About The Lending Library....

[Dave McCracken]

THR is, in my non objective opinion, by and large the best resource on the Net for firearms info. That goes double for this board. I'm quite proud of what WE'VE made here.

One major asset has been The Lending Library. With over 9K views, it's been popular and has brought real world information to lots of folks here. Among other items, the copies of Brister's masterwork,"Shotgunning, The Art and The Science" and Awerback's Combat Shotgun video have gone back and forth to many people eager to learn.

But, now the Library seems moribund. No posts in two months. Lee Lapin and I were discussing what to do.

Shall we close the Library?

What do you think?....

 

[fearless leader]

I am rather new to the High Road. I have been a member for a while and find it a wealth of information. I also enjoy answering questions for people less experienced in a subject than myself.

There is a lot to read here, and this is the first I have heard about the lending library.

Perhaps you could try mentioning it more in posts and answers to people.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Dave,

I vote for a lending library re-vamp that gives everyone here a little better information as to what's in the library, who has what as far as library material is concerned, and who is next in line to get whatever item. That kind of approach will take more work to keep up with, and probably mod tools to manage as well. I'm willing to help with keeping it maintained, if a change of that nature comes to pass and if it's OK with you.

Right now it's pretty hard to tell who is holding what item and who's supposed to get it next, and it seems that's where it's bogged down. It may take something like editing the first post on the thread to list the items in the library, list who has what and update it as items in the library change hands- plus list who's in line to get the item next. I'm not sure what approach would work best and take the least work to keep current. But if we're going to keep it going we apparently will have to do something different to make that happen.

The current linear thread approach worked well for a while, but it seems to have run out of steam. If we can recover the library materials that are currently out there in the hands of members but not circulating, fine. If not we'll need to start over to get it going again, with contributions of new materials and I'd say new rules/procedures as well, to make sure we don't run into the same problem again down the road.

I too would like to hear suggestions from members as to how best to manage it- the Lending Library like the forum itself belongs to everyone here. I think it's been a very useful and educational part of this subforum and would hate to see it stop due to inertia.

So pony up, members- what do you say?

lpl/nc

 

[Superreverb]

Well, somewhere I still have my old Missildine books ("On Trap" and "On Skeet"). If I can find them, I'd be willing to throw them in the pot for the Lending Library.

Regards - Ed

 

[JohnBT]

I think it needs a little advertising to drum up some more interest.

Here are extensive (pages & pages - whole sections) excerpts from 'Shotgunning, The Art and The Science'

http://books.google.com/books?id=WK...1PcM&sig=-77CjBvqOWJboppWCOGzlADKFhE#PPA39,M1

 

[Dave McCracken]

Thank's guys. The fact that no more attention has been paid to this indicates to me the depth of the problem.

Much of the material is mine, and nothing is irreplaceable. Let's see what happens for a few days..

 

[strat81]

What about a Library forum, and each book would have two threads - one for who has it now, and the waiting list.

I'm not sure if it's appropriate, but I have a copy of "In the Gravest Extreme" by Ayoob that I can put into the library (if I can find it).

 

[silverlance]

In Los Angeles, I am willing to loan (local pickup)
* abcs of reloading
* modern reloading LEE 2nd ed

Also, anyone is welcome to come to my house to get their rifles headspaced free.

 

[johnmcl]

Hi Dave,

The Lending Library, I assert, is suffering from an Out-Of-Sight-Out-of-Mind challenge. I find that there's no easy way to see what's available and who has the material.

Sure, there's a thread one can wander through, but with the limited amount of time available to us all these days that approach to searching is harder than it has to be. I'm not suggesting that we do anything over complicated, nor approach the sophisication that our local library would show us.

What do you think about a spreadsheet easily giving a single view into Title, Description, Checked Out Status, Checker-Outer (?), and Availability Date? It seems there's work involved in monitoring and updating. The return on investment of a more active LL just might be worth it though.

I'll drop you a PM about this week's schedule. We need to do our part of Maryland's overpopulation of clay targets.

John

 

[GRB]

So exactly what is the lending library, I have never heard of it before today as far as i remember (bear with me the memory is not as good as it once was)Where is any information about it located on these forums, does it have its own forum? I just looked through a list of the forums and did not see it? Is it hidden somewhere? I would guess tat if you want something to work, then forum users should be aware of it, and to make them aware of it, maybe it should have its own prominently displayed forum.

All the best,
Glenn b

 

[Bruce333]

So exactly what is the lending library, I have never heard of it before today as far as i remember (bear with me the memory is not as good as it once was)Where is any information about it located on these forums

IT's a sticky at the top of this (shotguns) forum.http://thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=207361

The Lending Library, I assert, is suffering from an Out-Of-Sight-Out-of-Mind challenge. I find that there's no easy way to see what's available and who has the material.

or to tell who gets it next.

 

[SecuritySixShooter]

Personally, I would like to see the lending library updated. There is still a bunch of material that I would like to read/watch.

 

[Dave McCracken]

I believe that there's a better way all right, but my poor 'puter skills aren't up to the challenge.

John, availabe Friday for clays control.

 

[johnmcl]

Dave,

Friday looks good. This past week was very productive at work. Perhaps we can talk about ideas for the LL management then.

John

 

[Dave McCracken]

Or maybe we'll just shoot. See you. I'll be there around 10:30. Look for my old grey Cherokee.

 

[Superreverb]

Dave,

Friday looks good.

Do I foresee one more victim.... err... participant joining the crew for Mongolian Wobble this coming Friday?

 

[Dave McCracken]

Probably. It gets addicting.