How long would you wait

[Jim]

In the Right Now I'm thread, Larry said he was #64 on the waiting list for a book. It got me to thinking, how long would you wait for a book at the library before you would go out and buy it either new or used?

If everybody on the list kept the book a week, this would mean a year and a quarter before you would get to read the book.

If nothing else I would probably put tis on my wish list for birthday or christmas to get it earlier. How long would you wait?

[ms.petra]

if the book is that desirable, there are probably many, many copies and he will actually have it in a relatively short amount of time. I usually have so many books on my to read list/hold list at the library, that I just read whatever comes in that week.

[Aynge]

It depends on how badly I want to read it. If it's by one of my favorite authors, I'd just go buy it. If it's something that sounds interesting by an author I've never read before, I'd wait.

I have tons of books on my "to-read" stack anyway.

[Félix]

I will wait as long as it takes.

[ms.petra]

patience is a virtue, Larry :)

[Félix]

And so rare in my case, Petra.

[RandomAnthony]

Totally depends on how bad I want to read the book, I agree. If I know a book I want is coming out, but I don't want to buy, I'll lurk the library website until I see a listing then leap on it.

I'm in a pretty good library system, so most books I want to read are available somewhere, but a harder question for me is whether or not to buy a book if the library system doesn't have a copy.

[Jim]

Larry wrote: "And so rare in my case, Petra."

You are the most patient monkey I know!

[Jim]

ms.petra wrote: "if the book is that desirable, there are probably many, many copies and he will actually have it in a relatively short amount of time. I usually have so many books on my to read list/hold list at t..."

Good point Petra, they probably will have multiple copies of the book if it is that wanted.

[Mary JL]

I seldom buy new hardcovers. Money is tight right now. But if I were on the list at the library and had waited a long time, and the paperback came out, I'd probably grab it.

If it was an unknown author, I might wait longer.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

I sometimes wait so long, I forget why I wanted to read a book. :)

[Lyzzibug ~Still Breathing~]

If I want to read it bad enough I'd just go out and buy it. I don't like to wait.

[Janice]

I don't use the library. I loved the library as a kid, but somewhere along the way I started purchasing my books. Now I have an addiction to buying books.

[Sarah]

I will wait patiently through the line, unless
a)I find it at our awesome remaindered-book store
b)It turns out one of my relatives already has it for me to borrow
c)I find myself in an indie book store that I feel I need to support with cash

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

I would wait forever. The worst that can happen is I die before I get the book. Then it won't matter anyway.

My library system tends to buy huge numbers of the books they know will be in high demand, so even if you are #64 you will probably get it within a couple months, I would think. They have 58 copies of Mark Twain's Autobiography, all of which are either checked out, on hold, or in transit to another library. They had many more copies of Freedom.

[Félix]

*waits patiently*

[Mary]

I'm all about instant gratification when it comes to books. Surprisingly I don't have an eReader, but I have the next-best thing, an Amazon "Prime" membership--free, super-fast shipping!! So, 48 hours is the longest I will wait.

[Jaye]

RandomAnthony wrote: "Totally depends on how bad I want to read the book, I agree. If I know a book I want is coming out, but I don't want to buy, I'll lurk the library website until I see a listing then leap on it.
..."
if your library system doesn't have a copy of the book you want you should ask the librarian because sometimes the book can be borrowed outside your system. i'm on the east coast. the librarian (superwoman) once got a book for me that came from Washington state !

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

I'm 3rd in line for Freedom, of which my library system seems to have 14 billion copies.

[Sandysconnected]

Depends on how bad I needed the book and how long the wait would be. If I was just interested in a book, I'd wait indefinitely. But if I needed it for a Book Club, or I was DYING to get my hands on it...I'd wait a week or two and then go buy it instead.

[Lobstergirl, el principe]

"Online ordering makes library a victim of its success"

Interesting stats from the Chicago Public Library system. "These days, as many as 120,000 items are placed on hold each month, 95 percent of which are done via computer."

"...a "holds report" produced by the library staff each month ... indicates what items cardholders have been requesting.

"We try to maintain a 5 to 1 ratio," he said. "If 100 people are waiting for a title, we want at least 20 copies."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/lo...

[Mary]

I am so jealous-64 copies of one book-Wow!
We are lucky with our little library that they even get one copy!
If I really want the book I will buy it. And Amazon is pretty darn fast out here in rural America-

[Helena]

I wouldn’t wait very long- I just went to reserve a book (my library has four copies) and I am #47 on the list. I ordered it. I guess it depends on the book though. I have to read this one for a book club selection before June 17th.

[Jackie "the Librarian"]

In my library system, we've had to up our ratio to an abysmal ten-to-one on holds, meaning one copy for every ten holds.
As the youth materials selector with a replacement budget to use at my own disgression, I use my own judgement. Which means, I get way more than that. Kids shouldn't have to wait forever for the next Diary of a Wimpy Kid title.

[Lila]

I would wait as long as it took. I waited 7 months to read the help. I have so many books on my to read list that I can easily fill up the time with something else while I wait. And I only want to buy certain books that I would want to keep in my collection.