrive alone (ie: not counting Hoopla, CloudLibrary, Flipster, Zinio/RBDigital/Overdrive Magazines)

- Partner libraries. My city is now partnered with 5 other municipal library systems which don't have fully overlapping OverDrive purchases. They have collections ranging from around 25k titles to 90k.

After reading this thread I am shocked how much better my Canadian library experience is compared to many Americans. I live in a mid-size city, but seem to have comparatively good access to titles. Also, my readers have been Sonys and Kobos with OverDrive integration so the logistics have been fairly painless for loan management (I do browse by computer though).

Goodreads says I average around 120 books a year, so I figure I save around $2000 by using the library.

[MER0llerd]

mainly because of the wait time for books I am excited about, not all of them are bestsellers a good % I have to request for the library to buy and that doesn't happen right away sometimes. I don't do regular books either after I found a booger and it grossed me out. But I do use them pretty regularly for audio books on Libby