Posted by Anne M on Wednesday, Oct 27, 2021
You may have heard the news stories listing shortages of paper, ink, cardboard, and shipping container space. Or the ones about labor shortages in warehouses and the shipping industry. And with books sales up 21% from 2019, there is more demand for print books at a time when publishers cannot fulfill their orders. Experts are calling it a "perfect storm" for the publishing industry.
If you've noticed that you are waiting much longer to get a book from us or seen the "on order" notice in our catalog linger with a specific title, this is why. Shifts in supply and demand are impacting libraries and our ability to get the book you want in your hands.
We focus on available stock when buying materials. We order months ahead of release dates and as many copies as we think will meet anticipated interest. We also write our customer service representatives from our vendors directly if we feel a title is unreasonably delayed. These are approaches we've always used, but don't always work if our vendor cannot get the books in the first place. Publishers are pushing back release dates and delaying or cancelling second printings. Libraries across the United States are feeling these shortages. Book stores, including our literary neighbors are impacted too.
Our staff work hard to unpack received items as quickly as possible and we move any titles on hold to the front of the line for cataloging and labelling. You can place a hold in our catalog to get the book as soon as possible. Thank you for your continued patience and hopefully these logistical problems will soon ease.
For more information about the current book crisis, Vox, The New York Times, and NPR have some good pieces explaining the issues in detail.
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About the Author
Anne Mangano has worked for the Iowa City Public Library since 2008, serving as the Collection Services Coordinator since 2013. In this position, she oversees ICPL's collection, including the selection, cataloging, processing, repair, and removal of materials, including the library's digital collections. Anne holds a Bachelor of...
This book is devastating and hopeful at the same time. It is a story that starts out harrowing, but after hard work and ingenuity by a few individuals, things change for the better. The Facemaker, a history of World War I facial reconstruction, sets the scene: how World War I was fought in new and horrific ways. It was industrial. There were a lot of advancements in weapons of war. (And of course, for what?) Lindsey Fitzharris describes this moment in time very well. Then there are the people put in the trenches and at sea and in the air, not to mention the civilians, facing this new weaponry. Fitzharris makes these stories personal and individual, the pain experienced both inside and out. She picks a number of individuals that came home with significant facial injuries and how they viewed their lives as over. Enter Harold Gillies, an ears, nose, and throat doctor, who is about to become the leading expert in facial reconstruction. If you love compelling histories of war or medicine, I recommend this book. As an aside, the audio version was excellently narrated. -Anne M