Folks:

Let’s talk about curbside service. While the Books by Mail service has distinct advantages over curbside, curbside also has some benefits that are worth you exploring.

Curbside service is built on the public placing holds.

Today a “hold” is what some of you and I used to call an interlibrary loan [ILL]. When you place a hold in the online public access catalog [OPAC], the system keeps track of demand relative to the number of copies the Library owns.

So if any of you want to read the latest books like The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins, 28 Summers by Elin Hilderbrand, Fair Warning by Michael Connelly, Meghan and Harry: The Real Story by Lady Colin Campbell, or “Title of Your Choice” by Author you should place a hold. Each time someone places a hold, I know how many copies I need to buy.

Perhaps you think if a hold is just like an interlibrary loan, does that mean I can get books from other libraries?

No, not yet.

The Library, like all public libraries in the Commonwealth, is waiting for the state to restart the delivery system so books, DVDs, games, and other media can flow between communities. However, if everyone places hold, the Library will purchase enough titles to meet local demand. This is something we’ve always done so now would be no different. By placing holds, the public helps us buy only the books you say you want us to get.

This will be especially important for youngsters who want to read specific titles over the summer. We already have multiple copies of everything that’s on the summer reading lists provided by the MRES, LBMS, and NRHS. However, there are always titles that most kids want more than others. By placing holds, we can focus on getting kids what they most want.

What also distinguishes curbside service from Books by Mail is that it will save the Library some money.

Naturally, when people come to the Library to pick up their holds, we will be mailing fewer parcels. While we enjoy the ease with which the public receives materials, we prefer to provide this service only under exceptional conditions. Beginning next week, we will be phasing out Books by Mail as we introduce curbside pickup service.

In addition, whereas before you could only request one book per week, now you can place holds on as many titles as you wish. Caveat Emptor: Not every title you place a hold on will be on the Library’s shelves. Place the hold anyway because if you place a hold on something that’s not on the shelf, we’ll buy more copies.

Finally, and from the bottom of my heart, I don’t care how you enjoy reading books. Some folks think that for some reason, eBooks are replacing print and that they need to make the switch sooner than they would like. The truth is only a small smattering of readers only read digital books. Many people only read print, and some people who enjoy reading print also occasionally read eBooks. For a while, I was only reading eBooks, and interestingly enough have switched back to print since March.

So what’s my point?

My point is it’s much, much, much, and much cheaper to fill local demand buying print books than buying eBooks. A brand new eBook of popular fiction can cost the Library as much as $60, which can only be read by one patron at a time and the Library owns for only about two years. For that money, I can buy four copies of the same title in print, and we own the books for as long as we want to keep them.

Long story short, you can start placing holds as soon as you would like, but we won’t start filling them until the next Wednesday.

This email has been gratuitously long, even by my standards, so I will give you more details like directions on placing a hold on Monday.

You don’t have to wait until then if you have any questions. Just send me an email here.

Stay cool.

~ joe​