[WEB4LIB] Booklend??

[Nathan Williams]

Maybe we should all take a moment and relish in the simplicity of the idea.
There's no bloated process associated with him lending these books (as in
the case of many ILL operations).  Also, he's paying for every step of the
process and being nice about it, which is unfortunately not an ideal held by
many lending libraries.  Many of the complaints about coverage of this item
are reminiscent of librarian's cries over the web.  Although noone will
admit it now that we all love the web, it wasn't too long ago that response
to it was "why's there so much hype about online sources, we have databases
right here".  The response and negative attitude regarding this item are
exemplary of why libraries are losing out in this day and age.  Rather than
trying to gleam ideas from the media's reaction or partner up with this guy
and share in the publicity, there are people who would be more content with
sulking about it.  If you want to write the NY Times or this guy a letter
expressing your discontent, fine.  But, IMHO the goal of this list has been
and should be forward-thinking progress.  Why not keep it that way and
figure out what NY Times sees in this guy that's not in libraries?  And,
even more specifically, think of requesting a book over the web and I don't
think it's possible to defend ILL as being as simple or elegant.  There is
knowledge to be gained here, let's not waste the opportunity by being
defensive on account of pride or frustration.
nathan

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Mutch [mailto:amutch at waterford.lib.mi.us]
Sent: Friday, March 22, 2002 5:42 PM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [WEB4LIB] Booklend??


I've seen a few references lately to "Booklend" and I guess I just don't see
what the excitement is all about. The premise behind "Booklend" is that this
guy
in Boston will loan out books from his collection to people across the US
and
Canada who request them through his site.  He'll even pay for the shipping
to
send them to you and ship them back and there's no due date. OK, so if you
get a
book through ILL, they normally expect it back at some point. But other than
that, it sounds like this guy is spending a lot of money to try and
duplicate
what libraries all over the country are doing.

Maybe people don't realize that many libraries allow you to place online
requests and that they can get titles from all over the country via ILL?
Someone needs to tell this reviewer:

"If the awkward mating dance of libraries and the web could break into a
smooth
waltz, it'd look something like Booklend..."

or this

"...Booklend is a thrilling example of web's power to democratize reading
and a
love of books."

http://www.centralbooking.com/readfreeordie_current.shtml?readFreeOrDie=18

OK, there are some awkward issues involving libraries and the web but the
ability to request items from libraries via the web has only been a huge
positive in my experience.  Even "Booklend" admits this:

"...If the book you're interested in is always unavailable, keep checking
back
or check out some of our other fascinating books. And think about looking
for
the popular book at your local library. Remember, Booklend is like your
local
library. Except smaller. And less convenient."

http://www.booklend.net/faq.php

Or maybe start by checking your local libraries online catalog.

OK, it's cool that this guy is willing to provide this service and it's his
money and he can do what he wants with it. But it is frustrating to see
people
and the press coo over a service that libraries provide every day like its
never
been done before.  I guess it's one more example of how libraries need to
work a
lot harder to make people aware of the range of services that are available
online.

Andrew Mutch
Library Systems Technician
Waterford Township Public Library
Waterford, MI