Ever eagerly awaited a new book only to have its publication date come and go without seeing it on the library shelf? Or searched our catalog for a popular Netflix or Prime Video series on DVD, only to come up empty?
You're not alone. Sometimes the library simply can't get certain books or movies—and the reasons are often out of our hands. From publishing decisions to streaming exclusives, here's a look behind the scenes at why some titles never make it into library collections.
Publishers Decide What's Available
Print runs
When a publisher releases a new book, they decide how many copies to print - a decision known as the print run. Publishers consider anticipated demand, market research, and production costs when determining how many books to produce.
If a title proves popular, additional print runs may follow. But books with smaller audiences may only receive a limited run. Fewer copies in circulation means fewer opportunities for libraries to purchase them.
Canceled Publications
Sometimes a book never reaches shelves at all.
Publishers occasionally cancel individual titles or even discontinue entire publishing lines—as was recently the case with the Harlequin Historical Romance line. Books can be canceled for many reasons, including late delivery, poor quality, breach of contract, and even suspected A.I. use while the cancellation of a line of work is often due to decline in interest/lack of sales. Regardless of the reason, it’s a drag to find out that the thing you’ve been highly anticipating landed on the chopping block.
Out-of-Print Materials
An out-of-print title is one that is no longer printed by the publisher. The longer an item is out of print, the more difficult it can be to obtain as the supply trickles down to the second-hand market.
Why Doesn't the Library Have That Netflix Show?
As you can imagine, in the realm of streaming services producing physical media (like DVDs & Blu-ray) is not that important. After all, these services tend to prioritize subscription growth, and having content that's exclusive to their platforms acts as an incentive to drive up subscriptions.
Original series and films produced by streaming services like Amazon Prime and Netflix do occasionally get physical releases, but more often than not things like rights and licensing issues, intellectual property considerations, distribution deals between production companies and streaming services - coupled with the fact that it just isn’t a priority - contribute to this lack of physical media, meaning that even though a title might be wildly popular, it's just not available in a format that the library can purchase for the collection.
- FAQ: I found a WorldCat entry for something that hasn’t been officially released and I submitted an ILL request for it. If it exists in other systems, why did my request get cancelled? Answer: We won’t borrow things that haven’t been officially released. If illegitimate copies are circulating in other library systems and we know they are illegitimate, borrowing those copies opens up ethical and legal concerns regarding rights, licensing, and copyright, and it would be irresponsible for us to fill those requests.
We Keep Looking
Whatever the reason may be, a lack of access can always be frustrating; but don't despair - the library has tens of thousands of items to fill the void, just waiting to be discovered! And however slim the chances, we're always keeping an ear to the ground to look out for those unlikely releases, ready to scoop them up whenever possible.
