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Post by liriodendron on May 26, 2012 6:19:31 GMT -5
As for the Fifty Shades Trilogy:
Rich library - Fifty Shades of Grey - 24 paper copies, 4 audiobooks, 1 downloadable e-book Fifty Shades Darker - 12 paper copies, 4 audiobooks (on order), 1 downloadable e-book Fifty Shades Freed - 12 paper copies, 2 audiobooks (on order), 1 downloadable e-book
I suspect the number of paper copies of the second two books will increase as more people finish the first one. Most libraries (including this one) have guidelines as to how many copies of a book they buy based on the number of reserves.
Poor Library -
Fifty Shades of Grey - 3 paper copies Fifty Shades Darker - 1 paper copy (with 2 more on order) Fifty Shades Freed - 1 paper copy (with 1 more on order)
This library also has access to the downloadable e-book version of the books, but it's as part of a library consortium. This means the resources are shared amongst a large number of libraries, so the wait times for the e-books are generally much longer. The rich library has it's own subscription to Overdrive, so the patrons (in general) have a much shorter wait to borrow materials this way.
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Post by BoatBabe on May 26, 2012 11:20:29 GMT -5
Fantastic! I love this age of immediate gratification in which we live. ![;)](//storage.proboards.com/forum/images/smiley/wink.png) Clearly, the question of whether your library owns a particular book includes a much broader examination of your library's financial health. Lirio said, "My own opinion is closer to Joe's - especially regarding the less wealthy library. In fact, initially, the Director there had said we would not be buying it. I actually agreed with her on this, though not due to feeling a need to censor it. There are so many books that this library cannot afford to buy that we NEED (more current nonfiction, such consumer health and medical books, that quickly become outdated; fresh copies of classics; newer travel books; more up-to-date computer materials, to name just a few), that I can't see spending our precious book budget on what is basically erotica. Or, as I put it to some of my colleagues, "Let them buy their own damn porn." "All libraries have (or should have) collection development policies to guide their purchasing and there is a difference between selection and censorship." These are great points that bring up many questions for me. Particularly in a Poor Library, why would the collection development policies guide you to purchase and repurchase "consumer health and medical books, that quickly become outdated?" Wouldn't that ever new and changing information be more readily accessible online? You already own the computers. Why are hard copies necessary? And what does the library do with the hard copies next year when they are dead? "Fresh copies of classics;" That brought a smile to my face. I am delighted to remember how many tomes we now shelve in the Classics Section were once labeled trite, poorly-written, morally corrupt, politically unacceptable, an attack on religion, not literature, a disgrace, harmful to humanity and pornography. I am also delighted to hear that so many of us still require and request hard copies of Classics. Library selection doesn't ALL boil down to money, even if it is a driving force. I feel it would be easy to attempt to hide Censorship in a cloak called Selection.
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Post by BoatBabe on May 26, 2012 11:30:40 GMT -5
And your next post is just great, Lirio!
"I suspect the number of paper copies of the second two books will increase as more people finish the first one. Most libraries (including this one) have guidelines as to how many copies of a book they buy based on the number of reserves."
I was wondering how patrons' usage drove purchasing.
And they are already available in audiobooks?!?!? Who is the narrator, do you know? I have a client who works as a "Voice," and I find that particular occupation weird and fascinating.
Boy! That Rich Library has patronage.
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Post by doctork on May 26, 2012 11:40:55 GMT -5
I bet patrons want copies of health books to read at home when they have time. A lot of libraries have limited hours, often during times when patrons are at work, though for the unemployed, the library computers are a lifeline to potential employment during business hours. I know I can use the Flag library pretty much only on Sunday afternoons, and the Winslow library - well I don't even have a card yet, the hours are so limited!
The Bellingham library had regular book sales twice yearly and offered not only donated books (to which I was a regular contributor) but also books that were no longer popular. There are plenty of people who will wait to read "Shades of Grey" until they can buy it for 50 cents at the library sale.
I would think that some people who come to the library initially to borrow "Shades of Grey" become more regular patrons, perhaps reading more literary works. Maybe that would sway the doubters?
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