Hold Hunters | Planet Library Episode Three

Just as books employ a variety of tactics for attracting a reader, so too, do readers have many strategies for selecting the perfect title. Cunning readers make their selection before they have even set foot in the library.

Receiving the signal, an attentive librarian springs into action. First they must gather supplies for their hold collecting expedition.

Finally the librarian has arrived at the habitat of the sought after book. They become wary for this is often the most delicate part of the expedition. For while books do wish to be read, they sometimes become too comfortable in their habitats, hiding from the librarian using their natural camouflage when it is time to be found.

After a typical holds expedition, the librarian returns with not one, but an entire cart full of books. Working together with the rest of their pack, the enigmatic librarians search tirelessly to ensure every hold is captured.

The book is then tagged, with a special code that only the requesting reader can understand.

Now tagged and ready, the hold is taken to an isolated enclosure to await its reader. Unlike the bright plumage of the NEW sticker, this tag’s vibrant color act as a defense mechanism, warning others that this book has already been claimed. They will need to wait patiently for their chance at this title.

Time within the enclosure is fleeting. Some holds are picked up by their readers immediately, while others have to wait.

Like a loyal pet awaiting its owner’s return, these books maintain hopeful vigil. In rare cases, their reader never does come. It is perhaps then a kindness that their time on the holds shelf is brief. After the waiting period, a librarian comes by to collect these forgotten books. Some books find themselves with a growing list of potential readers and are soon returned to the enclosure. Others are released back to the native shelves from whence they came.

It seems that a reader is signaling their interest in another item and thus the cycle continues anew.