Librarians are unsung heroes. You guys have to deal with the Moms for Liberty crap on an LOL salary while telling the local homeless guy that he can wash his face in the bathroom but not his entire body nuded up.
Well that’s a nice thing to say, you shouldn’t give someone who doesn’t even know you exist credit for saving your life. You saved your own life by overcoming your own adversity, don’t under sell yourself or your accomplishment. Be proud of who you are.
@@MrCrazyeyes07 Unfortunately you are wrong. Just because the author does not know the reader exists does not mean they did not save their life. If I am lost at sea, drifting in an inflatable raft instead of drowning, did the designer and manufacturer of the rat not save my life because they never knew of me? Or if I am in a mentally terrible shape, and someone uses a fresh hot pizza to lure me out of spiralling thoughts, getting me to end the pizza rather than myself, did the pizza not at least help save my life?
@@MrCrazyeyes07 sure they were able to get themselves out of some adversity but what they mean is that those authors prompted them to get themselves out. A lot like the example the commenter above me provided, sure I can save myself by getting on a raft at sea, but without the raft I wouldn't have been able to, without the raft I wouldn't have seen a way out - which is what the books of those authors did for them.
@@MrCrazyeyes07 I am very proud of the fact that I am still alive. But I know that the hope I read about in House of the Spirits made me keep going. The love I read about in The Wastelands let me know that maybe, just maybe, I could find love someday. And just reading their stories gave me a safe place to escape to, a place without alcoholics and abuse. They don't know me, and they didn't write those stories for me. But those stories saved me. I had to do the work, but they gave me the hope.
My favorite book series, the Percy Jackson books, I originally read from the library. And now I've bought those books like 3 or 4 different times throughout my life.
Thinking back of how I recently bought all volumes of my favourite books I borrowed from the library as a kid. Full financial circle. Never would've read the books if I hadn't seen the shiny reflective cover that caught my eye at the library.
Yeah I also got the first book of 2 series as a young teenager and read all others from the library. Recently I got the whole series's just to have it in my bookshelf, but all except one were used books though.
My first big experience with books was Narnia and Percy Jackson. My elementary school teacher read it us in class. That began my journey in reading books from the library and even buying books.
This is one of the arguments for piracy. Ethical pirates usually use piracy as a way to try out a game before buying if it is still available for purchase. Libraries also serve archival purpose, books generally aren’t sold forever. Similarly games are not sold forever, and piracy provides for preservation of this sort too
@@1495978707When I was in High School I was a page in the local library. We had a reference set called The Cumulative Index of Books in Print in English. Dunno if it's still around.
There's apparently around 35 countries that have some form of PLR. In the UK payments worked out at about 11p per loan in 2020/21 up to maximum of £6600. It's obviously not something that a person can live off but it does mean that writers still see some income even when their books are out of print. I know that for quite a few writers it's their favourite check of the year as it tells them that people are definitely actually still reading their books and not just putting them on a shelf to look pretty.
Where i live (Finland), every time someone lends your book from the library, you get paid. My mom is an author, and twice a year she gets a letter from the government with all the information (how many books were lended, how much she made, etc), and its really nice honestly. I think it was something like 0.14€ for every time someone lends your book. If you manage to publish a best seller, you can actually make good money off of just libraries.
Point 4: It can lead to later sales for the author. How many of us read a book, such as Harry Potter, in libraries for free but then later watched the movie in theaters, bought merch or bought her later books?
Sometimes I will just read books at the library for convenience and because I don’t just wanna buy books that I will sell for cheap or later on a whim. I pride myself on having a bookshelf created out of books I love and so far end up reading a book at a local library that I love I will go out and buy it. Not just to support the author but because then I’d be honoured to have the book displayed on my bookshelf. I am a little late on seeing this video but I wanted to get my and share what I personally do is a big bookworm😀📚take
School library was how i discovered some of my favourite authors because i read the three musketeers or song of the lioness after seeing the books in the library. 👌
I became a librarian a lot because of you! Your praise and love of librarianship in your videos made me really consider the profession, and I love it! So thank you
Man, I never had a teacher that was as cool as ANY of my school librarians. They recommended me some of the best books I ever read. They did not miss with their recommendations. And they were always right.
That's why it's so important to have not just a fully stocked library and librarian, but a librarian's assistant as well to make sure that kids have access to at least a few books that make an impression on them. Being able to read well has a major impact on a person's life.
the library.. wow what a place. i went to the library for the first time when i was 3. my grandma took me every week to encourage me to read and learn something new. i still go to the library as an adult because i just love being surrounded by books. i’m in a room full of thousands of people’s thoughts, feelings, ideas- all written down to be remembered and cherished. and i’m there for free???? what a gift.
I always tear up when you talk about librarians. We try our best and are used to not get the recognition (or the financial funds to actually do our jobs the best possible way). But it is oh, SO nice when we hear someone praise what we do once in a while. thank you for this and everything else. (also thanks everyone in the comments. you made my day) DFTBA
My local library was actually what got me into your books! I think I'd just followed vlogbrothers right around when you released The Fault in our Stars (and I was like 14), so I vaguely knew about it the book but that was it. Every year my library does a summer reading program for k-12. That year they had multiple copies of a LOT of different books, organized by grade level, and any kid who signed up that year could pick one to take home and keep until the books ran out. TFiOS was one of the high school level books that year. I recognized the cover from TH-cam and I thought it sounded interesting so I chose it. I read it, then got my friends to read it, then ended up buying your other books later on (and getting my friends to read a couple of them too lol)
Absolutely!! Libraries are a vital source of both community, & needed resources of all kinds and means, and they literally give the foundation of knowledge needed to progress in life. They're wonderful tools every community should have and we overlook them far too much
Another big thing: libraries are good for authors because authors are also readers! It's very hard to become good at writing without doing a lot of reading, and libraries make it much easier to read lots of books.
I come from a country without public libraries. Most schools don't have one either. Don't ask the name. Just know we're the poorest in the hemisphere. My lifeline was old books sent to the country for free by other countries and sold on the street for cheap. Books in French or English. I read everything I could get my hands on. My mom used to buy me a book every Saturday. Bless her ❤️
That's truly unfortunate. People don't really understand just how important it is to have access to a wide range of quality books, especially for the young. It has a dramatic impact on literacy rates and general level of education.
