Monday, July 24, 2006

Things I like: Sizzlers

Not to profess my love for this new profession I've chosen, but, the county public library system where I'm living currently has these things called 'Sizzlers' which are basically new titles that are usually in heavy demand. To help patrons get these items more quickly rather than having to wait as 1,000 requests are filled (no joking, the newly released DVD Failure to Launch currently has 1280 hold requests outstanding), the library sets aside certain copies of these titles to let patrons get them by chance. There is no reserving these Sizzlers and they also need to be returned in a week. It's basically first come, first served.

Having book sizzlers is not new at all, and they're great, but now the library also has DVD and magazine sizzlers, depending on the branch. For instance, last week I was able to check out the current issues of Newsweek and Entertainment Weekly! Previously, the current issues could not be checked out at all. I'm pretty pleased by this since I love reading magazines but don't love paying money to read magazines. And with the DVDs, it's kind of a nice bonus for patrons who actually go into the library to look. I know a lot of people just request titles from their computers at home and only go to the library when they know their request has arrived. It's nice to know you might be able to catch something in just by showing up.

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