Do libraries expect you are hacking books?

[pwalker8]

Originally Posted by haertig

Good point. I was going to say I might understand hoarding behavior for physical things, but not digital things. Then I looked at the quantity of old and useless messages in my email inbox, and oops, there goes my theory about that! My trash folder is even worse! Electronic hoarding .. it's a new sickness.

Mine, mine, all mine! muayh ha ha ha.

Hey, you never know when the zombie apocalypse is going to happen and you need lots of ebooks to read as you hunker down in your underground bunker without internet.

[HLS]

I do not know my library rules. I generally only have 5 or less on hold at any time.

[DNSB]

The local library has a limit of 5 checkouts and 5 holds. If you start borrowing multiple books per day for multiple days, eventually this will trigger an event that will have them looking at your borrowing history.

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by haertig

I would doubt that this is a big thing at all. For the wide population of eBook users, there is probably only a very small percentage who even know how to strip DRM. And stripping it from library eBooks is probably known to only a small percentage of the original small percentage. Plus, library eBooks are free to borrow. There's not much incentive to strip DRM from them, since you can just re-borrow them if you want. I do suppose people could borrow from a library, strip DRM, and then sell the result on a pirate website. But I can't imagine there'd be a large market to buy pirated eBooks this way, since the buyer could have just borrowed the eBook from a library for free in the first place. There might be a bigger market for pirated eBooks that aren't available in libraries however. I satisfy my occasional need to get not-available-from-the-library eBooks cheaply by buying used mass market paperbacks instead. Or, I just live with the conclusion that there are so many books in this world that I can live without one specific one here and there.

I have no idea how to hack a library book and wouldn't do it even if I knew how. If there is a book I like enough that I want to keep it I will buy it. If I can't afford the price when it first comes out I'll wait a while until the price drops.

Originally Posted by rcentros

10 and 10 at the DFW library. I've never used all of either but have come close on holds. Since they let you know how many are in line in front of you, I try to anticipate that I'll be ready for a specific book when my turn comes. You can also "pause" a particular hold without (I think) having to start in the back of the line when you "unpause" it.

I wish that when you get the actual notification the hold is available, you could choose to pause it at that point. Usually if there is one person ahead of me it will take anywhere from a few days to the maximum 21 days for it to become available to me. However, there have been a few times when a hold became available sooner than I expected - perhaps someone ahead of me canceled or paused a hold, or maybe someone checked out the book and either read it very quickly or didn't like it and returned it right away - and I wasn't ready for it yet. Last time this happened I ended up returning without reading a book I'd already checked out, in order to be able to download the held book. (the one I decided to return was one I knew would have only a short hold list when I was ready to try again)

[supermighty]

Originally Posted by haertig

there is probably only a very small percentage who even know how to strip DRM.

Sadly here is probably only a very small percentage of people who even know what DRM is.

[astrangerhere]

The Chapel Hill Public Library (the town library not affiliated with the University) has the highest circulation numbers of any public library in North Carolina. Our limits are:

Borrowers may have 50 items checked out at a time, with the following limits:

• DVDs are capped at 10
• New Books are capped at 6 (and cannot be renewed)
• Friends’ books are capped at 2 (these are purchased by the Friends of the Library and are usually expensive or rare books)
• Holds are capped at 15

As an alumna, I also have a borrowers card to the entire UNC System of libraries, which is up to 15 total on the Chapel Hill campus. There are no borrowing limits, save for if a faculty member wants a book I have checked out, I am required to return it within 2 days of being notified.

[soulfuldog]

My library allows 5 loans and 12 holds, with loans lasting 7, 14 or 21 days. I'm pretty happy with that, as I can't imagine ever needing more than 5 ebooks on loan at the one time.

[azayn]

Originally Posted by supermighty

Sadly here is probably only a very small percentage of people who even know what DRM is.

That may be true but for the uninitiated, a step-by-step guide is just a Google search away. If one is technically adept enough to use Calibre for their ebooks, DRM is not a big deal at all

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by azayn

That may be true but for the uninitiated, a step-by-step guide is just a Google search away. If one is technically adept enough to use Calibre for their ebooks, DRM is not a big deal at all

I doubt majority of ebook readers (referring to people, not devices) use Calibre, either.

Indeed, most of the ebook readers I know use the Kindle. They're already used to buying from Amazon so the Kindle is a natural extension. Amazon makes it so easy to buy stuff. Honestly, library ebook borrowing can seem like a convoluted process to a lot of folks.

[AnemicOak]

My library offers 15 holds & 15 checkouts. I really wish the holds number was larger and am fine with the checkouts number (they could even reduce it for all I care).

When they start listing new books many months before they come out (one of my current holds comes out in November) and you need to get on the list as soon as you can to get the book within a few weeks/months of release (unless I'm lucky and place a hold the day they list it) it's quite easy to fill up 15 holds...

[bookaho!ic]

one library 20 checkouts (not sure on holds)
main one i use as its most often updated 6 checkouts and holds are incorporated so i have 4 on hold and can borrow another 2 - tbr is huge so i dont mind lol

[Sydney's Mom]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

I doubt majority of ebook readers (referring to people, not devices) use Calibre, either.

Indeed, most of the ebook readers I know use the Kindle. They're already used to buying from Amazon so the Kindle is a natural extension. Amazon makes it so easy to buy stuff. Honestly, library ebook borrowing can seem like a convoluted process to a lot of folks.

Library borrowing for Kindle is difficult. And less books are available in that format. But epub to AZW is a quick trip on Calibre

[steven168]

Originally Posted by steven168

Mine allows 8 borrows, 8 holds.

during school holiday season, borrows double.

The library is doubling your loan quota! Borrow up to 16 e-items. Promotion starts 19 May 2018 and ends 30 Sep 2018.

Mine allows 16 borrows, 8 holds for now

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by Catlady

My home library allows 50 checkouts and 50 holds for Overdrive. And another 50/50 at Axis360.

I tend to put anything of even marginal interest on hold when there are new additions; I eventually cancel many of those holds, either because I change my mind or because I get them from another library with a shorter wait list.

I put books of marginal interest on my wish list. I figure if they become available someday I may read them at that time. Or if I have an open spot on my hold list I can look through my wish list and find something there to put on hold.

[Barbara1955]

"Is removing DRM from library books widespread, and the libraries are just on board with it?" OP asked

My answer:
I don't believe it is .... To me its Stealing! & Doing it IS against MR Rules!