rent-a-book?
 

Is it me? This so works for Netflix, but, uh, excuse me, how about the library folks?

BookSwim

For us lazy folk, I think it's an interesting idea.
I very well may plan to read a book someday and when I do, I'd like to get it through the mail.
:D

Could you imagine CP having to deliver door to door to compete with this service?
:D

Oh, bwahaha.

I love my books, I'm more apt to buy them, new, used, antiquarian (if I can get them).

CP could drive the bookmobile, though! Do they still have them?

I haven't had a chance to peruse the site at length, but if they had a selection on the order of Netflix, that would give them a big advantage over my local library, at least, and would make them something that might interest me.

Some places still have bookmobiles. They're usually a stopgap for cities that don't have enough money to build more branches. I've heard of high tech bookmobiles that are also computer learning centers/internet cafes - big ol' RVs filled with workstations.

Rental books have been around forever, just not widely used by consumers. You remember when all libraries seemed to be moving towards rental of current bestsellers? It's because libraries of almost any size rent extra copies of bestsellers from companies. No one wants to buy 10 copies of the new Sue Grafton because you really don't need that many in the long run, though you do need that many when it's red hot. Some libraries are now passing that cost onto the patron. (Ours gave up charging patrons.)

Even with 10 copies, we always have an extremely long holds list for the red hot new books. I just called a patron to tell them we finally got "A Thousand Splendid Suns" in for her, and she was ecstatic.

In short - this is a great idea for people who want the newest stuff right now, and don't want to pay a full purchase price.

I saw a bookmobile while traveling, I don't recall which city (Boston maybe).

I dunno, for me this concept does not work. It works for DVDs that I know I will never every buy. I enjoy books, obtaining books, reading and fondling books, and, ultimately dying under a fallen tower of books.

Not a bad idea, but the only reason I'm willing to deal with Netflix is because the envelopes are pretty standard sized and can fit in a normal mail box. With this I would have to deal with shipping boxes and go to the post office to mail a book back.

Too much hassle when I have a B&N across the street.

I don't know if they still do it, but when I was a kid the Fort Vancouver Regional Library System (severing Clark County, Washington) would mail books for free; also, there were no overdue fees and you didn't have to have a library card. It worked pretty well for them and I've never understood why more systems didn't go that way (when they went electronic in 1992 they did put library cards in place).

What they do need is AUDIO books. That would make for simpler shipping.

It must have been a huge library if they were able to sever an entire county :eek: