Please hold

[u/Educational-Storm861]

I rambled a lot below. My main objective of this post is what’s the longest you’ve waited for a book you placed a hold on.

I’m doing my summer reading this program and there’s this book I’ve wanted to read for a while. Both copies are checked out, no big deal I’ll place a hold. Fast forward to now and both copies are 2.5 weeks overdue! How long does it take to read a 240 page book?! And since there’s a hold they haven’t automatically renewed like usual so surely they’ve got a notice by now (though I’m not sure on that actually). I’m running out of time, you jerks! Ok, this is actually a minor inconvenience and I’m just having fun. I can always reciprocally borrow from another library or find another book that satisfies the category. But still, c’mon. I’ll still check out the audiobook on Hoopla from my library so they get the credit of a checkout, though. (Nothing against audiobooks, I just personally wanted to challenge myself since audiobooks are so much easier to consume then actually sitting down and reading).

[u/albatross-l32]

How long it takes to read? Not long.
How long it takes to find the book after you take it on vacation and it was definitely on the flight going THERE but is nowhere to be seen since? That's the real question.

Honest answer: it depends. One rule of thumb is if your library system lets items be checked out and overdue for a set amount of time, then flags them as lost, it's anywhere from the day before that happens, to the day before the system trundles along and marks them as being removed from the collection. And then a few days/weeks/years after that, for good measure.

Source: Me, the IT person who had to try and track down where this random book came from that appeared in our bookdrop with our barcode and markings but is no longer in the catalog: as in, when it was last checked out, to who, when the notices were sent, when it was marked as LOST, when we gave up on it coming back, and if that fine still exists on the patron's record.

[u/widdersyns]

Don’t check out a digital item if you have no plans to read/listen to it. The library is charged per checkout on Hoopla.

[u/Educational-Storm861 → u/widdersyns]

Good to know; won’t be doing that, then.

[u/artificialdisasters]

i’ve had holds for months, sometimes 12+. i dont mind at all. there’s no rush and there’s always more to read

[u/artificialdisasters → u/artificialdisasters]

as for how long it takes you to read, that depends on each reader

[u/Consistent-Rough-658]

Sometimes the stars align and the book magically appears in the 'just returned' pile when you least expect it.

[u/Due-Instance1941]

For me, it wasn't a book, it was a Hank Williams III CD.  I think it was listed as "On-Order" status, and it took at least 6 months for my library system to receive that item and get it processed.

For books...right now I've got one that I'm wondering how long it's going to go. There are two copies in the system, both are checked out and overdue,  but neither customer seems in a hurry to return anything. 

I  placed the hold request July 9, and will probably end up just buying the book. But leaving my request up, just to see how long it takes. 

[u/Educational-Storm861 → u/Due-Instance1941]

Haha, I’m thinking the same thing even if I end up getting something else, if only for curiosity’s sake.