Quote:
Originally Posted by SABRMnLgs
 Well, I used to be a member of the Seminole Public Library System while living in Oviedo, FL. I do baseball research and used the library quite heavily in my research.
So does the XXX Public Library System (whatever county it is in) have the same amenities? ILL services, microfilm readers, etc. My reason for asking is I called them up once and asked "someone" about an accession number for a microfilmed newspaper and they sounded like I wanted to know the subatomic particle number for nuclear fission.
I mean ..... HELLO? I've never worked in a library in my life but have been doing research since I was in junior high school. I do know a smidgeon about what ILL entails.
I also have about $1000 worth of outdated (for me anyway) research books, etc I wanted to donate to their reference section. Their reply was, they couldn't use them, but would be happy to take them for an outside book sale!!
It's been almost two years and I still can't get over the feeling this place is run by Homer and Jethro. Don't know where they went to "librarian school", but I feel they might want to take another stab at it.
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Oh my!
shhhhhhh - let me explain. OK.
Those book sales are an important source of money for public libraries. As far as putting those donated books on the shelves, it does not work that way most of the time. There are reasons for that.
Hardbound library books most often have library binding so that they can stand up to circulation. Also libraries buy shelf-ready books at discount. Preparing all those donated books for the shelves with reinforcing, covering, cataloging and all that just would not be cost effective.
But it's mostly about the library's collection of books and such. Librarians build those collections over time. And yes, they go to "librarian school" to learn how to do that. Libraries have selection policies which are used to build their collections in order to best serve their patrons. Library collections are carefully planned. And shelf space is limited.
Where bestsellers are concerned, some libraries lease multiple copies to get those books into the hands of as many patrons as possible, as soon as possible, during the time the title is on the bestseller list. When that time of high demand is over, libraries keep a few copies for the collection and the leased copies go elsewhere. All libraries do not lease though.
You said that your thousand dollars worth of reference books were "outdated." (an operative word, perhaps) But even so, that does not mean that if donated to the book sale, someone would not be happy to have them. It just means that they would not be something that the library would be likely to add to the collection.
Sometimes you have to look at a library from the other side of the desk. If all those donated books were taken in to be enshrined on the shelves, all of our librarians would have long ago been crushed beneath piles and piles of old sets of "Encyclopedia Britannica."
But your donated books can do lots of good when they are sold at those library book sales. The money is then used effectively to make your public library better for you.
And about those accession numbers you mentioned. It is possible that whoever answered the phone when you called that day really did not know the term. Barcodes have replaced those accession numbers in most places in libraries now. Maybe you got yourself hold of a young librarian. If your question is not answered though, you can always ask to speak to the MLS who is probably around there somewhere. And ask who takes care of inter-library loan. Somebody will know how to help you.
So I hope you will rethink donating your books to the "Friends of the Library" book sale. You really will be doing a good thing. Even though your books will not be likely to be added to the collection.
Boomer