Have you ever purchased a book when it was available at a library?

[Graham44]

Originally Posted by bluepeter

In any case, borrowing e-books isn't really an option for me. My local public library nominally supports Libby/Overdrive, but I've found that the selection available is very poor indeed. .

Im in the UK as well and have found exactly the same thing, seems like UK libraries haven't fully embraced ebooks?

[issybird]

In short, no. If I can get it at the library, I don't buy it. I don't reread and I don't mind waiting as long as it takes. Especially since I mostly use the library for recent releases and they're pricey.

That said, it's the getting it at the library that's becoming a looming cloud on the horizon. I'm fine for right now, but my two heavily used cards are affinity cards where if they change the terms, I'm toast. I'd be happy to pay for an out-of-state card which I've done in the past, but they're becoming fewer and fewer. Understandably. My state OverDrive has a paltry 15,000 epubs, none of which I'd ever want to read. I don't even look; it's all chicklit.

But that said, I own years' worth of reading and there's always PD. I tend to take a Micawber-ish view on books anyway; I'm not worried.

[bluepeter]

Originally Posted by Graham44

Im in the UK as well and have found exactly the same thing, seems like UK libraries haven't fully embraced ebooks?

Yes. I think I read somewhere that the pricing model adopted by publishers makes them prohibitively expensive for libraries. Why this should (apparently) be a bigger problem in the UK than, say, the USA is something that I don't understand.

This article on the subject is quite interesting.

[DJUNGELSKOG]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Alternately, have you ever purchased a book after you've had it on loan at the library?

I've done it on many occasions. Some examples:

• I've purchased my own copy of "The will of the many" after reading the library copy

• I've read the library copies of "The way of kings" and "Words of radiance" and then purchased the full series

• I found "The wheel of time" books 1-3 in a thrift store for €2 each. I bought them even though our local library has them

• I bought "The expanse" series after reading the library copies because I like the covers

• The list goes on...

In general if I want to read the book I borrow it from the library, if I want to have the book then I buy it. I never buy books with the sole intention of reading them. I'm THAT spoiled by our local library.

This year I've challenged myself to read more of my own books instead of basically living in the library, and I've even had some success with it.

[DuskyRose]

I do get some at the library, but I don't like to read on a time limit. I'm in one book club that I really like, but it does get a bit on my nerves to have to have a book read by a certain date. Especially if it's in a genre my head isn't in at the time. But the club is fun, so it's worth it.

For my own reading... meh. If I'm really interested in having it 'some day, maybe tomorrow..." and it's cheap, I'd rather pick it up and not have to worry about due dates.

I love to read series, and most of the libraries don't have the early books in the big series anymore. So I don't hold my breath to find them in the library when I'm wanting to jump in.

[ekbell]

The The Big Book of Science Fiction was just too long to read within library term limits. And then being a ebook with a limited license, it disappeared. So when I saw it on sale recently I bought it.

And this is generally true for niche books, our library is large enough to buy them but tends not to replace them.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by issybird

In short, no. If I can get it at the library, I don't buy it. I don't reread and I don't mind waiting as long as it takes. Especially since I mostly use the library for recent releases and they're pricey.

That said, it's the getting it at the library that's becoming a looming cloud on the horizon. I'm fine for right now, but my two heavily used cards are affinity cards where if they change the terms, I'm toast. I'd be happy to pay for an out-of-state card which I've done in the past, but they're becoming fewer and fewer. Understandably. My state OverDrive has a paltry 15,000 epubs, none of which I'd ever want to read. I don't even look; it's all chicklit.

But that said, I own years' worth of reading and there's always PD. I tend to take a Micawber-ish view on books anyway; I'm not worried.

It can't all be chicklit, can it? Surely there's a James Patterson or Stephen King or something in the mix? At least one? My local library is just half chicklit. I wish I was exaggerating there...

What about reference books? Would you buy a cookbook even if it's at the library?

[issybird]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

It can't all be chicklit, can it? Surely there's a James Patterson or Stephen King or something in the mix? At least one? My local library is just half chicklit. I wish I was exaggerating there...

What about reference books? Would you buy a cookbook even if it's at the library?

I suppose technically speaking it can’t quite all be chicklit, but if I do a search on recent purchases that’s what the sea of covers looks like to me. And of the 15,000 epubs, over 13,500 are fiction. That tells the story the right there.

I don’t/can’t cook. You could argue that means I’m in dire need of a cookbook, but too late now.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

It can't all be chicklit, can it? Surely there's a James Patterson or Stephen King or something in the mix? At least one? My local library is just half chicklit. I wish I was exaggerating there...

By chicklit, you are referring to various books covered by the romance genre? The genre that comprises ~33% of total paperback books sales? That, according to statistics from the provincial library collective comprises 40% of their loans overall and close to 50% of their ebook loans?

The libraries are giving their customers what the customers want and not what they think the customers should want.

Do I disagree with those decisions? Well, yes. I would prefer to see more SF & F, more technical books and more cookbooks in their offerings. OTOH, if I ask for a book, more often than not, they will supply it if they can fit it in their budget.

[DNSB]

For what it may be worth, my spouse and I in the last week purchased a book that was "available" at the local library. Available is quoted since the books shows 0 of 6 copies available and a 6 month+ wait time. How many copies would be left at the end of that time? The Great Ghu alone knows.

I was outvoted 1-1 on purchasing "It Takes a Psychic" with muttering about someone being unhappy with being dust bunny deprived.

As Kenny Rogers said, "You've got to know when to hold 'em Know when to fold 'em."

