Friends of the Villages Public Library.
 

Readers and/or users of the Villages Public Library should consider becoming a Friend of the Villages Public Library. It is only $5.00 per year for a person. This money they hope to use for projects like a 2nd book drop as well as improving their copying machines.

Library, let's see now ..............?
 

:shrug: 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I also have about $1000 worth of outdated (for me anyway) research books, etc I wanted to donate to their reference section.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.

:shrug:

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

library
 

Not sure if this is the way to ask my question but here goes...

Do we have a library that has new releases? I am an avid reader and am visiting next week....wondering if I should just stock up from my own library before I come down.

Thanks

New releases-- yes, but...
 

....the new releases at the Villages Public Library as well as at the Lady Lake Public Library usually have long request lines for them. With some of the more popular books just coming out there are lines of 100 or more. The libraries do get a lot of copies of these though.

We have found that the Mark Twain Library (Behind Paradise Center, Historic side) is pleased to accept old books including paperbacks but probably not reference.

BTW, That was a very helpful response Boomer.

You will not have time to read!:laugh:

Dear Taltarzac,
When are your meetings? I was a member of the FofTL in my home town for years and President for a few. I loved it. I'm a newbee as I just closed on Monday. I also still own a home in Ohio and will only get down here as I can until the house sells and we can gain employment, but I'll take what I can. I managed the Childrens Department at Barnes and Noble back home and I hope I can work for B&N in The Villages in the future. I think the Friends are a great group that does more than anyone knows. I will try to join you if time allows but will become full-time when I get to move here full-time......

The villages Daily Sun usually annouces the Friends meetings.
 

The local newspaper usually announces when these meetings take place in the Local section. You may want to ask for more information at the Villages Public Library. A big thing that the Friends' volunteers do at the VPL is man the Friends Book Sale Room.

Do any of the area libraries use a leasing program for bestsellers? (Libraries know ahead of time what's coming and will be likely to hit big.) Leasing programs allow libraries to get lots of copies of books during bestseller list time and then return the books to the leasing company after popularity wanes. I believe one company that does this is McNaughton.

Libraries that decide to lease multiple copies have to look at the cost effectiveness of such a plan, of course. Space may also be a problem. Leasing can work well, but not for all libraries. It can sure be a good way to keep more patrons happy though. (There will still be a waiting list in most cases, but the list moves faster obviously.)

There used to be a chain of book stores called "Little Professor." I can remember buying books there that had been in libraries throughout the country. The books were covered and stamped with library names. I remember always wondering what that was all about. Then years later I found out that all those books were the aftermarket from leasing to libraries.

Anyway, I am not even in TV at this point. I just happen to have an interest in libraries. If the libraries there do not use leasing programs for bestsellers, maybe they would be open to suggestion. If the budget allows, it can be a good way to serve more patrons and increase circulation statistics.

Anyway, just a suggestion, in case someone wants to ask the MLS in charge of the local branch about whether a leasing program would be appropriate.

I am not trying to tell anybody how to run the library there. But librarians will most likely be open to suggestions from patrons. Librarians love to put the right book into the right hands at the right time.

Boomer