I just wish my city would, you know, *fund* a library. We used to share the high school’s library for two hours a day (4 to 6 p.m.), but they shut that down during covid. So, now we don’t have a public library in my city.
The library is such an amazing place. I loved going to the library as a kid, and I feel like it's such a good use of our tax dollars. Also there have definitely been books that I read at the library that I ended up buying later on to have one on my shelf because how much I liked it.
Here’s the other thing you have to remember: a lot of times if someone really loves a book they’ll buy a hard copy even if they already could check it out from their library. And if they don’t know a book they’re a lot less likely to just randomly buy it and get interests by it than to check it out and then get interested by the author. I know if I saw a book somewhere that looked like it might be interesting I would try to check it out and if I can’t that probably would just be the end and I wouldn’t bother with it anymore. But if I could and I really like it I might buy a hard copy for myself or for a present for someone who I think would also like it. And I’ll read more of the authors books and I might buy them if I can’t check them out.
I always buy new books when I don't know the author feels like a Gamble. so Whenever I'm interested in the book I always go and check it out from the library first to see how I like it. usually if it's one I really love I will buy it to read again in the future
Libraries and Librarians are cool. I have so many happy childhood memories of walking in the stacks and finding great books. My kids all got cards as soon as they could read.
I first found your books because of an audiobook service through my library. I can still remember signing up for the waitlist when they got a licence for the peper towns audiobook. I don't think i actually payed for any of your work untill 2012 when TFIOS came out. I know your recent work is more well known but there is a special place in my heart for your first 3 books.
I worked as a librarian for a secondary school for 2 years. I went in with optimism but then discovered that despite the school's push on literacy, there was no budget for the library. £0. How can they say they value literacy when they're not willing to shell out even a couple hundred for some new books? Anyway, I don't work in schools anymore.
Librarian here, everything said here is on point! We also usually buy multiple copies and will replace them so it’s not usually just a one and done thing. Then we’ll often donate books that are too damaged to circulate
9 times of of ten i have ended up buying whole series of books after reading one from the library. Heck. I started an origami craze in my elementary and middle school because I told kids how I learned, which was from book in the library
The big US publishers are pushing for a model like this now for ebooks/audiobooks. I didn't realize it was already a thing in certain places. On one hand, it might be OK to have semi-fixer micro-Kindle Unlimited-style subscriptions where publishers/authors get paid monthly based on the number of pages read out of the total pot of pages read. On the other hand, US libraries are parts of notoriously underfunded city governments and are often the first to get cut so forcing them to pay unknown monthly amounts (the proposed model not my capped KU suggestion above) rather than buying books based on how much is left after they know their summer AC bill seems unsustainable.
@@emma70707 At least in the UK's version the money comes from a central fund and there is a cap for each author who has joined. Also joining is voluntary and many authors don't sign up for reasons like John said.
I actually bought one of your books but then I moved away from home, to another country, and didn't read the book. So I went to the local library in the new country to read your book.
@Nicholas Time Benjamin Franklin developed libraries in the US. Many countries have adopted the model, but I know a Swedish sports writer who said they do not have public libraries. They do have govt funded education, medicine and subsidies for international travel.
I’m currently earning a master’s in information science and yes!! This!! This is exactly why I chose my degree: it is a fundamental human right to access information to all capacities. I’m actually reading “The Anthropocene Reviewed” right now and have been pleased to see you touch on a lot of information philosophy throughout the book; your idea of a tree falling in a forest making a sound vs. an album not being heard unless played was reminiscent of Buckland’s “information-as-thing,” specifically, Briet’s concept of “things” not being given human-meaning until humans give them meaning. A beyond enjoyable read, especially for someone who grew up watching your videos as a kid!
This librarian thanks you for supporting libraries! We love to make information available to everyone and purchase a wide range of fiction and non fiction for the benefit of our community! Libraries are centers of the community and authors are the cornerstones of libraries! Thank you again!!
As a young author trying to publish my first children's book, I can't wait for the day my book is eventually on the shelves of the library of the elementary school I work at.
@@diamondsngunns88 Thanks! I hope so. Just need an illustrator so that I can figure out how I want to publish it. Self or through a publishing company.
Man you really make me hold my librarian heart up high. I remember sitting down and reading every book that came in. So I knew exactly who would like the book and why. And if someone had a question I could answer it. I found the bones books to be my favorite but did not agree with the age range
Ever since I moved to a small town, I haven’t had access to a decent public library in years. My town has a volunteer run library but really it’s just one room with a couple book shelves (my town is very small, 5-10k ppl) I do live near a bigger city and they have a public library, and it was free for me to get a card from them up until a few years ago, when the state grant that allowed me to do so, was no longer available for help. Now if I want their library card, they charge $125 a year or something like that. Which is affordable for me but I can well imagine it might not be for many people. And it’s sad to see this resource being taken away
Im an older lady but I grew up poor. My Mother took me to the library and she told me if you could read you could learn anything you needed to at the library. This was pre-internet days. I think the sentiment still stand basic education and access to knowledge are extremely important.
Libraries feel so out of place in our society, yet they are so incredibly valuable. Free and accessible information is such a gift to the world and there's nothing quite like the library for that. And the librarians are always so kind and helpful!
I remember how profoundly my life was changed years ago by your vlog about why you support free education. Some of your vlogs are knockout smashes that could benefit from some curation and signal boosting. What about creating a shorts or best-of channel/playlist?
Seriously? Nothing in life is free. People pay property taxes to pay for education and if you don't they'll sell your house at auction and keep all the money even if it's more than you owe. Wake the F up.
Thank you John. This makes me want to write even more. It gives all authors out there hope that we can have a solid career in this field without having to become the next George R R Martin or John Green!
Australia has a library lending rights scheme where Australian authors, publishers, illustrators etc. can apply for compensation for loss of income through free multiple uses of their books in libraries. Its not a huge amount (17,200 payments worth 22 million AUD in 2019) but I think its an awesome idea to help support the arts.
