After an unusual summer without van delivery, we want to thank you for your understanding and empathy through this. We deeply thank our partner libraries who teamed up for a small consortium where dedicated peers, including our Nancy Crowell, put miles on their vehicles to make deliveries. It was a success!
I am pleased to announce that Minerva will resume interlibrary loans on September 3rd! We are in the process of updating and reorganizing procedures to pave the way for a smooth transition. There may be some adjustment period, so if you are able to test the waters with only a couple of holds at a time for the first few weeks, that would be most helpful!
For those of you in the e-book world, the question arises “why doesn’t the library get more?” With the wait list for some titles being so long, this is an excellent question. Libraries don’t actually purchase licenses for electronic materials, it is more like a lease. Many titles vanish after two years or after 20 checkouts, and the cost to lease these items can go up to $60 or more. In essence, we pay up to three times the cost of a printed title, and only keep it for a short period of time. With the demand that we see for these items, we are happy to build this collection and will continue to allocate funding to try and meet the demand. This is the speedbump that we encounter with e-books. The purchasing structure will likely evolve as the industry changes, but we are committed to providing optimal services as budgeting permits. Please feel free to email me with any questions: rschrader@scarboroughlibrary.org
Also, consider the library as a charitable organization when giving or planning your estate!
Thank you for reading this far!