[issybird]

Originally Posted by DNSB

The libraries are giving their customers what the customers want and not what they think the customers should want.

Corrected: The libraries are giving some of their customers what the customers want and not what they think the customers should want nothing to the rest of their customers.

It seems to me that the libraries’ mandate should be to meet the needs of all their potential customers to the extent they can, spreading the wealth. I suspect the libraries are willing to go all romance because it makes their circulation numbers look better with titles that are quick reads with lots of churn. But the history lovers also pay taxes and deserve to have books that appeal to them, too. I’m not suggesting a one to one trade off; obviously fewer books that are both longer and slower reads should be purchased, but with data from the Libby app it wouldn’t be all that hard to develop an algorithm.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by issybird

Corrected: The libraries are giving some of their customers what the customers want and not what they think the customers should want nothing to the rest of their customers.

It seems to me that the libraries’ mandate should be to meet the needs of all their potential customers to the extent they can, spreading the wealth. I suspect the libraries are willing to go all romance because it makes their circulation numbers look better with titles that are quick reads with lots of churn. But the history lovers also pay taxes and deserve to have books that appeal to them, too. I’m not suggesting a one to one trade off; obviously fewer books that are both longer and slower reads should be purchased, but with data from the Libby app it wouldn’t be all that hard to develop an algorithm.

I would disagree. If 50% of their customers want to read romance or any other genre, spending 50% of their ebook budget on those books is fair. Not to mention that quite of few of the non-romance books are considerably more expensive and are unlikely to reach the maximum number of loans before the book expires on the maximum term. In the case of the local library system, their budget numbers that I've seen suggest that they spend $44 of each $100 on fiction and $56 on non-fiction (history, biography, etc.). That $44 supplies them with a lot more fiction than the $56 buys non-fiction.

Doing a quick look at the different in cost between the average genre book and history books, I did a quick check on Amazon, Kobo and Google. While those prices are not even close to the prices charged to libraries, the ratio in the examples I've seen are pretty close. When the average published in the last 5 years history book in the list I looked at comes in at over $100 Cdn. and the average fiction comes in ~$7.99 Cdn, you can supply your customers with a lot of fiction books for 1 history book.

And yes, I realize there are a lot of low end, poorly researched and of questionable scholarly value in many of the low end history book. I looked at my collection of books about Gustavus Adolphus for some examples. Since Kobo did have quite a few of those books in Kobo Plus, I borrowed them to compare to some of my hardcover editions. Most of recently authored ones were pretty poor. I probably learned more about Gustavus Adolphus reading Eric Flint et alia's 1632 book series which is what triggered my renewed interest in Gustavus Adophus. Others were poorly formatted versions of old books (G. A. Henty's The Lion of the North: A Tale Of The Times Of Gustavus Adolphus And The Wars Of Religion as one example) which were mostly copied from Gutenberg's texts.

Sorry if you feel slighted, but libraries spend their budgets to please as many of their clients as they can. The feelings of those of us who prefer less popular genres runs into vox populi, vox Dei.

[salamanderjuice]

Originally Posted by DNSB

I would disagree. If 50% of their customers want to read romance or any other genre, spending 50% of their ebook budget on those books is fair. Not to mention that quite of few of the non-romance books are considerably more expensive and are unlikely to reach the maximum number of loans before the book expires on the maximum term. In the case of the local library system, their budget numbers that I've seen suggest that they spend $44 of each $100 on fiction and $56 on non-fiction (history, biography, etc.). That $44 supplies them with a lot more fiction than the $56 buys non-fiction.

Doing a quick look at the different in cost between the average genre book and history books, I did a quick check on Amazon, Kobo and Google. While those prices are not even close to the prices charged to libraries, the ratio in the examples I've seen are pretty close. When the average published in the last 5 years history book in the list I looked at comes in at over $100 Cdn. and the average fiction comes in ~$7.99 Cdn, you can supply your customers with a lot of fiction books for 1 history book.

And yes, I realize there are a lot of low end, poorly researched and of questionable scholarly value in many of the low end history book. I looked at my collection of books about Gustavus Adolphus for some examples. Since Kobo did have quite a few of those books in Kobo Plus, I borrowed them to compare to some of my hardcover editions. Most of recently authored ones were pretty poor. I probably learned more about Gustavus Adolphus reading Eric Flint et alia's 1632 book series which is what triggered my renewed interest in Gustavus Adophus. Others were poorly formatted versions of old books (G. A. Henty's The Lion of the North: A Tale Of The Times Of Gustavus Adolphus And The Wars Of Religion as one example) which were mostly copied from Gutenberg's texts.

Sorry if you feel slighted, but libraries spend their budgets to please as many of their clients as they can. The feelings of those of us who prefer less popular genres runs into vox populi, vox Dei.

Are those history books driving up the average price mainly academic monographs and the like? Not really the right kind of fare for a city public library, no? I'd imagine the same kinds of history carried by a big retail bookstore and likely more palatable to the average history buff are a good deal cheaper. Maybe not $7.99 CDN admittedly, but perhaps $19.99.

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by salamanderjuice

Are those history books driving up the average price mainly academic monographs and the like? Not really the right kind of fare for a city public library, no? I'd imagine the same kinds of history carried by a big retail bookstore and likely more palatable to the average history buff are a good deal cheaper. Maybe not $7.99 CDN admittedly, but perhaps $19.99.

From what I looked at on Amazon and Kobo, the history books I personally am interested in which admittedly is a niche of a niche market and which were available in at least one of the libraries I have access to, the prices were closer to $60 than $20.