I basically lived in the library during middle and high school. The librarians would come check up on me before closing up just to make sure I actually left and went home. Skipped school to go to the library, never went to school trips. I was obsessed with reading. So much so that they gave me an unofficial job at the library. They allowed me to go around recommending books to whoever walked in. I could also stand behind their little desk and help whenever it got busy and people had questions. It was really fun. I miss having the time to read like that.
I was introduced to your work in 7th grade with looking for Alaska. I'm almost 32 now and it is still my favorite book. I've read all your books and you remain my favorite author
Libraries are great, I've been using my public library to read all of discworld and I loved it so much that I paid around $700 dollars to buy the complete series. Another thing to remember is that if your library doesn't have a book you're looking for if you ask them they'll have it sent from a library that does for free
I love libraries. Librarians are nicest people ever. I had to pay 15 cents other day and woman was asking how I wanted to pay it which confused me. Then she gave me all these options cash, card, check, she would even take EPay, and also said if need be she would pay it and I could just pay her back! We talked about the library and how much it's changed over the years and how they do everything online now where you can even rent movies and books at home. My 5 minutes of needing to pay 15 cents turned into an hour of best part my year.
i LOVE libraries!! they’re like the only public place that just exists purely for anyone and everyone to use for freee!! recently had to use the restroom while i was out n about in a new place and i stopped at the library and i was just wazzing while simultaneously in awe of the fact that a place like that still exists absolutely hell yea i bought a book from their old book sale to support
I've always loved reading but couldn't afford so many. I never really thought too much about going to a library. During the pandemic I discovered anyone in Massachusetts can get an ecard from Boston public library. You can read/listen to books right your phone. In 2 years I've read or listened to over 150 books 🤯. Never could have happened if I paid for all of them. I'm so grateful because I absolutely love reading but having low income always held me back.
Very true about the exposure. I read A LOT as a kid, like I’m talking A FRIGGIN LOT. I read out almost my entire elementary school library, the librarian there is to this day one of my favourite people in the world, and she brought in hundreds of books from other schools because I’d read all the interesting ones in our school. I read through four different local libraries worth of books as well. I was sick a lot as a kid and was in the hospital for a couple months a few times so my love for books blossomed. From that I found many, many different authors I adored. And as I grew up and got money I was able to buy each and every one of their books. Just yesterday one of my favourite authors released another book after a two year long hiatus! And I bought it, of course. I’ve followed many of these authors and stories for over 23 years, buying every novel released. Libraries are heaven.
When I ended up switching majors I had a whole bunch of books from my old history major that the bookstore wouldn't buy back, I figured that instead of just having them sit on my shelf the best way to put those books to use was to donate them to my town's public library, I'll have to go back one day and see where they've put them but it's nice to know that at least someone might get some use out of a textbook I had opened like maybe once or twice a semester.
It was the librarian stationed at the YA desk in the downtown main library of my hometown's library system that handed me a list of new YA novels with Looking for Alaska on it. I was a depressed teen that read books to escape, and in rapid succession I read Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines, and I've been a fan ever since. Still here. Still wearing my Pizza John shirt. Donating to PIH to build a maternity center. Love a great librarian.
I had the most amazing high school librarian. She would recommend absolutely perfect books for me. I loved every single one. And she was nice to me even tho I chronically returned books late
Very true, I live in Germany and I discovered 'Looking for Alaska' in a library as a kid many years ago. I loved it, so continued reading your books, some I got from the library and some I bought when they were published :)
there are so many books that i would probably never have read if it weren't for the library, and many of my favorites i eventually bought my own copies of.
Oh absolutely. When I was in high school, my absolute favorite person was the librarian. She knew me by name. I'd go in once a week or so and check out 5-6 books and she'd always greet me with a kindly "Here for another stack?"
@@MinaF99... Yes? Why does that not check out? I'm a faster reader than most, but definitely not the fastest. And longer ones would usually take another day.
Librarians are the coolest people. I remember in primary school, the one we had let me in to the "grownup section" against the principal's orders (I was obsessed with WWII from age 5 to about 12 and she was my enabler lol).
When I love a book I’ve read at the library, I will go and buy them for myself. I’m definitely not the only one to do that either, so it helps sales for sure. Lots of us like rereading a good book many times. ^^
When my family first arrived in the U.S. from Uruguay, my mom knew my sister and I wouldn't be able to start school right away. My mom was worried about that gap in our education (even though it turned out to be only about 2 months), so even though we had literally just arrived in the country the day before, she took us to the local public library. There she found out that every Saturday they had volunteers who read books to kids, both in Spanish and in English, as well as tons of other activities. Someone who spoke Spanish helped her get a library card (even though we had no proof of address document yet) and my mom brought home a bunch of books so she could essentially homeschool for a bit. The library also told my mom about PBS Kids and shows like Between the Lions that could help us learn English. We entered school already speaking a lot of English after that short bit of time because my mother took us to the library every day. The librarian prepared a list for my mom of public clinics, government offices, and other places that offered public services. She was the one who explained (through a translator) the requirements the school would have for my sister and I to enroll so my mom would be prepared. My mother encouraged us to go to the library often throughout my childhood. 12 year old me couldn't be bothered to do much in terms of exercise or chores but would walk a mile and back every Saturday, even in 105°F summer heat, to get to the library, return 10 books, and check out 10 more. If it weren't for public libraries, public clinics, and public broadcast television, my childhood would have been so much worse. We need to properly fund all those things.
it ties into the open source coding model too. if you make a thing and patent it (or copyright it in this case) you now have exclusive rights to sell it and profit off of it, but that also means no one can use it in any way because it’s yours. if you choose not to patent something, someone else could copy it and sell it, but they could also *improve* upon it. by having something be publicly accessible, someone else could come around and say “hey i found a way to make it better!” and now you have a better thing!
I read 3-5 books per week and I would be absolutely destitute without libraries (or just depressed and bookless lol). Whenever I read one that I really love I buy a copy to support the author!
