An interesting side effect of the various state and municipal budget crises:
ABCNEWS.com : Libraries Can't Afford New Potter Books: When "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" comes out this summer, many young readers will rush to their local public libraries to get copies. But for this and other books they likely will receive a lesson in patience. Because of budget cuts, libraries are struggling to have enough Potter books. In New York City, for example, the number of ordered copies has dropped from 956 for the last release, "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire," to 560 for the new one.
Of course, the thing is, although Potter is rampageously popular, libraries are doing with less of everything these days. Fewer books overall. Less or no equipment replacement. Fewer online resources. It's more likely that children (and their parents) will actually notice with the Potter book, simply because it's guaranteed to be so popular that the waiting lists will go on forever. But it's not going to be remotely unusual.
Tracy: When you can do a thing like that book, how can you possibly do anything else?
Mike: Well, you may not believe this, but there are people in this world that must earn their living.
Tracy: Of course, but people buy books, don't they?
Mike: Not as long as there's a library around.
---"The Philadelphia Story"
I dare say a few more copies of the book may actually be sold to individuals, since libraries won't have them ... but then, a great many individuals are a bit poorer this year, too. Combined with the drop in library sales, the latest Harry Potter may underperform expectations by a surprising amount.
Posted by iain at January 24, 2003 10:05 PMComments
I'm a used bookdealer. In talking with my customers the folks who use the public library here (Durham, NC, USA) the most are middle-class to affluent.
Over the last thirty years I've watched as public libraries dumped uncommon backstock to make room for mass market trash (which has been good for the used book trade). Maybe libraries also need to weigh what they buy and what they spend their money on more.
Not that I don't want them to have as much as they need. My home town library (Savannah, GA) was invaluable to me when I was growing up.
Posted by Richard Evans Lee at January 27, 2003 07:21 AM
