Alameda County Library Orders More "Fifty Shades of Grey" Copies as Demand Rises

As the waiting list grows longer, the Alameda County Library system has ordered additional copies of E.L. James’s "50 Shades of Grey."

The new copies are expected to come sometime in August.

"It's definitely a publishing phenomenon," said librarian Donna Krehbiel, who works at the Castro Valley Library branch.

Krehbiel said among the 10 branches, about 317 people are on the waiting list to check out one of the 49 copies. Almost 60 patrons have jumped on this list . She said the number of eager readers on the lists decrease for the second and third books of the triology.

The Library holds 57 copies of "50 Shades Darker" and a little more than 100 patrons are on the waiting list for it. For the 26 copies of "50 Shades Freed," about 74 patrons are waiting to turn its pages as of July 30.

To meet the demand, Alameda County Library has ordered 25 additional copies of "50 Shades of Grey."

Once checked out, readers have three weeks to read through the titillating pages of the books. Since the book is on the hold list, it cannot be renewed, according to Krehbiel.

She said readers that prefer reading it over a tablet like the Kindle can download e-books. There are 25 copies of "50 Shades of Grey" online and the waiting list is shorter at about 200 patrons. About 100 people are waiting to read one of the 10 e-book copies of "50 Shades Darker" while 83 are on hold for one of the 10 copies of "50 Shades Freed."

The last time the Alameda County Library faced a "publishing phenomenon" such as this was when Kathryn Stockett's novel "The Help" came out in 2009. As soon as it appeared on the catalogue site, Alameda County Library members could request for it.

Krehbiel said that book stayed in demand for two years before even showing up on library shelves. To date, all 42 of its copies are checked out and two people are on the waiting list.

To search what books are available at the Alameda County Libary, visit www.aclibrary.org