The people of Westbury-sub-Mendip in Somerset, England recently suffered a double blow when their public phone box was decommissioned and the mobile library service ceased to operate.

What were they do do? Surely the answer is obvious. They took ownership of the phone box through BT’s Adopt a Kiosk program and rather than turning into an art installation, shower, or toilet like others have done, they filled it with books.

The collection consists of about 100 books and residents simply return a book they have read and take one they have not yet read. Simple, and it’s open 24 hours.

[BBC news via The Wheeler Centre]

Post from: reading hacks

World’s smallest lending library?

Previously on ReadingHacks I wrote about a few book rental services, two from the US, and one, Slim Ink book rental, based here in Australia. Following that post Slim Ink invited me to try out the service for 3 months in order to provide a first hand review of their service.

The process of evaluating the service was an interesting one. I work at a public library, ie. an institution that provides a similar service to Slim Ink, but for free (unless you count late fines of course). I don’t want this review to be a “Is Slim Ink better than a library” and I don’t think the folk at Slim Ink are looking at things that way either. However, it feels natural to make some comparisons in specific areas to help highlight the nature of the service.

I will also confess in advance that a part of me initially wondered if the existence of organisations like Slim Ink are bad for libraries. I’m still not sure. Libraries provide a large range of services that could not be provided by web-based book rental service anyway. Also, if people stopped using free libraries in order to only use paid book rental services in enough numbers to cause the closure of libraries, this would clearly mean the libraries were being ineffective and need to improve their service. On the other hand, I am not sure if those who distribute funding to libraries would consider the existence of book rental services as a reason to decrease funding.

So, having got that out of the way, what follows is my take on three months of book rental from Slim Ink.

The process:

The sign-up procedure was straight forward for anyone used to filling out web forms. You do need to provide credit card details, not just for the subscription fee, but also to cover any damage to books.

After signing up, you are emailed a password and asked to add books to your reading list. This is the list from which they will choose books for you each time you are due for a delivery. I immediately added 7 books, including books 2,3, and 4 of Stephenie Meyer’s Twighlight series, which are very heavily reserved in my library. You ned to keep your reading list updated and each time you are due for a delivery, the appropriate number of titles are elected from your list.

In less than a week my first delivery arrived:

It all came packed in a padded bag. Inside were a Michael Connelly and one of the above mentioned Stephenie Meyer teen vampire romance novels. Also inside were several bits of paperwork about Slim Ink and their plans, a bookmark, a slip letting me know I had only five titles left on my reading list, a return address sticker, a roll of Slim Ink branded packing tape and a small bag of lollies (which did not last to the photo shoot).

The following packages I received were similar, with the exception of the roll of tape and introductory Slim Ink literature. They all included a bookmark or three, a return address sticker and some sort of little treat: things like a sachet of flavoured coffee, a tea bag, or a copy of Good Reading magazine.

The cheapest subscription, at $14 per month, is the Light Reader plan which allows you one book at a time. I was on the Casual Reader plan which, for $20 per month gets you two books at a time. Each delivery will include two books, and you need to return them together. The downside of this is that you will be without any books for a week or so during the changeover time. There are three more plans allowing 4, 8, or 12 books at a time, and cost $28, $42, and $60 per month respectively (of course these prices are correct at the time of writing). These three plans also allow you to return your books in smaller batches so you need never be left without reading material. All plans allow a maximum of one despatch every three weeks.

After finishing the books, you send them back to Slim Ink using the padded bag they came in, the provided address sticker, and you can even use the fancy Slim Ink tape. After a few days you should get an email telling you the titles of your next batch. You don’t pay for postage as this is included in your subscription fee.

The service
The level of service I received from Slim Ink was very good. Each batch of books was delivered promptly and came with all the bits needed to send them back. Having the books delivered to your doorstep is obviously convenient for most people, but how convenient when compared with visiting your local library is a question only you can answer. The non-existence of late fines is obviously a bonus for people who struggle to get library books back on time, but this is countered by a limit in the books you can have at one time (maxing out at 12 books on the $60/month plan)

I was generally happy with the website and there are several things about it that I would love to be able to add to my library’s site. The catalogue can be searched by author, title, ISBN, or publisher. It can also be browsed by category. The cool bit though is a set of links by which you can browse the catalogue by a group of really useful categories: latest titles by month; as mentioned in good reading magazine; books alive great read guide; various award shortlists; as mentioned on Oprah; and a few more. These links take you to a list of the appropriate titles from which they can be easily added to your reading list. Sounds simple and obvious, but very handy. There is also an RSS feed listing new titles as they are added to the system.

