The Sword and Laser discussion
Having fun isn't hard when you have a library card!
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Michael
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Dec 01, 2011 09:13AM
How many of you still check out materials from your local libraries? Does any one know if authors receive royalties from these places?
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In the US authors only ever receive royalties for first sales -- whoever buys it from the bookstore has no financial obligation to the author and can lend it out or resell it at will.In Europe most countries have a system where authors receive some remuneration from libraries.
(The only applies to physical books. Ebooks legally can't be resold in the US and publishers can limit how libraries distribute them.)
I just picked up three books last night. There's a definite cyclic aspect to it...return two books, pick up three new ones.
I try to get all of my books from a library. My income is pretty tight, so if I can't get it from the library, I probably won't read it for a very long time. I don't go to the library to wander and look for books however. I have a long, long list of the books I want, so I just put them on hold. If they're on the shelf, the librarians will pull them off and e-mail me. If not, then I go into the queue and they e-mail me when they come in.
Although, I do think there is a S&L member that uses the same strategy I do at my library. I normally listen to the podcasts a few days late, and then the book pick (even when it's an old one) has always been checked out a few days before I try to. So if you're a member of the Carmel Clay Public Library let me know, and we can get coffee and talk about books sometime! :)
I definitely take advantage of our public library. As I am on a limited budget, it allows me to stay current with the authors and books I like without breaking the bank. I do buy books when I can afford to. It also allows me to read new authors that I might not otherwise try. This group should also help in identifying new authors to "check out" (library pun intended...)
I love my local library! I take my daughter there every month or so to load up on picture books, and my library system supports OverDrive for eBook lending.If you own a Kindle and live near a library that supports this, I cannot recommend it enough. It's so easy to borrow Kindle books! You get on the waiting list, and when it's ready, just download it. It syncs just like other books (including notes) and if you don't finish it before it's due, you can always buy it and keep going where you left off (or wait for it to become available again).
It's the greatest thing ever. OverDrive works with other e-readers too, but the Kindle support is totally seamless.
i stopped borrowing physical books from our public library. I use our library's Overdrive for ebooks now. It saves me time and money. :)
I love the library! I actually get audio and deadtree books from there. And then (since my in dash cd player stopped working) I burn the audio books to my iPhone. (i know this is technically illegal but I delete them afterwards that way keeps me feeling like I am not a total felon)
I also use Overdrive through my local libraries for audiobooks. The selection keeps getting more and more impressive.
Philip wrote: "I also use Overdrive through my local libraries for audiobooks. The selection keeps getting more and more impressive."My local library doesn't use Overdrive unfortunatley. They contract with some other website who only offers audio books in .wma format. I know, I don't get it either. I could see not using Overdrive if it was to expensive or something but to use a competing service that only offers .wma?
However I am attending class at the local Junior College here and they just started offering Overdrive. But their selection is very very limited. like 10-20 books limited. The only one they offer so far that I wanted to read was Fahrenheit 451. It was my first read of it and I really enjoyed it.
I'm noticing that there are quite a few libraries in Canada upgrading to the new BiblioCommons catalogue system. I like it quite a bit; it's easy to use and helps keep track of your items. Has anyone else's libraries been using the same thing?
I use the library all the time. Unless it is a special book I want to buy I always use the library. Which make me feel bad as I stare at my Kindle gathering dust that I never use. Luckily, it was a just a (thoughtful well meant) gift, but since I don't buy books I just don't need it.
Micah wrote: "My local library doesn't use Overdrive unfortunatley. ..."Don't know what state you're in, but in Texas we usually only need a valid Driver's License or other state issued ID to get a library card even if we don't live in that city or county. I have cards with Houston & Fort Bend County Libraries even though I don't reside in either place. Maybe an adjacent library to yours does offer Overdrive?
i only discovered that the libraries in Scotland are free. Ive went through 12 books in 3 months and all for nothing.
