I have seen about 30% of the books I trade  requested with "Conditions," and usually they are the same, i.e. non-smoking home, no animals, etc. Though it is rare, I have received the condition of "No former Library books." This is one I cannot fathom. People will trade & accept paperbacks with worn covers or Hardbacks w/out dustcovers, etc., yet somehow a book being previously owned by a Library is unnacceptable? To some extent, I can understand a person not wanting the plastic binding that tends to cover Library Books for vanity reasons, however that binding tends to preserve the book from damage; not to mention there is an understanding for participants in this website that the books are all USED- if you want a book in perfect condition- buy a new one. 

I really do not understand this request, I have received several previously-owned library books myself & never had issues with that. I am interested to know this: is there is some editing process by the website administrators when people set "Reqestor Conditions", and why is Library binding not acceptable trading? 

No, there is no editong process for Requestor Conditions, although the help center (and the forums, for that matter) have examples of wording, so you may see similar wording on RCs that are discussing the same things.

Most people don't care about ex-library books.

It's not ridiculous to care, though.

Just like some people are not bothered by writing or highlighting in a book and some people are really bothered ....

I myself am picky about ex-library books. Libraries do different things with their books, and I have seen ex-library books covered top to bottom with stickers like you wouldn't believe. I don't like to look at stickers on the spines of books. So, if a library puts ONE unobtrusive bar code on the front cover, I can deal with that. If they have covered the spine with a ridiculous amount of stickers, then I don't want it.

I just don't like tons of stickers on the spines of books.

Smoky books, on the other hand ... couldn't care less. Doesn't bother me at all.

YMMV.

I am ALWAYS happy to send a like-new book to someone that has that in their RCs ... if your book is like new and the person who requests it in that condition is first in line, how happy that it can be sent to someone else and make them happy!

Usually I am sending out my like-new books to people who don't notice and don't care.

And, I will say, people send me like new books all the time. I do notice, and it's very nice, but I don't care. I jam them in my purse and they look like crap (but postable crap) in no time.

I definitely can understand not wanting a lot of clutter on the binding- I usually remove that if it's excessive or if it doesn't ruin the book cover. (Quite frankly, I won't trade a book if that is the case). Once I even discarded the dust-cover because of the stickers & after I read it, traded it w/ a person who had no problem with that.

I have no issue w/ Requestor Conditions as whole, & almost always can meet them, but this one seems like pure book vanity to me. The majority of Library Bindings are not a nuisance, and some can even be removed, so denying oneself a book based off a Library Binding seems like the person is losing on the opportunity to read a book over something so trivial. 

I'll also add that if a book has damage, such as the pages have come lose from the binding, or the binding itself seems over-worn from multiple library checkouts- it probably does not meet the criteria as "tradeable" & I wouldn't try to foist it on anyone through a trade. However, I have a perfectly good book on my bookshelf- it's in excellent condition, no writing or marks or damage of any kind, and it has the tell-tale plastic binding & sticker of a former Library owner, yet somehow it isn't acceptable to trade based on the "RC." I do not understand this.

some people like vanilla ice cream, some don't. I don't like ex library books. If the book has been checked out a number of times the spine can be tilted badly and the binding separated in the center portions of the book. If you like library books good for you. I think you should be careful about looking down you nose at people who are different from you. I don't like library books and I don't think I need to justify that to you. You can have all the library books that I don't want.

The website has clear parameters for acceptable trades, and it includes Library books.

Most people can use common sense in regards to re-trading, for example if the pages of a book have come loose from the binding, it's probably not tradeable. 

One person's silly is another persons preference. It's as simple as that.

I think it's silly to care about dog-eared pages or creases on the spine, or folds in the cover, but it bothers other people alot.

I won't read or buy a hardcover without a dustjacket, no matter how cheap it is. I realize some people think that's silly too. but the dustjacket is part of the reading experience for me and the book lacks something without the cover. Some people don't seem to feel that way. They can keep all their dustjacketless books.

Maybe the stickers are easy to remove and maybe they won't come off without damaging the book. It's a crapshoot. But all things being equal, I'd just prefer books without the spine stickers in the first place. And since ex-library books are the ones most likely to have the stickers ...

I don't know why people don't look at ex-library books well enough. I like to get teen hardcovers. I can guarantee you that if I get a broken binding, it will usually be an ex-library. I've received a lot of great ex-library books & some really nasty ones too. I understand that requestor condition.

this may come as a shock to you but not everybody abides by the guidelines of the site. I have found in my experience one of the most often abused books I have received have been library books. That is why I don't accept them anymore. I make exceptions occasionally. I am waiting for a library book on its way to me now. I hope for the best. It would be nice if everybody followed the guidelines of the site.

