Your local library and e-books - Page 3

narflet · 08-02-2013, 03:48 PM

I don't know what system Coventry libraries use, but you can see their info here: http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/2000...s/1349/e-books

It's a good system, whatever it is, and you can select the number of days you want the book for - between 1 and 21. They're always adding to the selection, and are very open to suggestions for what people would like adding even though the options are limited. It does seem that the majority of books in their system are Random House books.

Birmingham's digital library uses Overdrive (http://birmingham-uk.lib.overdrive.com), and allows you to check out 3 titles and to have reservations on 4 titles.

Nottingham libraries used to charge £1 per book. However, it seems they've now scrapped that and they use the same system that Coventry uses (whatever that is): http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/le...ership/ebooks/

4691mls · 08-02-2013, 04:32 PM

NC digital library allows 4 checkouts and 5 holds. I don't mind the limited checkouts becuase I figure if other people can have only 4 books at a time, that keeps more books free for me. The only problem I have had is when I accidentally checked out open epub books that can't be returned early, so I am stuck with them and can't get more (I now try to avoid checking out open epubs).

As others have said already, I would like to have more holds.

speakingtohe · 08-02-2013, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by l_macd

What is the point in being able to borrow 20 books all at the one time, why would you want that many?

The first library I used only has about 1500 titles available, with a maximum of 2 loans for 21 days and 2 holds. My local library has just recently launched its ebook service and has about 4000 titles available, with a maximum of 5 titles for 21 days, and 5 holds. I generally borrow one or maybe two at a time for either 7 or 14 days.

I've no idea how this compares to the amount of physical books available in the library, but it's probably a lot less. I'm not sure how quickly new books are available as ebooks either. I do know that for example my council has 7 copies of the Robert Galbratih/JK Rowling book available (plus two talking book CDs), but its not available as an ebook or audio download.

15 is enough for me an my mother, but if I had six or eight smallish children, maybe not.

5 is a little tight for many. You can not use them all if you are waiting for a hold to be available. Imagine waiting for a month or two for a hold and all of your slots are full and cannot be returned

It's not that many that borrow 20 books a week I am sure, but nice to have a few extra slots.

Helen

Helen

NickyWithNook · 08-02-2013, 06:26 PM

The problem I have with holds is that when I put a bunch of books on hold, they all seem to come in at the same time.

medard · 08-02-2013, 06:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by l_macd

What is the point in being able to borrow 20 books all at the one time, why would you want that many?

There are people that like to read the first pages of the book, or that would like to see the book design.

When you like science-fiction literature, you can borrow 20 titles, have a look at all of them, and then you choose one of these. Freedom is getting the most out of freedom of choice and to maximise the possibilities. More choice, more freedom.

grumbles · 08-02-2013, 07:45 PM

I have the use of three libraries. Victoria (B.C.), Ottawa and Toronto. Victoria has 5 loans and 5 holds, Ottawa allows 10 of each and Toronto 15 of each. Victoria shows 8648 fiction titles and 5949 non-fiction. Ottawa shows 10674 and 3320, Toronto 15022 and 10083 respectively. Not all the books that are in the BC collection are necessarily available from a specific library. I just tried to place hold on a Julian Barnes book but its not available to Victoria card holders. Neither Toronto or Ottawa have it.

There is quite a bit of overlap between the libraries but each one has some unique material. Toronto also gives me access to the Safari bookshelf which in turn gives me access to all the O'Reilly books, an invaluable programming reference.

CRussel · 08-02-2013, 08:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWinmill

You may want to see if you qualify for a Vancouver Library card (I think that people who live or work in Vancouver qualify) since they split off from the BC Libraries collection about a year ago.

Neither work nor live. I live and work on the Sunshine Coast. Which is thankfully NOT Vancouver.

Rita Lee Chapman · 08-02-2013, 08:55 PM

I'm an Aussie and my library card allows me to borrow from any of the 10 libraries in our area. I haven't tried e-books but I can borrow 30 print books at a time! I'd need a wheelbarrow to take them to the car. I just reserved a book by a local author and there are 35 reserves ahead of me! Wish I could say the same for my book.

speakingtohe · 08-02-2013, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

Neither work nor live. I live and work on the Sunshine Coast. Which is thankfully NOT Vancouver.

I believe if you are visiting Vancouver you can either join or have your card upgraded so it can use the VPL site if you live in BC.

