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> If the selection was good I would be happy to pay monthly for what is effectively a library card Libraries offer this service for free. Our local library has

> If the selection was good I would be happy to pay monthly for what is effectively a library card Libraries offer this service for free. Our local library has a huge and increasing number of ebooks available.

lapetitejort 5y ago
Also keep in mind that your local library may be in a larger system. My local library can borrow books from almost the entire state (minus from the largest city in the state, for some reason). If you're willing to wait a week or more, you can put books on hold and get an email when they arrive to your local branch.
sandyarmstrong 5y ago
They do, yes. However, libraries typically have a very small number of "copies" of ebooks available to loan, which means there can be quite a queue. Add to this that there is literally no incentive for the person who checked it out to "return" it when finished, which means ebooks are always kept out for their maximum borrowing time. As a result, it can be months before a popular book is available to borrow. It's a very frustrating situation for an artificially-constrained supply. Putting physical books on hold at the library is a much faster experience. You can still initiate it online, but you get your copy much faster. And you naturally return the book when finished because this lines up with when you go in to get your next book. I use Overdrive for both ebooks and audio books, and I really appreciate the service, but it's really not a "Netflix for books". This is like saying Visual Source Safe, which prevented you from editing files a coworker had "checked out", is just as good as git. :-)
- valarauko 5y ago
  > However, libraries typically have a very small number of "copies" of ebooks available to loan, which means there can be quite a queue. Add to this that there is literally no incentive for the person who checked it out to "return" it when finished, which means ebooks are always kept out for their maximum borrowing time. As a result, it can be months before a popular book is available to borrow. My public library network has reduced the number of holds & checkouts of ebooks since the onset of the pandemic - 3, down from 10. I personally return audiobooks & ebooks immediately once I'm done since it frees up my slots. My holds get delivered semi-chaotically, so I checkout requested books as soon as I can. So holding on to digital books I don't need anymore comes with a tangible downside for me. If I had 10 digital slots I might never deliberately return books either.
  - sandyarmstrong 5y ago
    Good, I'm glad your network is trying to fix this. The other thing I do is return whenever, and just put my Kindle in airplane mode and read the book at my leisure. Sure, I can't add any content for a bit, but they can't remove anything either.

lapetitejort 5y ago

Also keep in mind that your local library may be in a larger system. My local library can borrow books from almost the entire state (minus from the largest city in the state, for some reason). If you're willing to wait a week or more, you can put books on hold and get an email when they arrive to your local branch.

sandyarmstrong 5y ago

They do, yes. However, libraries typically have a very small number of "copies" of ebooks available to loan, which means there can be quite a queue. Add to this that there is literally no incentive for the person who checked it out to "return" it when finished, which means ebooks are always kept out for their maximum borrowing time. As a result, it can be months before a popular book is available to borrow. It's a very frustrating situation for an artificially-constrained supply. Putting physical books on hold at the library is a much faster experience. You can still initiate it online, but you get your copy much faster. And you naturally return the book when finished because this lines up with when you go in to get your next book. I use Overdrive for both ebooks and audio books, and I really appreciate the service, but it's really not a "Netflix for books". This is like saying Visual Source Safe, which prevented you from editing files a coworker had "checked out", is just as good as git. :-)

valarauko 5y ago
> However, libraries typically have a very small number of "copies" of ebooks available to loan, which means there can be quite a queue. Add to this that there is literally no incentive for the person who checked it out to "return" it when finished, which means ebooks are always kept out for their maximum borrowing time. As a result, it can be months before a popular book is available to borrow. My public library network has reduced the number of holds & checkouts of ebooks since the onset of the pandemic - 3, down from 10. I personally return audiobooks & ebooks immediately once I'm done since it frees up my slots. My holds get delivered semi-chaotically, so I checkout requested books as soon as I can. So holding on to digital books I don't need anymore comes with a tangible downside for me. If I had 10 digital slots I might never deliberately return books either.
- sandyarmstrong 5y ago
  Good, I'm glad your network is trying to fix this. The other thing I do is return whenever, and just put my Kindle in airplane mode and read the book at my leisure. Sure, I can't add any content for a bit, but they can't remove anything either.