If your local library doesn't use overdrive, see if you've got a local community college or university that's using it. Typically to get a library card at those places you just need a local i.d.
Can someone explain overdrive? I've never gotten it to work... (and now my library is switching to something else with even fewer books.)
Philip wrote: "Don't know what state you're in, but in Texas we usually only need a valid Driver's License or other state issued ID to get a library card even if we don't live in that city or county. I have cards with Houston & Fort Bend County Libraries even though I don't reside in either place. Maybe an adjacent library to yours does offer Overdrive?"I also live in TX. But up around Dallas. The Dallas County Library does offer overdrive usage but only to residents that have IN COUNTY addresses. You can get an out of area card for a small fee to use their county libraries but the access to electronic media with overdrive is restricted. I don't know why this is but i'm sure it is some dumb publisher restriction. Trying to force an analog model on a digital one.
"Can't have the dang internets being useful and all!"
Micah wrote: "I also live in TX. But up around Dallas. The Dallas County Library does offer overdrive usage but only to residents that have IN COUNTY addresses...."That's a bummer, if you ever make a road trip down to the greater Houston area, stop by the City of Houston and Harris County Libraries and get hooked up.
Hunter wrote: "Can someone explain overdrive? I've never gotten it to work... (and now my library is switching to something else with even fewer books.)"If you have a Kindle, it's super easy:
You sign up at the Overdrive site and log in with your library card number. You put a book on hold (the library only has a certain number of copies of each book) and when it's "in stock" you get an e-mail.
Then you click the link, it redirects you to Amazon and you download it, just like a regular book. You can have the book for up to three weeks, after which it self-destructs. You can either renew it, which means getting back in the queue until it becomes available again, or pay to download it from Amazon. It's pretty slick.
If you don't have a Kindle it's more or less the same, but extra software is required to manage the files.
I love my library and I am constantly there checking out books. Lately I have been using the library to read new authors and then if I like the book enough I buy it to re-read later. For example I used the library to read Ready Player One and now I plan on buying it on my kindle later on.
I love the library, too! And Overdrive is my new favorite thing. I do not have a Kindle or other e-book reader and my iPhone is just a little too small to read novels on, although I do read short stories on it, but I use Overdrive for the audiobooks. It has been great. I listened to Neil Gaiman's Fragile Things and Anansi Boys recently and am currently listening to a Star Wars novel.I do still buy books but mostly ones I use for teaching or research, not fiction. Well, I get a lot of fiction at the used book store or the thrift store near my house but most other stuff comes from the library. I think the British system where authors get payment from library checkouts is a great idea but, unfortunately, Americans are less and less interested in public goods and building a vibrant and vital civil society, so I don't see that ever happening.
I think libraries are so essential for communities and it breaks my heart that we are seeing so much reduction in library budgets and libraries closing all over the place or reducing hours. In a democratic society, access to information has to be considered a public good and libraries are at the heart of that. We all have a vested interest in keeping libraries open even if we do not use them personally, just like we have a vested interest in other people's children getting a decent public education even if we don't have kids or are privileged enough to send them to private schools.
It makes sense that libraries, like everything else, are reorganizing and redefining themselves in the digital age but they are not obsolete nor are they disposable. People get a lot more than books at libraries; they get assistance from reference librarians in research, they are often the only place many people can get access to computers and the internet, as well as government publications and forms and assistance in filling them out. Without good public libraries, the digital divide will only keep getting wider, which will have long term educational and economic consequences for millions of Americans.
I am finishing my PhD at UCSD and the university is closing libraries left and right, getting rid of librarians, and cutting back on purchasing because of the ridiculous budget crisis in California. The long term consequences of this for research, not to mention the quality of education undergraduates receive, are not going to be pretty and will just continue the decline in higher education we are experiencing.
The library in my neighborhood (University Heights in San Diego) has the Barbara Gordon/Batgirl poster in the window that says, "Librarians are superheroes," and I totally agree.
Viva la biblioteca!
