[maxlybbert]

I suspect that the $20 price tag is “per carload” (or vanload, etc.). In other words, it’s only expensive per-book because it isn’t used much. I currently live in South Carolina, and I can use the local library’s website to request an inter-library transfer from several other library systems in the state. I know they wouldn’t make it that easy if they were paying $20 per transfer. On the other hand, your library is probably paying $20/transfer because they do everything they can to make transfers rare.