5 ms·

> It's beyond odd; it's simply idiotic. You would not "buy down" holds for physical books, or not to a ridiculous degree. If there are 100 holds for some book,

> It's beyond odd; it's simply idiotic. You would not "buy down" holds for physical books, or not to a ridiculous degree. If there are 100 holds for some book, you're not going to go out and buy 75 or whatever. Libraries certainly do this. Might not be at (your suggested) 75/100 rates, but if a physical book is popular, library systems do purchase more copies.

brewdad 3y ago
Those same libraries can then resell their excess copies a few years later at a Friends of the Library sale and recoup a few dollars. This isn’t possible with e-books currently.
- itsgrimetime 3y ago
  Are they prohibited from reselling the licenses?
  - dagw 3y ago
    Depends slightly where you are, but often the ebook licenses are time limited, often to 1 year. So not only can't you resell the licenses, you have to keep rebuying them.
    - kazinator 3y ago
      Public libraries really should stay away from e-anything, in my opinion. No library would purchase anything of the sort under my watch. Obviously, since patrons check it out, there is demand for it. Well, so what? There is demand for cocaine and porn; should public libraries offer that? Demand for something doesn't ipso facto oblige a library to provide it.
      - Nevermark 3y ago
        > there is demand for it. Well, so what? Of course demand for something doesn't make it something that should be free. On the other hand, your arguments against e-libraries are just as vague and lacking in implication. Libraries promote literacy and/or learning with every book read. Even as a source of entertainment, it promotes a richer culture. All of which does have a total health of society benefit.
      - LeafItAlone 3y ago
        > Public libraries really should stay away from e-anything, in my opinion. No library would purchase anything of the sort under my watch. Why not? What are your goals of a public library?
        kazinator 3y ago
        Strictly physical items. Books, musical instruments, power tools ... no e-garbage. Nothing with an expiring license or ongoing fees.
        LeafItAlone 3y ago
        That seems to be your implementation. What are your goals?
- thaumasiotes 3y ago
  That doesn't really matter; as you just noted, the library gets a few dollars by doing so. $4 after two years is an amount that, if it went away, wouldn't matter.
UncleOxidant 3y ago
Then why aren't they reducing the maximum number of non-digital holds? (or did they already have that limit?)
- 83457 3y ago
  They likely don't have an issue with physical holds. Digital holds are just too easy.
- Tempest1981 3y ago
  Santa Clara county (California): > Limits. You may borrow at any one time, 100 total items per library card, including up to 10 console games and up to 30 DVDs/Blu-rays. https://sccld.org/borrowing-policy/ https://sccld.org/borrowing-policy/
  - kazinator 3y ago
    Borrowing limits are not holds. Also, per-borrower limits are different from per-book limits. A limit of 20 holds for a given e-book means that at most 20 people can wait in a queue for the opportunity to be the next borrower.

brewdad 3y ago

Those same libraries can then resell their excess copies a few years later at a Friends of the Library sale and recoup a few dollars. This isn’t possible with e-books currently.

itsgrimetime 3y ago
Are they prohibited from reselling the licenses?
- dagw 3y ago
  Depends slightly where you are, but often the ebook licenses are time limited, often to 1 year. So not only can't you resell the licenses, you have to keep rebuying them.
  - kazinator 3y ago
    Public libraries really should stay away from e-anything, in my opinion. No library would purchase anything of the sort under my watch. Obviously, since patrons check it out, there is demand for it. Well, so what? There is demand for cocaine and porn; should public libraries offer that? Demand for something doesn't ipso facto oblige a library to provide it.
    - Nevermark 3y ago
      > there is demand for it. Well, so what? Of course demand for something doesn't make it something that should be free. On the other hand, your arguments against e-libraries are just as vague and lacking in implication. Libraries promote literacy and/or learning with every book read. Even as a source of entertainment, it promotes a richer culture. All of which does have a total health of society benefit.
    - LeafItAlone 3y ago
      > Public libraries really should stay away from e-anything, in my opinion. No library would purchase anything of the sort under my watch. Why not? What are your goals of a public library?
      - kazinator 3y ago
        Strictly physical items. Books, musical instruments, power tools ... no e-garbage. Nothing with an expiring license or ongoing fees.
        LeafItAlone 3y ago
        That seems to be your implementation. What are your goals?
thaumasiotes 3y ago
That doesn't really matter; as you just noted, the library gets a few dollars by doing so. $4 after two years is an amount that, if it went away, wouldn't matter.

UncleOxidant 3y ago

Then why aren't they reducing the maximum number of non-digital holds? (or did they already have that limit?)

83457 3y ago
They likely don't have an issue with physical holds. Digital holds are just too easy.
Tempest1981 3y ago
Santa Clara county (California): > Limits. You may borrow at any one time, 100 total items per library card, including up to 10 console games and up to 30 DVDs/Blu-rays. https://sccld.org/borrowing-policy/ https://sccld.org/borrowing-policy/
- kazinator 3y ago
  Borrowing limits are not holds. Also, per-borrower limits are different from per-book limits. A limit of 20 holds for a given e-book means that at most 20 people can wait in a queue for the opportunity to be the next borrower.