Mod
However, I didn't even know about Overdrive for ebooks/audio books, and it looks like my local libraries do support it - I'll have to try that out, too.
I too love my local library. I'm working my through a stack of books I picked up there the other day.
The vast majority of my reading (80% maybe) is via my local library. I have been a fan of public libraries my whole life.
Jlawrence wrote: "I work on a college campus and thoroughly exploit its libraries..."A friend of mine is a librarian and she can check books out from the campus libraries for a whole year. So jealous...
Most of my reading has always come via libraries. Have loved libraries my whole life. To the point that I work in one.
Most of the books I read nowadays I get through the library system where I work. Most of the time I get physical books, but once in a while I get e-book versions. I used to buy books more often, but I own so many (even after multiple weeding projects) that most of them are in storage right now. So I don't buy physical books anymore unless there's no other way that I can read them.
Like many others, most my reading comes by the way of the library. I currently have two libraries I patronize. One for physical books and audio CDs, the other for many of the ebooks and audiobooks I read. And I use them frequently. The library pile has about 15 books atm.
I get most paper and audio books from our wonderful library.They'd like to add more e-books but budgets are tight.
So my sequence is:
1. Library
2. ebooks
3. Used paper backs
4. New hard back (right after I win the lottery)
I wish I had the patience and time to use the library. After a 60 hour work work and having to cook and clean the house there is never time. I always just seem to rack up outrageous overdue fines. That would be fine if overdue fines went back to the library, but in our county they just go back to the county government. I pay them enough already.
Most of my reading is via our excellent library system. My Mom was a hge library fan when I was a kid, and I guess that lesson hasn't worn off yet.
I use the online catalog to request books and then pick them up when I'm in the area. I like to buy books but financially I can't right now.
Jason wrote: "If you have a Kindle, it's super easy:You sign up at the Overdrive site and log in with your library card number. You put a book on hold (the library only has a certain number of copies of each book) and when it's "in stock" you get an e-mail.
Then you click the link, it redirects you to Amazon and you download it, just like a regular book. You can have the book for up to three weeks, after which it self-destructs. You can either renew it, which means getting back in the queue until it becomes available again, or pay to download it from Amazon. It's pretty slick.
If you don't have a Kindle it's more or less the same, but extra software is required to manage the files. ..."
I'll second what Jason said. We got a Kindle Fire a while back & I've checked out a couple of Library books for it via Overdrive. It is such an easy process, amazingly simple & smooth. I have a longstanding habit of checking my local libraries before burning an Audible credit or buying a Kindle book. I hate to buy something & then see it was available at one of my libraries.
Thanks for explaining Overdrive. There are some primitive systems for borrowing e-books here in Sydney, and that's not one of them.On the other hand my local libraries do offer on-line reservation of paper books and on-line renewal, so you don't have to go in to the branch if it's reached the expiry date.
You do still have to go in to the branch to pick up the books you've reserved though.
(Unless you live in a remote area elsewhere in Australia, to which some libraries have postal delivery available).
The library reservation system here in Stockholm has completely changed how I use the library. For about $1, I can have them transfer the book to any local branch and hold it there for a week. Moving and stocking takes about 24 hours, so my wishlist was quickly replaced by just surfing into the library and ordering the book. I might add that I would never have the time or patience to go through the shelves. Stockholm's library system is amazing, with dozens of small libraries spread across the (geographically widespread) city. They own almost everything, but rarely locally. Today I picked up a cookbook (very offtopic, but it has great pictures!).
I love my library. Not only can I borrow books, music, and movies I'm interested in, they have ebooks, audiobooks (CD and downloadable ) and sister branches even rent video games. I have yet to try renting a video game. If they dont have something you want you can just reserve it. Glad to have my taxes maintain this service.
The San Francisco Public Library system absolutely rules, 99% of my reading has come from the library in the last 4 years. If the SFPL doesn't have it, they can get it from another local system, if they don't have it, they can get it from another state!They also will deliver to any one of the three branches within walking distance of my house! Score!