I am sorry you are offended by my approach to your topic. I at least do not view this as a trivial subject.

oops

The website has clear parameters for acceptable trades, and it includes Library books.

This website also allows members to use Requestor Conditions.

One of the things that I like about this site is the many ways to use it within its guidelines.  Just because one member uses the site differently from me doesn't make me right and him/her wrong.  If your book is ex-library and when posting you receive an RC that requests no ex-library books, just click "My book does not meet these RCs" and move along with your life. I try not to waste time and effort figuring out someone else's priorities in life.

I think everybody who posted in this thread needs to send some love to miss Caitlin. She apparently is very offended by my posts. She has sent me 2 or 3 personal messages letting me know how inappropriate my posts in this thread have been. Please send some positive thoughts her way. even though she thinks we are silly.

Thank you all for your helpful insight on this matter. I will keep it in mind for future trades. 

Make life easy and just decline all requests with RCs! 

I have that RC on some of my requests for 2 simple reasons. One is often I am replacing a copy I have received earlier that may have been a paperback, bookclub, ex-lib, or just beat up copy with a cleaner copy of books that I like to keep. The other reason is that some of my requests are sometimes from a list of book a library is looking for for their shelves (often out of print books that their copy have become too worn or wasn't returned). One library does not want stamps or stickers from another library on their book.

In my experience, some of the more obscure books I have wished for and surprisingly gotten have been ex-library.

I think one of the biggest mistakes anyone can make on a site like this is assuming that everyone lives, thinks, and experiences life just like you do. We are all different, with different expectations of the books we receive here...RCs allow people to let others know exactly what those expectations are and I would far rather be told upfront what they expect, even if it seems ridiculous to me, so I don't waste my time, goodwill and money sending a book to someone who isn't going to be happy. It's far worse dealing with someone who hasn't educated themselves on what is allowed here who then RWAPs me for sending a postable book because they haven't bothered to learn what's allowed or how to set up an RC.

I agree with Sara..some library books have a lot of stickers. Also, some have discarded on a lot of pages. I don't mind ex library books but the amount of stickers and discard or withdrawn in them shouldn't be excessive.

I think one of the biggest mistakes anyone can make on a site like this is assuming that everyone lives, thinks, and experiences life just like you do.

I send out a lot of ex-library books, and only once did I have a problem, and it wasn't mine. i sent the book which happened to be an ex-library book, and the receiver sent a PM stating that they hadn't wanted an ex-library book but had no RCs against it

I am very selective about which ex-library books I get though, and fortunately our library is digital, and I always remove the stickers, and there usually aren't many. 

I personally find that the ex-library books I pick up are usually in great condition, are clean and love the plastic cover over the dust jacket. Pat

You have to understand, ex-library books are postable according to the club rules, but many requester's don't like or want ex-library books. I've gotten a few RC's about not wanting ex-library books. If my book meets the RC, I will send it. I have more important things to worry about than stressing out over a simple RC. Please don't send me a PM about you not liking my post. A few people have been suspending for what the club calls harrassing PM's.

Amber,

I get pms like that too. Usually I just ignore them but my favorite ones are a variation of this: they say something harsh in the thread, and 1-3 minutes later you get the pm of, sorry I had to be so mean but you have to realize you're opinion is wrong. I'm sure you'll realize that now and refrain from posting that opinion again. I'm really sorry this had to be said.

Umm yeah.so you wrote your post, hit submit, immediately went to pms to pm me. 

I have never felt the need to do that to anyone but ce la vie. It hurt my feelings the first couple of times, now I shrug it off.

"If your book is ex-library and when posting you receive an RC that requests no ex-library books, just click "My book does not meet these RCs" and move along with your life. I try not to waste time and effort figuring out someone else's priorities in life."

Valerie, I couldn't have said it better myself!

Sally W. said, "I would far rather be told upfront what they expect, even if it seems ridiculous to me, so I don't waste my time, goodwill and money sending a book to someone who isn't going to be happy. It's far worse dealing with someone who hasn't educated themselves on what is allowed here who then RWAPs me for sending a postable book because they haven't bothered to learn what's allowed or how to set up an RC."

I love PBS. If you want a book on my shelf, that is great! If there is an RC, I can deal with that, too.