Waiting lists at Taichung's public libraries have gotten so long that some popular books take more than three years to arrive, a bad deal for readers and a headache for the city.

• One popular title has 53 copies in the system but nearly 1,800 people in line.
• A reader who reserved it last October has waited ten months and is still 664th in the queue.
• Reservations expire after two years, so some people time out and have to start over.
• Taichung holds 2.67 books per resident, second-lowest among Taiwan's six big cities and below the national average.
• Opposition city councillors want the whole reservation and circulation system overhauled.

Outlook: The culture department plans to cut loan periods on popular titles to 14 days and has already doubled inter-branch deliveries to four times a week, which should shorten waits somewhat.