Non-Resident Library Cards

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ngrant

In Windows, the default directory for ADE epub downloads is
Documents/My Digital Editions

But that's not where CloudLibrary downloads go.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Largest OverDrive Libraries

OverDrive Library --------- Fee ------ epub --- kindle ---- mp3

• Sno-Isle Library (WA) ------------------- 240,673 --- 224,833 --- 118,242

I'm surprised that this library is on the list. There are more people in the area than when I used to live there (late 80s) but there aren't that many more. The fact that they have 33% more epubs than King County / Seattle is mind blowing. And to be #2 overall? Wild.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Dazrin

I'm surprised that this library is on the list. There are more people in the area than when I used to live there (late 80s) but there aren't that many more. The fact that they have 33% more epubs than King County / Seattle is mind blowing. And to be #2 overall? Wild.

It shocked me too when I first learned how large their OverDrive catalog was. I love that they have such a huge audiobook collection, and with the exception of LA, they blow everyone else out of the water.

monkey's in audiobook heaven

[tubemonkey]

Record Number of Library Systems Surpass 1 Million Ebook Circulation for 2021

Toronto Public Library, National Library of Singapore and the Los Angeles Public Library lead growing list of highest-performing libraries

CLEVELAND – January 12, 2022 – A total of 121 public libraries and consortia based in seven countries and from 37 U.S. states each loaned more than one million ebooks, audiobooks and digital magazines in 2021. This milestone was achieved in partnership with OverDrive, the leading digital reading platform for libraries and schools worldwide and creator of the award-winning Libby reading app. Twenty-two library systems joined the Million+ Circulation status for the first time in 2021. The 121 Million+ Circulation libraries are based in the U.S., Canada, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Germany.

Leading the profession for the ninth consecutive year is Toronto Public Library, achieving a new record of serving readers with nearly 10 million digital titles circulated. The strongest year-over-year circulation growth (73%) was accomplished by Verbund Öffntlicher Bibliotheken (VÖBB) Berlin, Germany. Los Angeles Public Library retained the #1 public library position in the U.S. for the third year in a row. In addition, for the first time, students from four K-12 school districts in 2021 accessed more than one million digital books with Sora, OverDrive’s student reading app.

more (including Top 10 list)

[tubemonkey]

I just deleted two of my library accounts, leaving me with four. They had the smallest audiobook catalogs of the libraries I belonged to.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Record Number of Library Systems Surpass 1 Million Ebook Circulation for 2021

Interesting that Brooklyn (population 2.6 million) is not in the top ten, despite having a higher population than King County Washington (ranked 4, population 2.2 million), and despite Brooklyn allowing no-fee borrowing from elsewhere in New York State (population 19.5 million), and despite having an unusually long history (now of course ending) of allowing out of area borrowing, without need for a physical visit, for a fee.

Do we think Washingtonians read more, or are there other factors?

P.S. Perhaps the ebook waits are too long in Brooklyn. If so, there’s something to the Nobody Goes There Anymore, It’s Too Crowded meme.

[haertig]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

Out of curiosity, how many libraries does everyone belong to? free? paid? And do you subscribe to any other book subscriptions (Kindle Unlimited, Audible, Scribd, etc)?

Currently, I'm a member of eight libraries, my 9th (temporary card) expired recently and I need to go there in person to activate a permanent card. Another (permanent) card expired but they want you to show up in person to renew, and I'm not going to do that. I have plenty of other libraries that either don't expire, or let you renew online. I can see having to show up in person for the initial temporary-to-permanent card transaction (like card #9 above), but not for renewals. I have two other libraries that I got temporary cards for online, but after those expired, I never bothered to drive over to those libraries to get a permanent card. All of these cards I have are free, and I qualify for them because all's they require is you being a resident of the state their district is in. It's nice to have a couple of different libraries to deal with, but I admit I have gone overboard and have more than I need. The ones that are most valuable are the libraries in college towns - those seem to have specific books that other libraries don't. Most of my libraries are more generic than the college town ones, and have a very similar selection of books.

I am currently subscribed to K.U., but that expires in three days. I watch for sales, and subscribe when a deal comes up. A deal pops up once or twice a year. My current deal is $4.99 for two months, which is the highest I have ever paid for K.U. In the past I have held out for the 99 cents for three months deals. Don't know if we'll see any more of those. Buying a Kindle or a Fire Tablet gets you a couple of months of K.U. for free, or at least it used to. I've used several of those freebies as well. My current subscription is K.U. deal #11 for me (this includes the freebies and the paid deals). Amazon is getting a little tighter about deals, with some only accepting you if you've never had a K.U. deal before. But other deals still allow previous deal-users. You just have to check the terms and conditions.