Helen

medard · 08-02-2013, 09:08 PM

Rita, when we're talking about printed books - most people won't borrow 30 books while being in a library. But they'd definitely look into 30 book at least to choose one.

It is not possible to look into an electronic book in your digital library system. So some people choose to borrow 30 oder 50 ebooks at once and read one or two of them. Or none, whatever. You don't borrow an ebook like you borrow a printed book. You just download a file.

But thanks a lot for sharing your experience. I really like to hear some voices from Australia. It's quite far away.

Laridae · 08-02-2013, 11:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by medard

It is not possible to look into an electronic book in your digital library system. So some people choose to borrow 30 oder 50 ebooks at once and read one or two of them.

Actually our library offers the ability to download sample previews (usually the first chapter) of some selected ebooks. But I don't know how they choose which ones! This is a great idea for browsers, as you suggest.

My local library allows 10 holds and 10 checkouts. I also sometimes use my son's account in another city to borrow ebooks. The limit there is 15 holds and 15 checkouts.

Marcy · 08-03-2013, 12:02 AM

My local library allows 7 checkouts and 5 holds. The next town over however allows 50 checkouts and 25 holds! They also have a much huger selection than my library, so I got a friend who lives there to get a card so I could have access.

My library has 4156 ebooks. The next town over however has 16,620 ebooks and adds more on a regular basis. It also isn't as heavily used as my local one, i.e. new popular books have a much shorter waiting period.

I also have access to the Hennepin system through a friend who lives there. You can check out 15 books at a time there and they have 57,857 books in their catalog!

iq6000 · 08-03-2013, 12:35 AM

I belong to 2 libraries, they both have ebooks from various sources - they are all delivered in partnership with other organisations:
https://elibcat.library.brisbane.qld...1/2/X/BLASTOFF
and
http://library.moretonbay.qld.gov.au...PAC/MBRCeBOOKS

I borrow ebooks almost exclusively now. I only borrow books made of paper if I really really want to read them, and they aren't available as ebooks.

Angela

Loosheesh · 08-04-2013, 12:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by medard

It is not possible to look into an electronic book in your digital library system.

You can sample ebooks before checking them out of the digital library (well, from those powered by Overdrive, at least; I don't see a similar feature in the 3M library); the sample link is situated at the upper right corner of the book cover. Audiobooks can be sampled as well. I'm not sure if sampling is available for every ebook or audiobook, though.

Spoiler:

SteveK · 08-04-2013, 08:31 AM

The Tennessee-wide READS system shows 31,550 ebooks when searching "All ebooks", of which 28,647 are available in epub and 25,342 available in Kindle. Apparently there are about 3,000 or so only available as pdf. It also shows 14,376 audiobooks. So certainly there is a decent selection. You can borrow up to 15 titles and have up to 15 titles on hold.

I've always had a question about how "books" are counted. If a library has 10 copies of an ebook or audiobook, do they count that as one selection or as 10? My assumption would be that TITLES are counted, so that the number of copies does not affect the count, but I've never been certain (and haven't been curious enough to ask the library).

Either way, I get a LOT of use out of the library!

SteveK

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08-02-2013, 03:48 PM	#31
narflet Member Posts: 22 Karma: 20000 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Kindle Voyage, Kindle 3	I don't know what system Coventry libraries use, but you can see their info here: http://www.coventry.gov.uk/info/2000...s/1349/e-books It's a good system, whatever it is, and you can select the number of days you want the book for - between 1 and 21. They're always adding to the selection, and are very open to suggestions for what people would like adding even though the options are limited. It does seem that the majority of books in their system are Random House books. Birmingham's digital library uses Overdrive (http://birmingham-uk.lib.overdrive.com), and allows you to check out 3 titles and to have reservations on 4 titles. Nottingham libraries used to charge £1 per book. However, it seems they've now scrapped that and they use the same system that Coventry uses (whatever that is): http://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/le...ership/ebooks/

08-02-2013, 04:32 PM	#32
4691mls Wizard Posts: 2,776 Karma: 30081762 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: US Device: ALL DEVICES ARE STOCK: Kobo Clara, Tolino Shine 2, Sony PRS-T3, T1	NC digital library allows 4 checkouts and 5 holds. I don't mind the limited checkouts becuase I figure if other people can have only 4 books at a time, that keeps more books free for me. The only problem I have had is when I accidentally checked out open epub books that can't be returned early, so I am stuck with them and can't get more (I now try to avoid checking out open epubs). As others have said already, I would like to have more holds.