As a librarian, seeing people online celebrating the importance of the public library as an institution is such a massively validating and uplifting thing, even as our politicians undermine it at every turn, cutting funding and making it harder and harder to access the ocean of literature we should all have at our fingertips. The written word has such power, and it's up to us to spread it.
Here in the UK there is something called the Public Lending Right (PLR) which does pay authors per lend of their books based on a sample data set. However it is optional for authors to sign up to.
Years and years ago, a family friend wrote a book and he sold a lot of copies to libraries. One day he went into the local town library and found his book and opened the cover and saw that only one person had ever checked it out on that little card that's inserted inside the book. The librarian who knew him saw that and had to tell him that the cards get replaced when they fill up and that his book had been almost continuously, checked out since it was acquired. He has since gone on to write 27 more books, including a lot of fantasy trilogy's.
I love libraries and schools because if I really liked a book I find in a library or at school, I'll probably want to buy a copy for myself. Or sometimes it'll be one book in a series and I have to buy the rest to read them
"Every human being should have access to all of the world's information"... That's a pretty wide generalization with a lot of dangerous corner cases :D . Bomb recipes, virus gene sequences, nuclear codes... But I get the sentiment.
Several of the book series I got as a teenager where because I picked up the books in the school libary and then wanted to read more, the downside is I am now missing some of the earlier books
I’ve read plenty of books at the library and then bought them later as well. Also I lived across the street from my library growing up so I’d always walk there and finally a librarian told me if I like a certain book so much I should just buy it haha
From a library employee/future librarian, thank you! So many people don't realize all the library has to offer these days. P.S. reader's advisory technically isn't in the Circulation Assistant job description, but I love recommending cool books to our patrons! I'll look around and see if we have your books or if we need to order them. :-)
To quote a line from the film Good Will hunting "you can get a Harvard quality education at your local public library for about a buck fifty in late fees".
It's also worth recognizing that unless you're a major writer that can sell large numbers of copies over a prolonged period of time, your Agatha Christie, Michael Crichton, William Shakespeare types, there's a pretty good bet that the library will be the main place that people have available to get to read the book. There's a pretty decent chance that a new book will be off the shelf within a matter of a few weeks if it's not on a best seller list. That's changed a bit as Amazon and Ebooks have become a major thing, but that's relatively recent.
Librarian here. After a book is checked out 50 to 80 times, we generally repurchase it. John Green's books cycle through this process so fast that we generally purchase new copies monthly, minimum. To those wondering why we don't clean and repair books instead of purchasing new ones, cost benefit analysis, the cost of paying someone to do that vs the cost of a new book; we generally get books at a discount, whereas staffing is expensive!
i collect cookbooks and i use libraries to try new cookbooks before i buy them. i get to try a lot of different foods and authors i wouldnt normally look at and also find out if its worth making the investment before actually getting the book. i love libraries and i’m lucky to live in a city with such a big and well-funded library system
Agree so much about school librarians. Our ones were fantastic at asking the right questions and finding things that they thought might be a good fit. Not a 100% hit rate by any means, but certainly much better than me bumbling round a bookshop guessing at what I might like. And they got me into Doctor Who through the novels several years before the revival in 2005, which is still my favourite franchise in many of its forms. 😄
When I lived in a really small town the only thing to do other than go to the outdoor pool in the warmer months was to either hit up the local museum which was largely just a local history museum or go to the library needless to say I spent a lot of time hanging out at the library when I was younger because it was something to do when the weather was shit I mean yes I would also go skateboarding at the playground area and utilize the benches and ledges to do tricks but where I lived literally the only two things to do when the weather was crap you was either go to the museum or go to the library and I spent a lot of time doing both of those things and you know what I think having access to all that information is what made me the kind of guy who enjoys learning for leisure purposes
I have never read your books but have known about you and didn’t know until last fucking week that you and hank are brothers I thought y’all were the same person, I’ve watched crash courses from your brother in history class while hearing at home about your books from my sister around my middle school years, her high school years. That’s pretty cool
As a librarian, I really appreciate this 🥰
Librarians are unsung heroes. You guys have to deal with the Moms for Liberty crap on an LOL salary while telling the local homeless guy that he can wash his face in the bathroom but not his entire body nuded up.
Thank you for your service 💜💕
Know why they call 'em librarians?
Because "intellectual badass" - not an official job title.🤭
Doing God's work there, I salute you 🫡
How do you become a librarian? I love reading and always though I'd be an awesome job to have.
If it wasn't for our local library, I would never have made it to adulthood. Stephen King and Isabel Allende saved my life.
Well that’s a nice thing to say, you shouldn’t give someone who doesn’t even know you exist credit for saving your life. You saved your own life by overcoming your own adversity, don’t under sell yourself or your accomplishment. Be proud of who you are.
@@MrCrazyeyes07 Unfortunately you are wrong. Just because the author does not know the reader exists does not mean they did not save their life.
If I am lost at sea, drifting in an inflatable raft instead of drowning, did the designer and manufacturer of the rat not save my life because they never knew of me?
Or if I am in a mentally terrible shape, and someone uses a fresh hot pizza to lure me out of spiralling thoughts, getting me to end the pizza rather than myself, did the pizza not at least help save my life?
@@MrCrazyeyes07 sure they were able to get themselves out of some adversity but what they mean is that those authors prompted them to get themselves out.
A lot like the example the commenter above me provided, sure I can save myself by getting on a raft at sea, but without the raft I wouldn't have been able to, without the raft I wouldn't have seen a way out - which is what the books of those authors did for them.
@@MrCrazyeyes07 I am very proud of the fact that I am still alive. But I know that the hope I read about in House of the Spirits made me keep going. The love I read about in The Wastelands let me know that maybe, just maybe, I could find love someday. And just reading their stories gave me a safe place to escape to, a place without alcoholics and abuse. They don't know me, and they didn't write those stories for me. But those stories saved me. I had to do the work, but they gave me the hope.
@@MrCrazyeyes07 imagine typing this, reading it and saying "yeah, this is constructive, OP will definitely benefit from this comment"
My favorite book series, the Percy Jackson books, I originally read from the library. And now I've bought those books like 3 or 4 different times throughout my life.