The collection
The collection is considerably smaller than the fiction collection of a typical public library service but very up to date. I suspect the difference in numbers is made up more of older and less popular titles. I checked a handful of authors and series with generally good results when looking for current and popular adult fiction. The young adult range was also reasonable, but again less than a public library. I got access to Stephenie Meyer’s books far quicker than I could do at the library. For a better idea of how their collection covers your tastes, you can browse the catalogue without signing up.

Conclusion
Slim Ink provides some of the same service as a public library, only differently. It has benefits and limitations when compared to the library. Obviously, it costs to join, although the lack of overdue fines is appealing. Having books delivered to your door is also very convenient, but there is a limit to how many you can borrow. Essentially, whether the service is right for you is a question only you can answer.

What I can tell you is that I was happy with the level of service provided. The website is easy to navigate, the books were all in very good condition, well packed and came with everything required to easily send them back.

Note: As mentioned, I did receive a three month membership in order to review Slim Ink’s service. I chose a selection of books to see how quickly I could get certain titles and didn’t actually end up reading most of them anyway. There is nothing in it for me if you join after this review.

Post from: reading hacks

Slim Ink book rental

Users of the Contra Costa County Library no longer need to panic if they forget to take a book on the train. They can just grab one from a book dispensing machine.

Brilliant. I’m a big fan of making libraries more accessible so this sounds great.

You can also read the official press release from the library, or look at some more pictures of the machine.

Post from: reading hacks

Book dispensing machines

Let me paint you a picture. You hear that JK Rowling has decided to write another Harry Potter book and it is going to be called “Harry Potter and the never ending high school”. You jump online, visit your library’s website and check their catalogue. It’s not there yet. Of course not – it won’t be published until December. So you figure, maybe they’ll order it in November sometime. You check in mid-November and there are already 75 reserves on it. Aaarrggh.

Here’s the tip: as soon as you know about a new book coming out, if it is not on your library catalogue, ask if you can request it. Even if you know for sure that the library will be buying the book anyway, this gives you a better chance of getting your name near the top of the list. Of course, all libraries are different so your mileage may vary. However, when a new book by an author like Rowling is announced, one which the library will obviously be buying, they will most likely be adding a record to their catalogue as soon as they know about it and know for sure what the title is. So get your name in early. Maybe you’ve stumbled on the information before the librarians have got around to adding the record. Let them know. Ask if you can reserve it now.

Another scenario: you see a book in a shop, on a blog, or in a newspaper review and it sounds great. Once again, your library doesn’t have it. But this time it’s not an upcoming book, it’s been out for 6 months. Maybe they’re not going to get it? Well, the best way to increase your chances is to ask them to buy it. Yes, put in a request. Did you know you can do this? If the book is still available from the publisher and it fits the library’s collection development policy, then they will consider buying it. Obviously I (and they) cannot guarantee they will get it, but it’s worth trying.

While I’m talking about reserving books, here’s another tip. I often have people come in on Monday afternoon or Tuesday or later in the week wanting to reserve a book they read about in the Saturday paper. That’s no problem, and they go on the list. But if a book got a good write up on Saturday, chances are it has already gained a bunch of fresh reserves by Monday or Tuesday. So jump online Saturday and get your reserve on early if you want to get higher up the list.

So in summary, if you see or hear about a book you would like but your library doesn’t have it, ask them. It’s that simple really.

Let me know how you go. What is your library’s policy on requests?

Post from: reading hacks

Reserving and requesting books at your local library

A few weeks ago I noticed an ad in a magazine for Slim Ink book rental. Until this point, I had not been aware of this sort of service. In fact, it had never occurred to me to see if such a thing existed.

I had been aware of the Melbourne Athenaeum Library, which is a subscription based library service. A $65 yearly membership allows you to borrow 1 book at a time. There are also more expensive options that allow 2, 5, or 10 books at a time.

Slim Ink has some similarities to this, but is a web based service with all books being delivered to and from you. A quick web search turned up a couple of similar US based services too. BookSwim and Booksfree. There may well be more, but I didn’t search too hard.

