It is time for personal libraries to be shared
There has been a recent boom of websites that facilitate the sharing of private possessions – accommodation, tools, caravans… I have not come across such a service for books. People tend to be very possessive of books, and extra proud of their personal libraries. I foresee a new trend, where people allow their books to be borrowed. All we need is a process that ensures you get your books back (timely, un-damaged) and that you get some sort of karma/reward/fame/cudos for doing so.
I just wrote this on Facebook in response to a friend’s photo of her bookshelves:
My shelves are similarly groaning. I think the time has come for personal/public libraries, where respectful people get to borrow from personal libraries. Few of my books are available at local public libraries, or even inter-library loans. Especially powerful if the personal libraries are themed…
I’d love to know the ratio – how many book titles exist in a town/suburb/city that are not offered in the local public libraries? I wouldn’t be surprised if it were 100/1 or much greater.
Cataloging is easy, with barcode scanners available for $10 or so. I have used the CueCat for my 1000+ books. 649 are listed at LibraryThing (very easy to achieve).
But how to make sure your books come home unharmed? You could just copy the AirBNB system, or perhaps a $50 deposit?
I would love to share my books…
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I understand that it could easily be achieved digitally, but I doubt there will ever be a better, easier or more rewarding experience that browsing through real hardcopy books that fit your area of interest.