How long are the eBook waiting lists at your library?

[simplyparticular]

Buffalo OverDrive holds:
Fiction:
1. THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET’S NEST, 25 holds, 4 copies
2. TOUGH CUSTOMER, by Sandra Brown, not available
3. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett, 16 holds, 3 copies
4. STAR ISLAND, by Carl Hiaasen, 5 holds, 1 copy
5. VEIL OF NIGHT, by Linda Howard, not available

Non-Fiction:
1. _____ MY DAD SAYS, by Justin Halpern, 1 hold, 1 copy
2. THE OBAMA DIARIES, by Laura Ingraham, not available
3. THE BIG SHORT, by Michael Lewis, not available
4. EMPIRE OF THE SUMMER MOON, by S. C. Gwynne, not available
5. CHELSEA CHELSEA BANG BANG, by Chelsea Handler, 1 patron, 1 copy

Frankly, most of those books don't interest me. Of the two that did, I've already checked them out before they ended up with big hold lists.

I keep a hold list of about 10-12 going at two e-libraries. eNYPL has massive holds on new releases (40-60), but they order more copies. But I still end up getting most of my books from Buffalo. In fact, I'll add a new book on eNYPL, and then a few weeks later BUffalo will add it and I'll be one of the first 1-3 people.

I've read 51 library e-books since April, and I'm in the middle of 3 more and - a mix of 2009 and 2010 releases, with a couple of older books that were bestsellers but I wasn't in any hurry. At an average of $8.00 per e-book, that's $424 I *might* have spent. I say might because I probably wouldn't have given some of them a try. I certainly wouldn't have bought any of the PDF titles since they are always a crap-shoot for displaying on e-Ink devices.

And that is why I don't have a Kindle. Although I'm sure Jeff Bezos would love to see some of that $424

ETA: I have 7 days set as my default for checkout for both libraries (I had to do this manually - the default was 21), and I checkout within 2 days of getting the availability email. I return as soon as I finish a book, which is usually 3-4 days after checkout. So anyone waiting after me will get the book in about 6 days. I don't worry about when I'll get a book.

I do wish that libraries used the same 7 day max on new releases as they do for p-books.

My bigger complaint is the mix of formats for series books. Buffalo only carries PDF and ePub, notMobi eNYPL carries all 3 but is ordering less Mobi now. Several series I read are missing books because they aren't available in PDF or ePub yet from OverDrive. And the early books are always PDF.

[JSWolf]

Part of the problem is that when eBooks from overdrive were just PDF and Mobipocket, PDF was a more popular choice. So libraries tended to get PDF more so then Mobipocket.

Now that we have ePub, libraries are buying more eBooks in ePub. PDF vs ePub gives NO advantage at all. To view ePub & PDF, both need ADE. And on most stand alone readers, ePub works better.

But the problem is with older books before ePub. You may find your library has older books you want in PDF or Mobipocket. And if you find they are in PDF and you want ePub, you have to request and hope your library will get for you in ePub. Another problem comes when the book you want is PDF or Mobipocket. Most libraries these days don't order Mobipocket anymore even though they have books in Mobipocket format. So for books that don't have an ePub version, it might be PDF or nothing.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Part of the problem is that when eBooks from overdrive were just PDF and Mobipocket, PDF was a more popular choice. So libraries tended to get PDF more so then Mobipocket.

Now that we have ePub, libraries are buying more eBooks in ePub. PDF vs ePub gives NO advantage at all. To view ePub & PDF, both need ADE. And on most stand alone readers, ePub works better.

But the problem is with older books before ePub. You may find your library has older books you want in PDF or Mobipocket. And if you find they are in PDF and you want ePub, you have to request and hope your library will get for you in ePub. Another problem comes when the book you want is PDF or Mobipocket. Most libraries these days don't order Mobipocket anymore even though they have books in Mobipocket format. So for books that don't have an ePub version, it might be PDF or nothing.

According to an email I got from an acquisitions guy at the Philly Free Library sometimes even if epub is sold commercially they can only get it as a PDF for the library...

Hello,

Thanks for writing. I definitely agree that ePub is the preferred format. Whenever we have a choice, I acquire ePub over PDF. Display is more flexible and the files can be read by more types of equipment. The library market and the consumer market have some differences. Some publishers only make one type of eBook file available for libraries, even if they create multiple formats for online sale. The ePub format that we acquire also has DRM restrictions which requires the use of Adobe Digital Editions to read the books. This of course restricts the number of devices that can show the books. Personally, I'm hoping that the restrictions get relaxed over time as publishers get more comfortable with electronic versions of their material. This would increase accessibility tremendously. Until then, though, we'll probably keep buying PDFs if they are the only option available to us.

Thanks again,
Ted
Ted Bohaczuk
Acquisitions Department
Free Library of Philadelphia

[whitearrow]

Wow, I didn't realize that anyone in California could get an LA library card. That's awesome.

