The library I worked for did receive a discounted rate for many titles. However it was a large system- one main library, 2 regional libraries and 55 branches. I don't know if the discount price was also due to purchasing multiple copies of books. However the discount is probably about the same as what I would get if I bought a book for myself from Amazon.

The small town library I worked for was part of a regional system, and we ordered books through the system and got a better price. We could also buy direct from the publisher when books were on sale, so we had the best of two worlds.
There is also the "library binding" which is sturdier than the binding on consumer books, and that adds a bit to the price.
Publishers' reps also visited the library to show us new publications. If we ordered the library could get perks, ranging from book marks to extra books to display shelves. We always tried to get all the perks offered, and then some. There is no one as frugal as a librarian!

Yes, my "big city" library got some terrific discounts due primarily to the volume. It had a very generous book budget.

My "small town" library where I work now relies on the district library to supply us with new books (and I imagine the district gets the same discounts as the "big city" library does).

The best "discount" of all is when readers donate new books they've read and don't wish to keep.

I should point out, however, that a certain expense goes into the processing of books to make them available to the public, and that's why people who lose or damage books are asked to pay the full price and sometimes a "re-stocking" fee.

Jann

Another question for the librarians... We donate quite a number of books to the library (200+) over the past 12 months. Does the library ever keep any or do they all go into the book sale? Some of the hardbacks were in great shape and were recently published. I am hoping they kept some for people to borrow.

Our library only kept what they could realistically use. So that meant it had to be something that we needed based on our normal selection criteria - the book had to be in really good condition, the topic had to be relevant and it had to be something that we needed and had room to shelve. Most of the books we received were things that people didn't want any longer yet had trouble throwing away so they would donate them. We would get hundreds of out of date textbooks, worn paperbacks that were loosing pages, books with stale, musty odors, odd assortments of magazines and even incomplete sets of encyclopedias. Those were the titles that quickly went to the book sale.

I know it might sound like we were being too selective but as the other posters mentioned it still cost money to prepare these books for circulation and most of them didn't have library binding so they wouldn't hold up. New titles that are best sellers were the easiest to keep because we usually had a waiting list. Even then we would lease extra copies of those books to keep up with demand.

If there were other books that we didn't need and were worth keeping we would offer them to other branches in our library system. One of my branches was across the street from a senior center and I would ask the staff there if they wanted to take any that we didn't need. Unfortunately they really needed large print materials.

Hi McMann,

Is it possible to get magnifiers which will show a substantial portion of a page at a time, without having to continuously hold it, or move it often, do you know?

ole joyful

There are quite a few on the market now. I think since the baby boomers are getting up there manufacturers are marketing them more. Bausch and Lomb makes several ranging from an optical grade acrylic up to one with lights on a desk stand. If you just google 'reading magnifier' or 'full page reading magnifie' you'll get quite a few links. Even Staples sells them. You can get them in several different sizes - from wallet to 8 by 11.