Faster, library patron! Watch! Watch!

This morning, Seattlest received a "Notice from the Seattle Public Library." Before telling us that Everything You Know About Sex Is Wrong is now available for us to pick up at the North East Branch, the email said:

Starting April 1, 2006, the check-out period for all DVDs is ONE WEEK. A DVD may be renewed twice if there are no holds on the item. A shorter loan period brings DVDs back sooner for the next person to check out. It also brings the loan period in line with our neighbor library systems.

(Q: Where else have we heard that line about bringing Seattle policies in line with neighboring communities? Answer below!)

The library's website managed to stretch the same information into four paragraphs, although it did add that "the decision was also based on patron comments."

We're sure some patrons did comment on the DVD policy. We were not one of them, mostly because it never occurred to us to say, "By the way, did we tell you we love your 3-week DVD checkout period? Keep it up, thanks!"

One week is certainly plenty of time to watch a library copy of Ugetsu, but you'll have to watch over 3 hours a day to complete all 1068 minutes of Lost: The Complete First Season. A daunting task, unless you're a Lost fanatic. In which case, you probably already own the DVD set, so why check it out from the library?

Patrons can express their disgruntlement (or gruntlement) to Andra Addison, communications director, at 206-386-4103.

(A: If you said "the 4-foot rule," you're right!)