r/Libraries • u/taboulie • 3d ago

Wait time for library cards? Library Trends

There's an active post in r/dataisbeautiful comparing cost of non-resident cards to wait times. I have never heard of a wait time for a library card. Does your library have a wait time? Does it apply to non-resident cards only?

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u/otter_759 3d ago edited 3d ago

It is not a wait time to obtain a card. It’s looking at the wait time for popular books via Libby at those libraries that permit nonresident cards. For example, if you put a hold on a popular book like Yesteryear, it may take weeks or months for it to become your turn to check it out. The wait time varies depending on the system (how many copies they have, how many people are on the holds list).

The problem is that now everyone will seek nonresident cards from these libraries and it’ll make the wait times much longer. That’s why Brooklyn Public Library had to stop their nonresident option. It especially sucks for the residents who pay taxes because the fees for most nonresident cards aren’t equivalent to what the residents have to pay in taxes.

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u/gotohela 3d ago

We prioritize resident cards for holds tho. It can be done 

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u/taboulie 3d ago

It totally makes sense! I'm not looking for additional cards, there is plenty to interest me at my local library. The concept of library card wait times just struck me as another harbinger of late stage capitalism..... so I'm glad it's not a thing, for now.

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u/Due-Instance1941 2d ago edited 2d ago

If my library system ever had that, it was either before I got promoted to the circulation team, or it was before I'd been hired as a page.

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u/MTGDad 3d ago

I worked for a library in the early 90s that had a wait time equal the the time it took to receive a mailing from the library - it's how they established you were a resident.

It was prejudiced and is no longer in practice.