SDPL Overdrive Stinks (Again), Or the link between Republican Communities and Poor E-Collections

I've spent part of this overcast Sunday afternoon browsing through several Overdrive collections, and I'm happy to report that I've found a number of interesting titles to add to my Kobo. Unfortunately, none of the titles I found were obtained through San Diego Public Library (SDPL). There were several books I wanted to borrow through SDPL, but none of the titles were available to read any time in the near future.

One of the books I searched for was Donna Tartt's A Secret History. I was unpleasantly surprised to learn that if I placed a hold on the book at SDPL, I would have to wait behind 50 other people (!). SDPL only has two copies of the novel on hand, which is deplorable considering that 1.4 million people call San Diego home, and it is especially alarming considering how popular the title is. 

Compared to SDPL, Los Angeles Public Library has 25 copies of A Secret History, with only 3 holds, while San Francisco Public Library has 36 copies of the novel, with no holds. Now why is SDPL's e-collection so dismal compared to the other libraries? The fault is two-fold: San Diego's reluctance to allocate more money towards ebooks, coupled with San Diegans' reluctance to speak out against poor service.

One can't help but wonder whether this state of affairs is linked to politics.