The only place I routinely buy eBooks now is from Amazon. But with all the libraries I'm a member of, and the K.U. deals I sign up for, eBook purchases are greatly diminished for me these days. I still buy on occasion, but it's now only the rare occasion. I seldom listen to audiobooks, and when I do, I check them out from the library - usually online, but sometimes what I want is on CD only, and then I drive over to my local library. But usually I just skip it if I find it's on CD only. I've never used Audible and probably never will, it just seems too expensive to me. I've never bought an audiobook, it's always been a library loan for me.

[bookmarked]

Originally Posted by haertig

...
I am currently subscribed to K.U., but that expires in three days. I watch for sales, and subscribe when a deal comes up. A deal pops up once or twice a year. My current deal is $4.99 for two months, which is the highest I have ever paid for K.U. In the past I have held out for the 99 cents for three months deals. Don't know if we'll see any more of those. ...

I was on the same KU deal which renewed on the 13th. When I went to cancel on the 12th, I was offered a new deal of 3 months for $1.99 which I took. YMMV

[darryl]

Metro library is very efficient. Simply emailing the details as set out eerlier in this thread resulted in a very prompt response with a card number and login detqils. I am however having real problems paying. I have tried a number of Visa/Mastercard Credit/Debit cards where the transaction is approved at this end (Australia) but gets an AVS (address) mismatch despite the address being correct in each case. The library is great and is trying to help but the Banks and Visa/Mastercard here in Australia are not al all interested in resolving the matter.. I'm now going to look at getting a US gift card in the hope that this will work.

I enjoyed membership of Fairfax County for some years but they are not renewing cards for non=US residents. I espect that some libraries are coming under pressure to abandon such cards due to geographical restrictions. Some Australian libraries are really excellent and I am a member of a number of them. However, US libraries offer a number of advantages, including many with wider selections of ebooks and audiobooks, availability of ebooks in Kindle formats and in many cases earlier availability. I suspect the only winners from restricting access further will be the pirates.

Incidentally, have any Australians managed to join Metro and pay? How? Any better suggestions appreciated.

[Manabi]

Originally Posted by darryl

I suspect the only winners from restricting access further will be the pirates.

Absolutely. Unless it's something more niche (especially self-published stuff), it's trivial to find and download eBooks. Libraries & publishers making it harder for people to access them legitimately will make more people seek out the knowledge on how to do so. And once they know, they'll pirate more often.

Copyright holders in pretty much all industries fail to understand this. Look at what's happened to online streaming of TVs and movies. You used to be able to get Netflix and they'd have nearly everything you wanted to watch. Piracy decreased, because it was easier to just use Netflix. Now you may need subscriptions to a dozen different services to watch everything you want. Some people switch services each month to save money, but piracy is increasing, because it's easier than streaming stuff legally once again.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by Manabi

You used to be able to get Netflix and they'd have nearly everything you wanted to watch. Piracy decreased, because it was easier to just use Netflix. Now you may need subscriptions to a dozen different services to watch everything you want. Some people switch services each month to save money, but piracy is increasing, because it's easier than streaming stuff legally once again.

I'm not really affected by this. For me, the name of the game is what's available now and what I can get on the cheap. There's nothing I have to listen to or watch, so my needs are easily met with paid subs to Spotify and Amz Prime plus free public libraries, my free audiobook library, free Pandora, free video channels, etc. I very much love free.

[Fbone]

Here's something interesting.

Cannon Beach, Oregon library appears to be a membership based non-profit organization. Everyone may obtain a library card for $10/yr. Online application. Access to Library2go with 40,000+ ebooks and 17,000+ audiobooks.

https://cannonbeachlibrary.org/suppo...-library-card/

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Here's something interesting.

Cannon Beach, Oregon library appears to be a membership based non-profit organization. Everyone may obtain a library card for $10/yr. Online application. Access to Library2go with 40,000+ ebooks and 17,000+ audiobooks.

https://cannonbeachlibrary.org/suppo...-library-card/

You make it sound like Library2Go is yet another eBook lending service. It's not. It's just Overdrive.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by Fbone

Here's something interesting.

Cannon Beach, Oregon library appears to be a membership based non-profit organization. Everyone may obtain a library card for $10/yr. Online application. Access to Library2go with 40,000+ ebooks and 17,000+ audiobooks.

https://cannonbeachlibrary.org/suppo...-library-card/

Interesting, thanks! Unique find

[Avice]

Is it relevant to this thread to post libraries that offer free digital access cards to non-local residents of the same state / geographic area, for which you can apply online? For example, Houston Public Library offers a free digital card to all adult Texas residents, as does North Richland Hills Library, etc. Those are only relevant if you live in Texas, but there are similar library programs in other states, and it could be helpful to round up a list of such libraries by state.

ETA: A few more examples of digital-access cards from different states: Mountain View Public Library and San Jose Public Library for California residents; Denver Public Library for Colorado residents.