gal on phone: Hi, do you guys rent out books?
me: No....no, we don't.
gal: Do you know of a company locally that does?
me: No...no, I don't.
gal: okay, thank you.
I've never heard of such a thing, other than private lending libraries way back when that charged a membership fee.
3 comments:
The Strand has a program called 'books by the foot' in which quantities of books with a precise description (large leatherbound, red hardback, etc.) are rented out in bulk, usually for film sets. The cost of renting is calculated by multiplying the number of feet when the books are upright on a shelf by a fraction of the value of the books and the amount of time it took to fish them from the Strand's shelves. Mayhap gal on phone was seeking a similar program on this coast...or maybe she was just loopy!
She didn't sound obviously nuts, so that's a very likely explanation.
One of the perils of working the counter is a certain myopia creeping in- you think about everything in terms defined by what you spend most of your time doing, mainly turning down books people bring in or selling this or that title from the shelves.
Going outside that box even an inch or two when something off-base occurs is lamentably difficult.
Even so, first call like that I've had in 20 years of bookselling.
I am aware of the syndrome to which you refer having experienced it in multiple occupations myself ')
As far as I am aware the Strand is one of very few and may even be the only establishment engaged in the large scale book renting practice.
Armed with that knowledge, or simple common sense, girl on phone might have considered a more elaborate explanation, or e-communication as a soft entry into strange-requestdom.
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