Should libraries compete with used bookdealers?

The idea of libraries going on-line to compete with used bookdealers
troubles me a bit. Admittedly, my negative feelings arise from
self interest. After all, on more than one occasion I have bought
a book for a dollar or two at a local library store, paying, that
is, a price far lower than the used bookstores in my region would
have charged.

But that's the fun of going to the library store, isn't it? The
excitement of bargain hunting, I mean. If my local library store
started charging as much as a typical used bookstore, then I would
not bother patronizing the library store at all. It would simply
have become a sort of one-car garage-sized mini-used bookstore run
by volunteer clerks who are generally not very knowledgeable of
books. In other words, in that particular scenario, the prices
would be the same as at the local used book stores, but the stock
would be annoyingly limited.

Anyway, I know for a fact that some library bookstores are
competing with used bookstores. A neighbor of mine who does
not use the net wanted some help finding an out of print book.
I checked all the big services, Abebooks, Amazon, etc. with
no success in locating the volume. Then, as a final stab at
helping, I did a general Yahoo search for the book and found
that one such book was in fact on sale -- at the Newport Rhode
Island donated-book library store! The price was about the
same as what my neighbor led me to expect the book would be
going for, about $75. It was no bargain, in other words,
but after all they had an item no one else did, putting them
in a position that all used bookstores love to find themselves
in.

While my neighbor was delighted, I was given pause to wonder
if this sort of thing would not become a trend with library
stores: jump into the book business and charge what the
traffic will bear, just like a typical used bookstore.

On top of that, when I went to my local library store today,
I had a brief conversation with the volunteer, and she said
this library is thinking about doing the same thing as the
Newport Rhode Island public library: creaming off the more
valuable books and selling them on the net.

From a business standpoint, here is what libraries should
consider: Yes, they can no doubt get much than they have
been charging for some books, if they do research on every
volume that looks remotely valuable. On the other hand,
if they start charging top dollar, then their books won't
sell nearly as fast, and a lot of them will end up like
those overpriced books on Abe that are listed month after
month. And, as I have already suggested, they
will risk losing a lot of business by going from being
an alluring treasure trove to just a very limited little
used bookstore staffed by volunteer non-professionals and
charging the same prices as other bookstores in the area
(or other bookdealers on the net).

On 20 Jul 2004 19:53:30 -0700, palmer.william RemoveThis @sbcglobal.net (Bill
Palmer) wrote:

 >The idea of libraries going on-line to compete with used bookdealers
 >troubles me a bit. Admittedly, my negative feelings arise from
 >self interest. After all, on more than one occasion I have bought
 >a book for a dollar or two at a local library store, paying, that
 >is, a price far lower than the used bookstores in my region would
 >have charged.

As a member of the local library board, we are being forced to into
this situation by the constant reduction of our funding from state and
local government. If we are to stay open and provide services to the
community, we have to try everything possible to raise extra money.

When the city which provides a large part of your funding asks, "Why
are you selling valuable books for a dollar and then asking us for
more money?", you have to respond with higher prices and other sales
venues.

It's not greed but an economic fact in a world which cares very little
for libraries.


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