Thinking back of how I recently bought all volumes of my favourite books I borrowed from the library as a kid. Full financial circle. Never would've read the books if I hadn't seen the shiny reflective cover that caught my eye at the library.
Yeah I also got the first book of 2 series as a young teenager and read all others from the library. Recently I got the whole series's just to have it in my bookshelf, but all except one were used books though.
My first big experience with books was Narnia and Percy Jackson. My elementary school teacher read it us in class. That began my journey in reading books from the library and even buying books.
This is one of the arguments for piracy. Ethical pirates usually use piracy as a way to try out a game before buying if it is still available for purchase. Libraries also serve archival purpose, books generally aren’t sold forever. Similarly games are not sold forever, and piracy provides for preservation of this sort too
@@1495978707When I was in High School I was a page in the local library. We had a reference set called The Cumulative Index of Books in Print in English. Dunno if it's still around.
In the UK authors get a small amount every time a book’s checked out, under Public Lending Right
There's apparently around 35 countries that have some form of PLR. In the UK payments worked out at about 11p per loan in 2020/21 up to maximum of £6600. It's obviously not something that a person can live off but it does mean that writers still see some income even when their books are out of print.
I know that for quite a few writers it's their favourite check of the year as it tells them that people are definitely actually still reading their books and not just putting them on a shelf to look pretty.
That's pretty cool!
Where i live (Finland), every time someone lends your book from the library, you get paid. My mom is an author, and twice a year she gets a letter from the government with all the information (how many books were lended, how much she made, etc), and its really nice honestly. I think it was something like 0.14€ for every time someone lends your book. If you manage to publish a best seller, you can actually make good money off of just libraries.
Are libraries free or people have to pay to borrow books?
Point 4: It can lead to later sales for the author. How many of us read a book, such as Harry Potter, in libraries for free but then later watched the movie in theaters, bought merch or bought her later books?
Or even just bought the book for themselves. I loved Dune so much I had to get my own copy
But that WAS what he said. The part of introducing his books to a lot of kids.
Sometimes I will just read books at the library for convenience and because I don’t just wanna buy books that I will sell for cheap or later on a whim. I pride myself on having a bookshelf created out of books I love and so far end up reading a book at a local library that I love I will go out and buy it. Not just to support the author but because then I’d be honoured to have the book displayed on my bookshelf. I am a little late on seeing this video but I wanted to get my and share what I personally do is a big bookworm😀📚take
maybe don't use Harry Potter as an example.. J.K Rowling really doesn't deserve any support from people
School library was how i discovered some of my favourite authors because i read the three musketeers or song of the lioness after seeing the books in the library. 👌
I became a librarian a lot because of you! Your praise and love of librarianship in your videos made me really consider the profession, and I love it! So thank you
That's so lovely :)
Man, I never had a teacher that was as cool as ANY of my school librarians. They recommended me some of the best books I ever read. They did not miss with their recommendations. And they were always right.
Huh, I had the opposite experience. I had some great teachers but my school librarians were all terrible.
That's why it's so important to have not just a fully stocked library and librarian, but a librarian's assistant as well to make sure that kids have access to at least a few books that make an impression on them. Being able to read well has a major impact on a person's life.
the library.. wow what a place. i went to the library for the first time when i was 3. my grandma took me every week to encourage me to read and learn something new. i still go to the library as an adult because i just love being surrounded by books. i’m in a room full of thousands of people’s thoughts, feelings, ideas- all written down to be remembered and cherished. and i’m there for free???? what a gift.
🥰🥰🥰 so beautifully put!!
I always tear up when you talk about librarians. We try our best and are used to not get the recognition (or the financial funds to actually do our jobs the best possible way). But it is oh, SO nice when we hear someone praise what we do once in a while. thank you for this and everything else. (also thanks everyone in the comments. you made my day) DFTBA
Aw you are so sweet! I love going to the library. It’s so quiet and their are so many nice books waiting to be read. It’s awesome!
My local library was actually what got me into your books! I think I'd just followed vlogbrothers right around when you released The Fault in our Stars (and I was like 14), so I vaguely knew about it the book but that was it. Every year my library does a summer reading program for k-12. That year they had multiple copies of a LOT of different books, organized by grade level, and any kid who signed up that year could pick one to take home and keep until the books ran out.
TFiOS was one of the high school level books that year. I recognized the cover from TH-cam and I thought it sounded interesting so I chose it. I read it, then got my friends to read it, then ended up buying your other books later on (and getting my friends to read a couple of them too lol)
Absolutely!! Libraries are a vital source of both community, & needed resources of all kinds and means, and they literally give the foundation of knowledge needed to progress in life. They're wonderful tools every community should have and we overlook them far too much
Another big thing: libraries are good for authors because authors are also readers! It's very hard to become good at writing without doing a lot of reading, and libraries make it much easier to read lots of books.
Never thought about that little connection. But you are absolutely correct!
I come from a country without public libraries. Most schools don't have one either. Don't ask the name. Just know we're the poorest in the hemisphere.
My lifeline was old books sent to the country for free by other countries and sold on the street for cheap. Books in French or English. I read everything I could get my hands on. My mom used to buy me a book every Saturday. Bless her ❤️
This is a wonderful story. Thank you for sharing your experience ❤❤❤📚
That's truly unfortunate. People don't really understand just how important it is to have access to a wide range of quality books, especially for the young. It has a dramatic impact on literacy rates and general level of education.
I just wish my city would, you know, *fund* a library.
We used to share the high school’s library for two hours a day (4 to 6 p.m.), but they shut that down during covid. So, now we don’t have a public library in my city.
That is wrong. Where do you live? Is there a subscription / postal library available?
I am sad that is true for you. And for all the kids like you. Can you join another library to read ebooks on your phone?
The library is such an amazing place. I loved going to the library as a kid, and I feel like it's such a good use of our tax dollars. Also there have definitely been books that I read at the library that I ended up buying later on to have one on my shelf because how much I liked it.
