Where is all the new material?! 
Is the bestseller rack half full or half empty?
It's a common question, and the reasons are many. You've noticed the store shelves and heard about the supply chain issues. That affects ALL industries, including the book publishing industry and its associated vendors and suppliers.
Russell County Public Library (RCPL) has taken steps to alleviate some of the issues. Our book vendor now sends us most bestsellers automatically. We tell them what authors we want and how many copies and they appear like magic a few days before the release date.
We routinely have patrons come and request books or movies that haven't come out yet. If you see a book on Good Morning America or another widely syndicated morning show, we can probably get it. But if the movie is still in the theater, you may have to wait months!
We always try to get what patrons request. But we can't always do that. Sometimes folks ask for titles from a series published in the last century. Yep, those paperbacks from the 1970s or 1980s are not readily available and are often too expensive; if it's a cult classic, collectors may have driven the price sky-high.
RCPL has noticed another trend with films. They often go straight from the theater to streaming and are not automatically for sale as a DVD or Blu-ray. Many shows and movies are now only available on streaming services. If there is a physical release, instead of the usual $20, it may be $60-$100 each. That's just too expensive for us to do frequently.
One step we've taken to ease delays is subscribing to hoopla. Hoopla is always available--if they have the ebook, audiobook, movie, TV series, or comic book, it is always available. No waiting. If you don't have reliable Internet service, you can download your material at the library and stream it from your device at home later.
We have more options available for reading and viewing than ever before. Give a new one a try; stop in, and we'll show you how!
Contributed by Kelly McBride Delph
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