# WHY is it so hard to find Mercedes Lackey books at libraries and used bookstores?! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 3, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-find-mercedes-lackey-books-at-libraries-and-used-bookstores/516116 "2009-11-03T00:54:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-find-mercedes-lackey-books-at-libraries-and-used-bookstores/516116/1 "2009-11-03T00:54:57Z")
Grrr…I just spent fifteen minutes on our local library system’s website trying to reserve some of Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar novels and I’m frustrated beyond belief! They have one book of one trilogy, one book of another, two books of a different one. And this is common…when I lived in my hometown they had the same kind of thing happening. I can remember finding very few Lackey books in used bookstores over the years, too. I’ve never been able to find out WHY this is! I know they’re not Great Literature, but they’re good reads, and not impossibly obscure. I’m just going to have to budget to actually buy them again if I want to read them, I guess. Stupid library… ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-find-mercedes-lackey-books-at-libraries-and-used-bookstores/516116/2 "2009-11-03T02:10:47Z")
They get stolen by teenaged girls, I suspect. ---
**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:** [November 3, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-find-mercedes-lackey-books-at-libraries-and-used-bookstores/516116/3 "2009-11-03T02:17:42Z")
I just found 110 different Mercedes Lackey books in my local library system.Maybe you just live in a bum system man, sorry. Although I have heard they go out of print really fast. I don’t remember where I heard that or why I was discussing Mercedes Lackey books with someone, but that’s what I heard. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-find-mercedes-lackey-books-at-libraries-and-used-bookstores/516116/4 "2009-11-03T02:35:42Z")
[There are 7 free downloads for Mercedes Lackey at Baen Free Library](http://www.baen.com/library/) You’ll have to navigate to them yourself, because of how the site is set up. ---
**Author:** ![liirogue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dbc845/32.png) [@liirogue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/liirogue)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-find-mercedes-lackey-books-at-libraries-and-used-bookstores/516116/5 "2009-11-03T02:37:22Z")
Try using [www.abebooks.com](http://www.abebooks.com) Used bookstores nationwide post their inventories and it’s very easy to search and buy. I’ve used them several times and had great luck. You can even narrow your search down by location so you can find bookstores near you if you don’t want to mess with shipping. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-find-mercedes-lackey-books-at-libraries-and-used-bookstores/516116/6 "2009-11-03T02:44:24Z")
I see her books at the library all the time. Looking at the online catalog, I see my local small-town branch (just the BRANCH, not the county-wide system) has 76 of her books. That’s counting books she edited or co-authored, although not anthologies she contributed to. Are you sure you’re searching the whole system and not just your branch? Sometimes within a system one branch will have most of the books from a particular genre. If this is the case in your area, you should be able to have the books delivered to your local branch. ---
**Author:** ![Meurglys](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@Meurglys](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meurglys)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-find-mercedes-lackey-books-at-libraries-and-used-bookstores/516116/7 "2009-11-03T12:21:51Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > Although I have heard they go out of print really fast. I don’t remember where I heard that or why I was discussing Mercedes Lackey books with someone, but that’s what I heard. Looking at a big book wholesaler database I have access to, there seem to be 79 mass market paperbacks (including co-written ones) available or with publication dates announced. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-it-so-hard-to-find-mercedes-lackey-books-at-libraries-and-used-bookstores/516116/8 "2009-11-03T12:49:21Z")
I can understand why they’re not at used bookstores, if people hang on to them. For libraries: there’s this thing called inter-library loan. If you have the name of the books in the series, your library can order them for you from another library. Inquire at your library’s reference desk.