Here’s the other thing you have to remember: a lot of times if someone really loves a book they’ll buy a hard copy even if they already could check it out from their library. And if they don’t know a book they’re a lot less likely to just randomly buy it and get interests by it than to check it out and then get interested by the author. I know if I saw a book somewhere that looked like it might be interesting I would try to check it out and if I can’t that probably would just be the end and I wouldn’t bother with it anymore. But if I could and I really like it I might buy a hard copy for myself or for a present for someone who I think would also like it. And I’ll read more of the authors books and I might buy them if I can’t check them out.
I always buy new books when I don't know the author feels like a Gamble. so Whenever I'm interested in the book I always go and check it out from the library first to see how I like it. usually if it's one I really love I will buy it to read again in the future
Libraries and Librarians are cool. I have so many happy childhood memories of walking in the stacks and finding great books. My kids all got cards as soon as they could read.
Yes! As a librarian I try to explain this to people all the time!
The way you speak and the care you have for everyone else is what I strive for and hope the rest of the world catches on soon.
I really, really appreciate this. What a breath of fresh air
As a librarian I say thanks! I loved introducing our patrons to new authors. You really made my day!
I first found your books because of an audiobook service through my library. I can still remember signing up for the waitlist when they got a licence for the peper towns audiobook. I don't think i actually payed for any of your work untill 2012 when TFIOS came out. I know your recent work is more well known but there is a special place in my heart for your first 3 books.
I worked as a librarian for a secondary school for 2 years. I went in with optimism but then discovered that despite the school's push on literacy, there was no budget for the library. £0. How can they say they value literacy when they're not willing to shell out even a couple hundred for some new books? Anyway, I don't work in schools anymore.
Librarian here, everything said here is on point! We also usually buy multiple copies and will replace them so it’s not usually just a one and done thing. Then we’ll often donate books that are too damaged to circulate
Yes! I went to the library in my small town of about 10,000 people and it had a first edition hardcover of An Abundance of Katherines
9 times of of ten i have ended up buying whole series of books after reading one from the library. Heck. I started an origami craze in my elementary and middle school because I told kids how I learned, which was from book in the library
Odd, I know in the UK authors get a small payment for each lend of a book, I think it's like 7p? But that has to add up over time :D
The big US publishers are pushing for a model like this now for ebooks/audiobooks. I didn't realize it was already a thing in certain places. On one hand, it might be OK to have semi-fixer micro-Kindle Unlimited-style subscriptions where publishers/authors get paid monthly based on the number of pages read out of the total pot of pages read. On the other hand, US libraries are parts of notoriously underfunded city governments and are often the first to get cut so forcing them to pay unknown monthly amounts (the proposed model not my capped KU suggestion above) rather than buying books based on how much is left after they know their summer AC bill seems unsustainable.
@@emma70707 At least in the UK's version the money comes from a central fund and there is a cap for each author who has joined. Also joining is voluntary and many authors don't sign up for reasons like John said.
So glad I'm here early, so you might see this. Both you and Hank have been great influences on plenty of people, myself included. Thanks :)
They should be given a set of awards, individually and one together, for being true AMERICAN TREASURES!
I actually bought one of your books but then I moved away from home, to another country, and didn't read the book. So I went to the local library in the new country to read your book.
Very fortunate! Some countries don't even have libraries!
@Nicholas Time Benjamin Franklin developed libraries in the US. Many countries have adopted the model, but I know a Swedish sports writer who said they do not have public libraries. They do have govt funded education, medicine and subsidies for international travel.
Thank you for supporting libraries, librarians, and by extension right of first sale! - A School Librarian
I’m currently earning a master’s in information science and yes!! This!! This is exactly why I chose my degree: it is a fundamental human right to access information to all capacities. I’m actually reading “The Anthropocene Reviewed” right now and have been pleased to see you touch on a lot of information philosophy throughout the book; your idea of a tree falling in a forest making a sound vs. an album not being heard unless played was reminiscent of Buckland’s “information-as-thing,” specifically, Briet’s concept of “things” not being given human-meaning until humans give them meaning. A beyond enjoyable read, especially for someone who grew up watching your videos as a kid!
This librarian thanks you for supporting libraries! We love to make information available to everyone and purchase a wide range of fiction and non fiction for the benefit of our community! Libraries are centers of the community and authors are the cornerstones of libraries! Thank you again!!
As a young author trying to publish my first children's book, I can't wait for the day my book is eventually on the shelves of the library of the elementary school I work at.
I know it will be an AMAZING feeling!! ❤
@@diamondsngunns88 Thanks! I hope so. Just need an illustrator so that I can figure out how I want to publish it. Self or through a publishing company.
Man you really make me hold my librarian heart up high. I remember sitting down and reading every book that came in. So I knew exactly who would like the book and why. And if someone had a question I could answer it. I found the bones books to be my favorite but did not agree with the age range
I always show and broadcast my respect for librarians! I often wonder just how many lives they've enriched and how many lives they've saved.
Ever since I moved to a small town, I haven’t had access to a decent public library in years.
My town has a volunteer run library but really it’s just one room with a couple book shelves (my town is very small, 5-10k ppl)
I do live near a bigger city and they have a public library, and it was free for me to get a card from them up until a few years ago, when the state grant that allowed me to do so, was no longer available for help. Now if I want their library card, they charge $125 a year or something like that. Which is affordable for me but I can well imagine it might not be for many people. And it’s sad to see this resource being taken away
Im an older lady but I grew up poor. My Mother took me to the library and she told me if you could read you could learn anything you needed to at the library. This was pre-internet days. I think the sentiment still stand basic education and access to knowledge are extremely important.
Libraries feel so out of place in our society, yet they are so incredibly valuable. Free and accessible information is such a gift to the world and there's nothing quite like the library for that. And the librarians are always so kind and helpful!
I remember how profoundly my life was changed years ago by your vlog about why you support free education. Some of your vlogs are knockout smashes that could benefit from some curation and signal boosting. What about creating a shorts or best-of channel/playlist?
Seriously? Nothing in life is free. People pay property taxes to pay for education and if you don't they'll sell your house at auction and keep all the money even if it's more than you owe. Wake the F up.