[carld]

Likewise, anyone in Ohio can get a Columbus Metropolitan Library card, but you have to activate it in person. The nearest branch to me is a 3-hour drive halfway across the state.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by whitearrow

Wow, I didn't realize that anyone in California could get an LA library card. That's awesome.

It gets better. For $50/yr a non-California resident can also get a LAPL card. I don't know if that includes non-residents of the U.S.

[bookwerm]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

It gets better. For $50/yr a non-California resident can also get a LAPL card. I don't know if that includes non-residents of the U.S.

But I think with LAPL you still have to show up in person... no non-resident cards over postal mail like FLP.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by bookwerm

But I think with LAPL you still have to show up in person... no non-resident cards over postal mail like FLP.

True. The page I linked to says:

To receive a library card, fill out an application in person at any Los Angeles Public Library location.

My card was no longer in the system (probably due to lack of use ). I had to fill out a new application in person.

[ATDrake]

Had a look at the BC stats for the various books mentioned upthread:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: 15 copies/122 waiting
The Girl Who Played with Fire: 6 copies/44 waiting
The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest: 6 copies/49 waiting

Private (James Patterson): EPUB 4 copies/41 waiting; WMA 4 copies/21 waiting
The Help (Kathryn Stockett): EPUB 5 copies/29 waiting; WMA 4 copies/25 waiting
Veil of Night (Linda Howard): WMA 5 copies/22 waiting
Innocent (assuming Scott Turow and not Ian McEwan): EPUB 1 copy/8 waiting; WMA 1 copy/6 waiting
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake (Aimee Bender): EPUB 1 copy/3 waiting; WMA 2 copies/1 waiting

All the other titles are not available to borrow as e-books.

Actually, once you get past the Steig Larsson and James Patterson stuff, it doesn't seem so bad, considering our entire province-wide population could probably fit into a modest-sized US city, and BC was counted in the top 10 for # e-books in the other thread. Pretty much everything that's not a recent best-seller or a popular audio title (classics, MP3 format mysteries) has at most 1-2 patrons waiting, usually, and I tend to get the notice for any holds often within a week of placing it.

But the default lend-time is 21 days (I have mine set to 7) + 3 days to pick up a hold, and the website instructions kind of bury the bit where you can return ADE books early on the format-specific help pages.

However, there are strict loan limits and all those people who're keeping theirs for the full 21 days can also only load up 5 items on their card at a time (excluding any hypothetical #$%^s who're using multiple cards for extra access), so I think it balances out.

[SeaBookGuy]

I believe WMA copies are audiobooks, not ebooks.

We are allowed 25 Overdrive books maximum at one time (audio and e-books combined) I believe, with a limit on the number of holds as well (10?). I've only recently started using the Overdrive wishlist feature to track items I'm not interested in downloading, or putting myself in the hold queue for, at present.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

I believe WMA copies are audiobooks, not ebooks.

Well yes, but dedicated e-readers are still relatively rare in my area whereas iPods/etc. are quite common. Until very recently, the number and selection of audiobooks dwarfed the e-books quite significantly.

A lot of the earlier titles in any given series are still only available in audiobook format. So I'm counting them towards the comparison, since it seems like they're getting fairly heavy use, if the waitlist numbers are anything to go by.

I think there are actually more people in line for the audio titles than the e-book ones, overall. Checking the listings for any given MP3 title usually says at least 1 patron on hold, and we've not only got a 5 item borrowing limit, but also a 5 item hold request limit.

[SeaBookGuy]

One thing that seems to be working in non-print'ers favor with Seattle's catalogue system is that there's a lag it seems for new Overdrive acquisitions to integrate into the main holdings; savvy cardholders check Overdrive specifically for a non-print edition, while most assume there isn't one available (yet).

[simplyparticular]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

One thing that seems to be working in non-print'ers favor with Seattle's catalogue system is that there's a lag it seems for new Overdrive acquisitions to integrate into the main holdings; savvy cardholders check Overdrive specifically for a non-print edition, while most assume there isn't one available (yet).

I had no idea the library eventually integrates the e-Book and p-book catalogs, but I just checked a few titles and sure enough, they show up as "electronic resource" in the p-book catalog. Karma for you!

[graycyn]

Oregon Digital Library Consortium

Didn't check the other titles, but today I put a hold on:

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: 10 copies/123 waiting


Not holding my breath on getting that read soon! Makes me think that our area is a hotbed of e-book readers. You'd never know it, I haven't spotted a single one in the wild.

[lisajjb]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Your library is wrong. You can return ePub and PDF. in ADE, go to the library view and select the book you want to return. Select the little arrow to the upper left of the cover thumbnail and select "return borrowed item". That's it, done and returned.

There wasn't the option to return the item. It also showed up in my purchased books in ADE, not borrowed. Downloaded it to my Libre, it allowed me to also copy it to my SD card.

Today I got email confirmation that two more books I had requested were available. Those two show up in my borrowed category and will only let me transfer to my device, not to the SD card. Those two have the option to return.