All of these services operate with a similar loan policy to the one described above, with a membership allowing a certain number of books to be borrowed at any one time. Pay more, and you can borrow more. The idea is that you maintain a list of desired titles and when you return one book (or lot of books), the next available book(s) on your list are delivered.

The beauty of this system is that there are no late fines, and the books are delivered to your door. The main drawbacks from my perspective are the cost when compared with a free public library, and the limited number of books you can borrow at any one time.

The cheapest and most expensive plans for each of the three are:

• Slim Ink: $14 AUD per month for 1 book at a time, $60 for 12 books.
• BookSwim: $14.99 USD per month for 2 books at a time, $35.99 for 11.
• BooksFree: $9.99 USD per month for 2 books at a time, $37.99 for 12.

There are obviously various conditions attached along with various plans in between the ones listed above. All three services include free delivery both ways.

Whether this type of service suits you obviously depends on your personal circumstances. If I didn’t work in a public library I could see a huge benefit in their convenience. Whether I would be willing to pay $28 AUD per month for a 4 book plan (probably the minimum I would consider) is another question.

This of course raises in my mind the question about public libraries offering a delivery service. Would it be possible to provide this service for free, or a minimal cost? Perhaps only charge enough to cover postage? Perhaps I’ll have to poke around and see if I can find any that do it already.

What are your thoughts? Would you consider using a book rental service? Do you already use one? Why or why not?

Post from: reading hacks

Book rental

I thought for quite some time about what to post as the first tip on ReadingHacks.com. I guess in the back of my mind was an assumption that the first one should be the biggest, or best, or most important, or most radical. Perhaps I should ask whether ebooks are the future of reading. Maybe LibraryThing deserves the first shot. After all, it is an amazing site, fun and useful, and is having a huge impact in the world of books. Maybe a really quirky bookshelf design to grab people’s attention and try to set a more fun tone for the blog. In the end, trying to name the single best hack is a process fraught with danger, so I decided to avoid thinking that way and just write something that is one of the biggies.

I settled on your local public library. As a reading hack, it is certainly a biggie. I mean, if you love reading and especially if you love reading lots, then a place that will let you visit every day and take home a big pile of books for free has to be a good thing. Of course, this is a broad topic and it will be the subject of a number of posts down the track, so this first post will serve as a general introduction.

First, let me get something clear. I am not writing this post simply because I work in a public library and think everyone should use their library regularly. I do happen to think everyone should read regularly, and if the library helps your reading life, then you should take advantage of it. If it doesn’t, then don’t. However, I do happen to think that a lot of people don’t realise how much help a library can be and may have slightly outdated ideas about what a library is and is not.The point of this and future posts about public libraries is to let you know about some services that you may not be aware of and to help make sure you get the most out of your library.

Of course, every public library is different. Their collections are different. Their loan and renewal policies are different. Their online presence is different. I can tell you about the specifics of my library, but I can’t tell you the specifics of every library. Sorry. So the first thing to do is visit your local library, either online or in person, and find out what you can and cannot do there.

Here in the fine state of Victoria, Australia, you can join any local public library, regardless of which municipality you live in. This means you can join the library closest to your home, closest to your work, halfway home, near your weekend beach house, or all of them. Take advantage of this. Check the opening hours. Which one suits the times you want to visit? Which library offers free reservations? If you have the time and inclination, maybe you’re better off spreading yourself around. Perhaps one library is less busy and you can get the new bestseller faster, while another library has a better DVD collection. Perhaps the library near your home has a fantastic collection of graphic novels, and the library near work has all the Mary Kate & Ashley books your daughter wants to read.

So, the essence of this hack is, get to know your local(ish) public libraries. You should be able to find them online and you should be able to find a lot of what you need to know about them that way. If you can’t, ask them why. You can probably even join online, although you will usually have to show some ID the first time you borrow.

Go and learn the basics. How many books can you borrow? How long can you have them? Can you renew them? How much does it cost to reserve books? Is the library part of a network? If so, how much does it cost to get books sent from another branch? Can you reserve books and get them transferred online?

While you’re down there, just have a wander. Walk between the shelves. Run your hand along the spines. Check out the new book displays. Grab a few books and read the first page. Ask the librarian what they’re reading at the moment. Enjoy yourself.

Post from: reading hacks

Your local public library