Thank you John. This makes me want to write even more. It gives all authors out there hope that we can have a solid career in this field without having to become the next George R R Martin or John Green!
Australia has a library lending rights scheme where Australian authors, publishers, illustrators etc. can apply for compensation for loss of income through free multiple uses of their books in libraries. Its not a huge amount (17,200 payments worth 22 million AUD in 2019) but I think its an awesome idea to help support the arts.
I'm about ready to buy the anthropocene review in the "loud voice" version audiobook. The wait has moved from 8 weeks to 12 weeks 😁
I basically lived in the library during middle and high school. The librarians would come check up on me before closing up just to make sure I actually left and went home. Skipped school to go to the library, never went to school trips. I was obsessed with reading. So much so that they gave me an unofficial job at the library. They allowed me to go around recommending books to whoever walked in. I could also stand behind their little desk and help whenever it got busy and people had questions. It was really fun. I miss having the time to read like that.
I was introduced to your work in 7th grade with looking for Alaska. I'm almost 32 now and it is still my favorite book. I've read all your books and you remain my favorite author
Libraries are great, I've been using my public library to read all of discworld and I loved it so much that I paid around $700 dollars to buy the complete series. Another thing to remember is that if your library doesn't have a book you're looking for if you ask them they'll have it sent from a library that does for free
I love libraries. Librarians are nicest people ever. I had to pay 15 cents other day and woman was asking how I wanted to pay it which confused me. Then she gave me all these options cash, card, check, she would even take EPay, and also said if need be she would pay it and I could just pay her back! We talked about the library and how much it's changed over the years and how they do everything online now where you can even rent movies and books at home. My 5 minutes of needing to pay 15 cents turned into an hour of best part my year.
i LOVE libraries!! they’re like the only public place that just exists purely for anyone and everyone to use for freee!! recently had to use the restroom while i was out n about in a new place and i stopped at the library and i was just wazzing while simultaneously in awe of the fact that a place like that still exists absolutely hell yea i bought a book from their old book sale to support
I've always loved reading but couldn't afford so many. I never really thought too much about going to a library. During the pandemic I discovered anyone in Massachusetts can get an ecard from Boston public library. You can read/listen to books right your phone. In 2 years I've read or listened to over 150 books 🤯. Never could have happened if I paid for all of them. I'm so grateful because I absolutely love reading but having low income always held me back.
Rip to my fave librarian. Love you always, Snarksonomy.
That’s how I found your books was through my middle school library. It was An Abundance of Katherines ☺️
It warms my bleeding heart to see public figures supporting libraries. 🥰📚
True, there are so many great books I own simply because I've read them to death in the library and decided I wanna read them more often
Very true about the exposure. I read A LOT as a kid, like I’m talking A FRIGGIN LOT. I read out almost my entire elementary school library, the librarian there is to this day one of my favourite people in the world, and she brought in hundreds of books from other schools because I’d read all the interesting ones in our school. I read through four different local libraries worth of books as well. I was sick a lot as a kid and was in the hospital for a couple months a few times so my love for books blossomed.
From that I found many, many different authors I adored. And as I grew up and got money I was able to buy each and every one of their books. Just yesterday one of my favourite authors released another book after a two year long hiatus! And I bought it, of course.
I’ve followed many of these authors and stories for over 23 years, buying every novel released.
Libraries are heaven.
Whenever I find a great book in a library I then buy it to have it in my collection.
When I ended up switching majors I had a whole bunch of books from my old history major that the bookstore wouldn't buy back, I figured that instead of just having them sit on my shelf the best way to put those books to use was to donate them to my town's public library, I'll have to go back one day and see where they've put them but it's nice to know that at least someone might get some use out of a textbook I had opened like maybe once or twice a semester.
It was the librarian stationed at the YA desk in the downtown main library of my hometown's library system that handed me a list of new YA novels with Looking for Alaska on it. I was a depressed teen that read books to escape, and in rapid succession I read Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines, and I've been a fan ever since. Still here. Still wearing my Pizza John shirt. Donating to PIH to build a maternity center. Love a great librarian.
Dude, when you stopped doing the lists I was sad. Glad I found you here.
I had the most amazing high school librarian. She would recommend absolutely perfect books for me. I loved every single one. And she was nice to me even tho I chronically returned books late
Very true, I live in Germany and I discovered 'Looking for Alaska' in a library as a kid many years ago. I loved it, so continued reading your books, some I got from the library and some I bought when they were published :)
there are so many books that i would probably never have read if it weren't for the library, and many of my favorites i eventually bought my own copies of.
Libraries are super important for communities. I love working at one.
Oh absolutely. When I was in high school, my absolute favorite person was the librarian. She knew me by name. I'd go in once a week or so and check out 5-6 books and she'd always greet me with a kindly "Here for another stack?"
You read almost a book a day every week? That does not check out
@@MinaF99... Yes? Why does that not check out? I'm a faster reader than most, but definitely not the fastest. And longer ones would usually take another day.
Librarians are the coolest people. I remember in primary school, the one we had let me in to the "grownup section" against the principal's orders (I was obsessed with WWII from age 5 to about 12 and she was my enabler lol).
When I love a book I’ve read at the library, I will go and buy them for myself. I’m definitely not the only one to do that either, so it helps sales for sure. Lots of us like rereading a good book many times. ^^
Meanwhile labels: "Bus driver's radio playing music loud enough passengers can hear is piracy!"
When my family first arrived in the U.S. from Uruguay, my mom knew my sister and I wouldn't be able to start school right away. My mom was worried about that gap in our education (even though it turned out to be only about 2 months), so even though we had literally just arrived in the country the day before, she took us to the local public library. There she found out that every Saturday they had volunteers who read books to kids, both in Spanish and in English, as well as tons of other activities. Someone who spoke Spanish helped her get a library card (even though we had no proof of address document yet) and my mom brought home a bunch of books so she could essentially homeschool for a bit. The library also told my mom about PBS Kids and shows like Between the Lions that could help us learn English. We entered school already speaking a lot of English after that short bit of time because my mother took us to the library every day. The librarian prepared a list for my mom of public clinics, government offices, and other places that offered public services. She was the one who explained (through a translator) the requirements the school would have for my sister and I to enroll so my mom would be prepared.
