The Good Library Blog

There is no hard and fast answer as to the exact number of times a book may be loaned before it becomes too dirty, torn or grubby to be acceptable, but as a general rule popular hardback fiction should be loanable for about 40 times, after which the binding may be in a poor state; if the book is rebound, it may be loaned for another 40-60 times, provided no-one drops their dinner or cup of coffee over it. Paperback fiction may also be loaned for up to 40 times, after which, in my experience, the spine is unreadable and the cover very dog-eared. Hardback non-fiction may stay in a better condition, as generally speaking, it does not get loaned as frequently as popular fiction. Any book which has obvious stains on the pages, torn pages, pages falling out, should not be on the shelves. It should be removed, repaired if suitable or considered for withdrawal from library stock. Would you want to take this book to bed to read is the question library staff should ask themselves when looking at stock; if the answer is no, then get rid of it and replace it with something clean and fresh.

I wonder if the technical bit is tongue in cheek :)
There's no ready answer. Here where I work we take a certain degree of wear as an indication of use and so it can 'save' a book.
However if it has been defaced, or the cover is hanging off, or pages are missing etc; then it has gone too far.
Some places, such as my former place of work, have repair departments; I don't know what the cost/benefit of repair vs buying new is.

Tim, I don't think there is a hard and fast rule about that. People treat books differently and some bindings will hold together better than others. I've had to replace paperbacks that have issued once because the spine has been broken and pages are missing but I've also seen popular books that are a few years old which are still going strong.

From looking on the shelves I think that different authorities have different rules about what is and isn't acceptable. Stock policies are probably available from most libraries to those who ask.

I'd imagnine that most places withdraw (and hopefully replace) books with missing pages or stains or considerable water-damage. With older (modern woodpulp-based paper) books, the pages start to yellow and fall apart in time. This process can be exacerbated by use and environmental factors (heat, damp sunlight) so, whilst they would all probably need to be replaced in time, it is difficult give an exact estimate.

The Library Standard for stock replenishment, I think, states around 7 years (6.7?), which would probably be far too long for a popular paperback or even a popular hardback.

I have limited experience of children's stock but from what I've seen it tends to get fairly rough treatment and needs replacing often.

Bear in mind that with particularly popular books it can be very difficult to actually examine them and see that they need replacement.

Pete- we need to know the answer to your question. Is it cheaper to replace or repair? the cost of replacement is easy enough-- but how much does repair cost in time, materials and overhead?

Otherwise the first answer is around 40. That seems very high to me. Would you like to read a book that has been in 40 other hands first?

It would depend on the book I guess :)
But first blush, no I wouldn't mind if 40 other people had read it first.

"Would you like to read a book that has been in 40 other hands first?"

Tim, doesn't that really depend on the particular book? After all, there are plenty of older, out of print books in various collections that have been handled by many more than 40 hands.

Surely the condition of the book is more important than the number of times it has issued? Personally I'd rather have a book after 40 careful readers than borrow something slightly newer which had been damaged or defaced by the two or three people who borrowed it before me.

Miriam-- yes, of course. I don't mean 'older and out of print' books-- I'm sure you are right. I meant just ordinary run-of-the-mill diet to doghandling books.

40 seems a high number. I thought the answer would be closer to 10. -- but that's why I'm seeking experienced views.

10 seems very low to me but it would depend upon the type of book, how large it was, the type of binding, whether the book had been donated or was brand new on the first issue, what subject it was, whether there are replacements in print and what condition it was in on return.

Checking stock after a certain number of issues seems fair enough but there are too many variables to set a hard and fast rule about withdrawing books after X number of issues.

Well, as Miriam says it does all depend on how those 10/40 users treat the book.

Early replies to my request for comments on the cost of replacement indicate around £3 (outsourced) for the run-of-the-mill books. If this bought 40 more loans that'd be about 7p per loan.

In house costs are basically glue and tape and staff time, averaging around 5 mins to repair a paperback.

If it is a book I want, I am not worried if it is a bit battered. So many ex-library books found in secondhand shops (and sometimes skips) are in good condition.

As for paper, American books are printed on much better paper than English ones.

To round up. 10 loans is what a bookseller would estimate ;)

Without wishing to impoverish publishers, 40 is a much more reasonable estimate.

And with an appropriate workflow- materials at desk, whoever is on desk does repairs- and sensible purchasing,the cost is minimal and likely cheaper than replacement; until such time as a book is beyond hope.