# I pit my liberary's ebooks **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [March 15, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041 "2013-03-15T21:07:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/1 "2013-03-15T21:07:04Z")
Since each ebook is a particular licensed copy, there are only so many to go around just like regular books. In fact, I can get the hard copy version before I can ever get an available ebook. So what’s the effin’ point? ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/2 "2013-03-15T21:19:59Z")
Sometimes I don’t feel like schlepping down to the library for a best seller from 2006 but I’ve got a free weekend and an e-reader. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/3 "2013-03-15T21:33:18Z")
Everyone knows it’s spelled “liberry.” ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/4 "2013-03-15T22:10:16Z")
I wish they didn’t all use Overdrive as the android phone app. It’s the only e-reader that can’t transfer to the sd card. With new-release books, I can usually get the ebook a little sooner than I can get a hard copy. The queue is longer, but it moves faster. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2013, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/5 "2013-03-15T22:53:29Z")
My bitch isn’t with the books (ebook or audio book) but with the fact that the library lets patrons check out up to 15 at a time, for 3 weeks. It’s way to easy to download all 15, and then either not “return” (check in and delete) if you finish early, or just not get to it in the 21 days. I would bet that if the number was dropped to 8 items at a time, almost no one would actually miss out on anything, and a whole lot more books would be available at any one time. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/6 "2013-03-16T01:35:03Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Sometimes I don’t feel like schlepping down to the library for a best seller from 2006 but I’ve got a free weekend and an e-reader. Did you read the OP? You wouldn’t be able to get it for that weekend, because it would already be out. Only the real book would be free. That’s why I’ve never even bothered with that sort of thing. I can find the ebook online on one of those sites that swears up and down that it’s 100% legal. And that ebook might have some typos and be formatted poorly, but at least I can get my hands on it right when I want to read it, and not after the impulse is gone. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/7 "2013-03-16T02:13:19Z")
My librarian was bitching about the fact that most of their Audio eBooks were Overdrive books in WMA format. The W stands for Windows, and the quality ain’t great… and they can’t be downloaded on a Mac. Well, said I, MY mac can play WMA files, so … damn, the Wisconsin Public Library Consortium’s “Digital Library” senses that I don’t have Windows installed, and won’t let me download it. Oh, man, this is bad – most mysteries are WMA only (a few are also available in mp3 format…whew). I have a favorite audiobook reader (Scott Brick), and 90% of his stuff is WMA. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/8 "2013-03-16T02:16:26Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Did you read the OP? You wouldn’t be able to get it for that weekend, because it would already be out. Only the real book would be free. A 2006 best seller is not going to be out in 2013. Some of us are wide-read enough that more than one book within the entire corpus of literature intrigues us at any given time. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/9 "2013-03-16T05:13:47Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > A 2006 best seller is not going to be out in 2013. Some of us are wide-read enough that more than one book within the entire corpus of literature intrigues us at any given time. You might be surprised. I placed a hold on book 4 of Codex Alera, which came out in 2008, almost a month ago. It came in yesterday. Sure, I read several ebooks in between the time I put a hold on that one until today, because I do like to read other things, but the point is, I had to wait quite a while for that particular one. I nearly forgot I had a hold on it. If I’d realized when I’d first gone to download it that it would take a month to come in, I wouldn’t have bothered, and made a trip to the library instead to check out the hard copy. Which is the OP’s point. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/10 "2013-03-16T08:05:56Z")
I check the library’s website to see if they have any new ebooks listed several times a week, so I get them quick a lot of times, before the list gets long. You snooze you lose. ---
**Author:** ![Donna\_Lange](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Donna\_Lange](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donna_Lange)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/11 "2013-03-16T12:06:14Z")
Might not be the most legal thing in the world, but I wonder if you can just up and copy and paste the e book or just mess with it in a text file and just “return” it later. Frankly, the whole idea of borrowing “E” anything from a public library seems strange to me. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/12 "2013-03-16T12:09:59Z")
You can strip the DRM. I could hypothetically have hundreds of library books on my Kindle that I’ve gotten over the last couple years. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/13 "2013-03-16T12:15:02Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > That’s why I’ve never even bothered with that sort of thing. I can find the ebook online on one of those sites that swears up and down that it’s 100% legal. And that ebook might have some typos and be formatted poorly, but at least I can get my hands on it right when I want to read it, and not after the impulse is gone. Hmm. On what basis do they claim that it’s legal? Assuming you’re talking about copyrighted works and not something ad-supported or in the public domain. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/14 "2013-03-16T13:00:55Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > You might be surprised. I placed a hold on book 4 of Codex Alera, which came out in 2008, almost a month ago. It came in yesterday. > > Sure, I read several ebooks in between the time I put a hold on that one until today, because I do like to read other things, but the point is, I had to wait quite a while for that particular one. I nearly forgot I had a hold on it. If I’d realized when I’d first gone to download it that it would take a month to come in, I wouldn’t have bothered, and made a trip to the library instead to check out the hard copy. Which is the OP’s point. What’s the problem, again? To my thinking, if my interest in a title fades within a month or two, I’m better off having skipped it anyway. You don’t want to know how long some things have been parked on my to-read list. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/15 "2013-03-16T13:06:44Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > My bitch isn’t with the books (ebook or audio book) but with the fact that the library lets patrons check out up to 15 at a time, for 3 weeks. It’s way to easy to download all 15, and then either not “return” (check in and delete) if you finish early, or just not get to it in the 21 days. > > I would bet that if the number was dropped to 8 items at a time, almost no one would actually miss out on anything, and a whole lot more books would be available at any one time. Missed this. The local system I’m on allows 6 at a time, for 14 days each. Never had a need for more or longer myself. But this serves the entire SE Michigan area, and I do spot books on the featured list that have 4 or more people waiting for them. Usually they’re the Oprah’s Book Club type I’m not really interested in anyway. There’s a “Rizzoli and Isles” book on there right now that has 8 waiting for it. It says in the description that it’s only available in ebook format. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/16 "2013-03-16T13:13:11Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > What’s the problem, again? > > To my thinking, if my interest in a title fades within a month or two, I’m better off having skipped it anyway. You don’t want to know how long some things have been parked on my to-read list. Sorry for the double-post - well, my interest hasn’t really waned after a month; if it did I’d never finish a series that’s still in progress while waiting for the next book to come out, but I’ve been a) busy and b) reading other things, but if I’d gone and picked up this book right away, I’d be done with the series by now. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/17 "2013-03-16T16:25:24Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Since each ebook is a particular licensed copy, there are only so many to go around just like regular books. In fact, I can get the hard copy version before I can ever get an available ebook. So what’s the effin’ point? I still don’t understand what is being pitted here. Are you saying the library shouldn’t offer ebooks? Or what? I can’t sympathize with the people who need to read a particular book right away as soon as it’s published. I have a huge backlog of books I want to read, so any new book that comes along that I really want to read is already competing for my reading time with other books. If I still just have to have that particular book right away, well, that’s what bookstores (online or brick-and-mortar) are for. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/18 "2013-03-16T17:08:27Z")
> [@Donna\_Lange](#): > > Might not be the most legal thing in the world, but I wonder if you can just up and copy and paste the e book or just mess with it in a text file and just “return” it later. Impossible. You don’t actually “return” the file you check out, it just becomes unable to be read on your device. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/19 "2013-03-16T17:36:57Z")
> [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](#): > > My bitch isn’t with the books (ebook or audio book) but with the fact that the library lets patrons check out up to 15 at a time, for 3 weeks. It’s way to easy to download all 15, and then either not “return” (check in and delete) if you finish early, or just not get to it in the 21 days. > > I would bet that if the number was dropped to 8 items at a time, almost no one would actually miss out on anything, and a whole lot more books would be available at any one time. But this isn’t all that different from physical books. You can check out a metric buttload at a time for 2-3 weeks (depending on the individual library) and keep them around the house to return all at once instead of returning early. I mean, I guess you could say it’s easier to return an ebook than a physical book. But I think of it just as checkout rules are basically the same for both, likely to try to keep it fair. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2013, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041/20 "2013-03-16T17:40:42Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > I still don’t understand what is being pitted here. Are you saying the library shouldn’t offer ebooks? Or what? > I can’t sympathize with the people who need to read a particular book right away as soon as it’s published. I have a huge backlog of books I want to read, so any new book that comes along that I really want to read is already competing for my reading time with other books. If I still just have to have that particular book right away, well, that’s what bookstores (online or brick-and-mortar) are for. Dunno about the OP, but my own bemusement comes from the treatment of a digital file as if it were an actual physical book. If a library’s one copy of a paper book is checked out, it’s obvious why no one else can check it out and read it at the same time. Whereas an ebook is a computer file. It can be copied over and over. If 50 people want to download it all at once, it’s physically possible. It SHOULD be one of the huge upsides of checking out ebooks from the library; the files could always be there, ready to download, with no waiting list. But licensing rules limit it to being checked out one copy at a time, as if it were a physical book. It’s anachronistic and arbitrary, and I think in 10-15 years we’ll look back on the practice like we look at $90 videotape releases of popular movies back in the 80s; people actually thought that was a good way to do things? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-my-liberarys-ebooks/653041.md?page=2)