Like most fairly populated cities, my Public Library has this inter-branch loan program where you can request any book from any branch and they will deliver it to your local branch. So, lately, I've been reading only books that I've gotten from the library, which is a bad thing [kinda] because I have a bookshelf over-flowing with books that I should be reading instead.
As an assistant librarian, it's good to know a lot of folks still use and recommend library services. I've talked to so many people since getting hired here that had no idea that you could check out DVDs and ebooks for free. There's also an abundance of programs like children's story time, book clubs, educational activities, excercise programs, poetry readings; pretty much anything the community is interested in, the library can accommodate.
LOVE the library. As a kid, it was my favorite place to go and hang out. Now I have a hard time reading DTB's because of poor vision, but I love reading on my iPad or listening to audiobooks on my iPhone. So I use Overdrive extensively for epub books and mp3 audiobooks. Bluefire Reader is great for reading Overdrive epub books on the iPad.
Tyler wrote: "As an assistant librarian, it's good to know a lot of folks still use and recommend library services...."Story time has lately become really popular here. I'm the storyteller at my local library (and yes, I borrow a lot of books from there; I'm an equal opportunity kinda gal, I'll borrow and buy) and lately more and more kids have begun showing up. Poetry readings, however, are pretty rare which saddens me, as I'm a huge poetry geek.
A friend of mine works at a library back in my hometown and he tells me I wouldn't believe how many people have signed up for a library card ever since they relocated to the city proper and people found out you could check out DVDs.
I almost always get books (and sometimes dvds) from my local library. Sometimes I browse, but most of the time I just put books on hold. Really the only time I don't use the liibrary is if they don't have it (which is very rare, our county's libary's are networked, so if you book on hold they'll ship it to the one near you). And if they don't have it, I have to really, really want to read it, which usually means I've read the author before.
Agatha wrote: "Tyler wrote: "As an assistant librarian, it's good to know a lot of folks still use and recommend library services...."Story time has lately become really popular here. I'm the storyteller at my ..."
Our children's librarian had (literally) hundreds of kids at her first story time. She had to create a sign up function on the website to handle all the requests. We are in a well to do part of the city with a lot of the "soccer mom" types that like to treat the library as a day care, but it is hilarious watching the kids some times. We have a huge stuffed ape that we call Harry and the kids absolutely LOVE him. They beat the crap out of him and then cuddle in his arms.
Tyler wrote: "Our children's librarian had (literally) hundreds of kids at her first story time. She had to create a sign up function on the website to handle all the requests..."Well, it's not quite so bad here. I've got three groups of ten, once a week.
The ape sounds like a really cute idea. I donated my huge bear years ago to a children's shelter, but we've been thinking of adding more plushies to the play area - perhaps a large one is the way to go. At least they'll stop asking after my mouse. I brought my mouse once to show him to them and they've been bugging me to see him again. I'm afraid Brain wouldn't survive the experience mentally (I wouldn't let him out of the cage anyway, but all the ruckus and yelling gets him very tense and frightened).
Agatha wrote: "Tyler wrote: "Our children's librarian had (literally) hundreds of kids at her first story time. She had to create a sign up function on the website to handle all the requests..."Well, it's not q..."
Is that Brain of Pinky and the Brain fame?
Tyler wrote: "Is that Brain of Pinky and the Brain fame?"Yeah. Not too original, I'm afraid, but there you have it. Also, he has black fur, not white, and Pinky who sadly passed away two months ago was gray.
Agatha wrote: "Tyler wrote: "Is that Brain of Pinky and the Brain fame?"Yeah. Not too original, I'm afraid, but there you have it. Also, he has black fur, not white, and Pinky who sadly passed away two months a..."
my condolences
Tyler wrote: "my condolences"Thank you. Such is the way of the world.
Was there yesterday. (Meaning my local library.)