My mother encouraged us to go to the library often throughout my childhood. 12 year old me couldn't be bothered to do much in terms of exercise or chores but would walk a mile and back every Saturday, even in 105°F summer heat, to get to the library, return 10 books, and check out 10 more. If it weren't for public libraries, public clinics, and public broadcast television, my childhood would have been so much worse. We need to properly fund all those things.
I also agree that every human being should have access to all of the world's information
it ties into the open source coding model too. if you make a thing and patent it (or copyright it in this case) you now have exclusive rights to sell it and profit off of it, but that also means no one can use it in any way because it’s yours. if you choose not to patent something, someone else could copy it and sell it, but they could also *improve* upon it. by having something be publicly accessible, someone else could come around and say “hey i found a way to make it better!” and now you have a better thing!
I read 3-5 books per week and I would be absolutely destitute without libraries (or just depressed and bookless lol). Whenever I read one that I really love I buy a copy to support the author!
I read your books when I was a teenager because I found them in the teen section if the library
As a librarian, seeing people online celebrating the importance of the public library as an institution is such a massively validating and uplifting thing, even as our politicians undermine it at every turn, cutting funding and making it harder and harder to access the ocean of literature we should all have at our fingertips. The written word has such power, and it's up to us to spread it.
As a librarian I appreciate this message, thanks John Green!
I just realized you're *that* John Green. You've written so many of my favorite books!
No way is he that john green!!! I had no Idea and have been following him for a while 💀💀💀
Here in the UK there is something called the Public Lending Right (PLR) which does pay authors per lend of their books based on a sample data set. However it is optional for authors to sign up to.
Thank you for always being AWESOME ♥️🏆😎🌞💐🇺🇸☮️
Years and years ago, a family friend wrote a book and he sold a lot of copies to libraries. One day he went into the local town library and found his book and opened the cover and saw that only one person had ever checked it out on that little card that's inserted inside the book. The librarian who knew him saw that and had to tell him that the cards get replaced when they fill up and that his book had been almost continuously, checked out since it was acquired. He has since gone on to write 27 more books, including a lot of fantasy trilogy's.
Also don't forget - the more popular a book is, the more copies they'll buy to reduce the waiting list!
I love libraries and schools because if I really liked a book I find in a library or at school, I'll probably want to buy a copy for myself. Or sometimes it'll be one book in a series and I have to buy the rest to read them
Amen to all of that! Librarians are looking out for us!
"Every human being should have access to all of the world's information"... That's a pretty wide generalization with a lot of dangerous corner cases :D . Bomb recipes, virus gene sequences, nuclear codes... But I get the sentiment.
Several of the book series I got as a teenager where because I picked up the books in the school libary and then wanted to read more, the downside is I am now missing some of the earlier books
Comic trade paperback in libraries helped me learn what comics I like enough to spend my hard earned cash on
Bare-faced John with high puff levels makes you look so much younger! I kept thinking this was somehow an early vlogbrothers clip.
Same!
I’ve read plenty of books at the library and then bought them later as well. Also I lived across the street from my library growing up so I’d always walk there and finally a librarian told me if I like a certain book so much I should just buy it haha
When you help the world, you help yourself too
From a library employee/future librarian, thank you! So many people don't realize all the library has to offer these days.
P.S. reader's advisory technically isn't in the Circulation Assistant job description, but I love recommending cool books to our patrons! I'll look around and see if we have your books or if we need to order them. :-)
My two favorite books i found at a libray, proceeded to buy the whole serious of both those books.
I was so surprised to learn that they have cookbooks at the library! I hate spending $20 on them for one recipe or digging for them online.
To quote a line from the film Good Will hunting "you can get a Harvard quality education at your local public library for about a buck fifty in late fees".
It's also worth recognizing that unless you're a major writer that can sell large numbers of copies over a prolonged period of time, your Agatha Christie, Michael Crichton, William Shakespeare types, there's a pretty good bet that the library will be the main place that people have available to get to read the book. There's a pretty decent chance that a new book will be off the shelf within a matter of a few weeks if it's not on a best seller list. That's changed a bit as Amazon and Ebooks have become a major thing, but that's relatively recent.
Librarian here. After a book is checked out 50 to 80 times, we generally repurchase it. John Green's books cycle through this process so fast that we generally purchase new copies monthly, minimum.
To those wondering why we don't clean and repair books instead of purchasing new ones, cost benefit analysis, the cost of paying someone to do that vs the cost of a new book; we generally get books at a discount, whereas staffing is expensive!
i collect cookbooks and i use libraries to try new cookbooks before i buy them. i get to try a lot of different foods and authors i wouldnt normally look at and also find out if its worth making the investment before actually getting the book. i love libraries and i’m lucky to live in a city with such a big and well-funded library system
Agree so much about school librarians. Our ones were fantastic at asking the right questions and finding things that they thought might be a good fit. Not a 100% hit rate by any means, but certainly much better than me bumbling round a bookshop guessing at what I might like. And they got me into Doctor Who through the novels several years before the revival in 2005, which is still my favourite franchise in many of its forms. 😄
"Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card."
Where is Levar Burton when we need him?
When I lived in a really small town the only thing to do other than go to the outdoor pool in the warmer months was to either hit up the local museum which was largely just a local history museum or go to the library needless to say I spent a lot of time hanging out at the library when I was younger because it was something to do when the weather was shit I mean yes I would also go skateboarding at the playground area and utilize the benches and ledges to do tricks but where I lived literally the only two things to do when the weather was crap you was either go to the museum or go to the library and I spent a lot of time doing both of those things and you know what I think having access to all that information is what made me the kind of guy who enjoys learning for leisure purposes
I have never read your books but have known about you and didn’t know until last fucking week that you and hank are brothers I thought y’all were the same person, I’ve watched crash courses from your brother in history class while hearing at home about your books from my sister around my middle school years, her high school years. That’s pretty cool