08-02-2013, 06:26 PM	#34
NickyWithNook Guru Posts: 750 Karma: 3942770 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: American living in Australia Device: Kobo Libra Colour, Kindle Fire, Kindle Pwhite (Don't use Nook anymore)	The problem I have with holds is that when I put a bunch of books on hold, they all seem to come in at the same time.

08-02-2013, 07:45 PM	#36
grumbles Addict Posts: 238 Karma: 1500000 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Pandigital Novel (Black), T-2 and 3, Nexus 7	I have the use of three libraries. Victoria (B.C.), Ottawa and Toronto. Victoria has 5 loans and 5 holds, Ottawa allows 10 of each and Toronto 15 of each. Victoria shows 8648 fiction titles and 5949 non-fiction. Ottawa shows 10674 and 3320, Toronto 15022 and 10083 respectively. Not all the books that are in the BC collection are necessarily available from a specific library. I just tried to place hold on a Julian Barnes book but its not available to Victoria card holders. Neither Toronto or Ottawa have it. There is quite a bit of overlap between the libraries but each one has some unique material. Toronto also gives me access to the Safari bookshelf which in turn gives me access to all the O'Reilly books, an invaluable programming reference.

08-02-2013, 08:55 PM	#38
Rita Lee Chapman rchapman1 Posts: 23 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Queensland, Australia Device: e-reader	I'm an Aussie and my library card allows me to borrow from any of the 10 libraries in our area. I haven't tried e-books but I can borrow 30 print books at a time! I'd need a wheelbarrow to take them to the car. I just reserved a book by a local author and there are 35 reserves ahead of me! Wish I could say the same for my book.

08-02-2013, 09:08 PM	#40
medard Wizard Posts: 1,014 Karma: 5595784 Join Date: May 2012 Device: Electronic Paper	Rita, when we're talking about printed books - most people won't borrow 30 books while being in a library. But they'd definitely look into 30 book at least to choose one. It is not possible to look into an electronic book in your digital library system. So some people choose to borrow 30 oder 50 ebooks at once and read one or two of them. Or none, whatever. You don't borrow an ebook like you borrow a printed book. You just download a file. But thanks a lot for sharing your experience. I really like to hear some voices from Australia. It's quite far away.

08-03-2013, 12:02 AM	#42
Marcy Guru Posts: 897 Karma: 950683 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kobo Libra2	My local library allows 7 checkouts and 5 holds. The next town over however allows 50 checkouts and 25 holds! They also have a much huger selection than my library, so I got a friend who lives there to get a card so I could have access. My library has 4156 ebooks. The next town over however has 16,620 ebooks and adds more on a regular basis. It also isn't as heavily used as my local one, i.e. new popular books have a much shorter waiting period. I also have access to the Hennepin system through a friend who lives there. You can check out 15 books at a time there and they have 57,857 books in their catalog!

08-03-2013, 12:35 AM	#43
iq6000 Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 5000 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Deception Bay, QLD, Australia Device: ECO Reader, iPhone	I belong to 2 libraries, they both have ebooks from various sources - they are all delivered in partnership with other organisations: https://elibcat.library.brisbane.qld...1/2/X/BLASTOFF and http://library.moretonbay.qld.gov.au...PAC/MBRCeBOOKS I borrow ebooks almost exclusively now. I only borrow books made of paper if I really really want to read them, and they aren't available as ebooks. Angela

08-04-2013, 08:31 AM	#45
SteveK Addict Posts: 272 Karma: 1017902 Join Date: Nov 2008 Device: Kindle PW, PW2, Kindle3, Kobo Glo, tablets, phone	The Tennessee-wide READS system shows 31,550 ebooks when searching "All ebooks", of which 28,647 are available in epub and 25,342 available in Kindle. Apparently there are about 3,000 or so only available as pdf. It also shows 14,376 audiobooks. So certainly there is a decent selection. You can borrow up to 15 titles and have up to 15 titles on hold. I've always had a question about how "books" are counted. If a library has 10 copies of an ebook or audiobook, do they count that as one selection or as 10? My assumption would be that TITLES are counted, so that the number of copies does not affect the count, but I've never been certain (and haven't been curious enough to ask the library). Either way, I get a LOT of use out of the library! SteveK

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