CHASE LANFER, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR, The Hill ; The DC public library system falls way short of ‘Abundance’
"Book clubs nationwide have been talking for months about whether you are “Abundance-pilled,” a reference to the recent book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson that has made it into the lexicon of many public policy nerds.
And public policy nerds happen to be everywhere in the District of Columbia. That is why the waitlist to borrow this book at the D.C. Public Library is more than 300 people long for a hard copy, over 500-long for an eBook and more than 800-long for an audiobook.
How many copies does the D.C. library system have of this New York Times-bestseller, which was published in March? Well, from March to July, the total was just one. One hard copy, zero eBook registrations and zero audio books.
Only in August did the D.C. public library finally expand its catalogue to 51 copies, which is still little relief for the hundreds who have been waiting months. Think of the debates we missed out on, the replies we never sent. The online discourse was impoverished by the absence of witty, wonky D.C.-based keyboard warriors.
Other library systems nearby have copies of “Abundance.” The Arlington Public Library has had 47 copies all along. Fairfax County has 45 and Montgomery County has 18 hardcover copies, 63 eBook registrations and 75 audiobooks. So these books have been lining the shelves of our suburban friends’ and families’ local libraries. Just not ours...
Could it be that one of the places we need to modernize by removing regulations is our public library? I reached out to the director of new title procurement at the D.C. library, asking about the policies regarding the acquisition of new copies, but I did not receive a response."
