The library

[braumeister]

We tend to think about things to be thankful for as another year draws to a close, and I was recently thinking about something I'm most grateful for – the public library.

No matter where I've lived, the library's share of my property taxes has been very small – at most a few percent. Yet I've usually received much more benefit from what I paid.

Currently I belong to two public library systems, one where I moved from last year and the one where I live now. Both have apps I use on my iPhone and iPad, and they are so easy to use. When I read about a book I might be interested in, I immediately go to the apps and search the catalogs. Placing a hold is easy, and when the book is available I get an email to go pick it up.

Since I read very little fiction, the books I'm interested in typically cost a lot and would cost me many hundreds of dollars a year to buy outright. Even if a Kindle edition is available, it tends to be much more than any novel. But the library gets it to me for free.

Just one of the blessings of living in this society.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

could not agree more. Many many library visits as a child helped to form me intellectually, and for a bargain price. A great boon considering my family's modest means during all of my childhood.And now, also reading more non-fiction than fiction, it is a great boon in retirement. I often run into several of my fellow retirees, from work or church or both, there as well, for conversation.

 

[Sue J]

I love our local library. I'm there every two weeks. They have a nice selection of magazines so I pick up all the ones that I like to read but I'm too cheap to get a subscription.

They also have a nice array of all the new releases of books, so if I've heard about a new book on tv I know I can find it there. I only read non-fiction, mostly biographies and personal finance and economics.

Our library has a Magazine Express section which has multiple copies of the last 3 months or so of the popular weekly or monthly magazines. Those go out for just one week. That's where I pick up People, Time, Consumer Reports, Money, This Old House. These are quick reads.

They have a large selection of movies and TV series on DVD and BluRay and a few months ago they started a Movie Express section where you can grab a copy of something that's just been released.

We have access to a couple of digital download types for books and audio books. I've tried both of these and I find I like having a physical book in my hands.

Our library is one of my favorite parts of my town. They have been very responsive in keeping up with changing technology. Their public computers are always well used. The place is always busy, it's an asset enjoyed by many people here.

 

[Dreamer]

I could not agree more. We love our libraries. We download a lot of library books onto our kindles. I use to take my grandchild to programs, when she lived in town.

 

[Birdie Num Nums]

Ditto all of the above. I don't have cable/satellite TV; I use over-the-air. My local public library system (a collection of many member libraries) stocks tons of DVDs that supplement most of my other viewing wishes (mostly movies & TV series, plus some "educational" ones). I don't own a PC printer because my printing needs are few, and my library offers 70 pages of free B&W prints per week! I bring in a thumb drive with the files I want to print. My library offers even more. To me, taxes well spent!

 

[rodi]

Yep - I agree. Libraries are awesome and I use ours all the time... Requesting books to be sent to my local branch... or to the closest branch with extended hours during the holidays - my local branch is closed this coming week - but 2 miles away is an extended hour branch.

Our central library, downtown, even has 3d printers you can sign up to use for free. I've taken the kids down to use them a few times.

Libraries are an awesome use of our tax dollars!!!

 

[Lsbcal]

I've got a bunch of books ready to donate to the library (for book sales) in 2017. Luckily this year our county voted a very small tax to support the library whose budget had been cut after the 2009 recession.

Yep, the library is a great institution and deserves our support.

 

[AllDone]

I love my library! My favorite treat as a child was the weekend library visit, but now I never set foot in the place. I download almost everything that I read. My library system is very reponsive about purchasing requested books too.

 

[brucethebroker]

I could spend about an hour a day in library between mags and newspapers. In our last two relocation's, distance to library was a major consideration (walking or biking distance preferred). DW uses the audio books app and we "rent" DVD's also.

Agreed, great use of tax dollars.

 

[Marita40]

Oh yes--one of those huge things that have so impacted your life and we take for granted! We went weekly to our town library and each kid came home with piles of books. I went on to be a Ph.D. in literature due to the habit of reading instilled in me. I can't imagine life without a good book in hand or waiting for me at the end of the day. These days I read more nonfiction than fiction: I've learned that reality is just as fantastical as any make-believe world.
Another huge deal was discovering a couple of years ago that I could get e-books from our library system "immediately" on my ipad. Though I still mostly like actual books, e-books are marvelous in those rare times where I don't have an intriguing book in the house to read.
I have a line from Poe's "The Raven" in my head these last couple of days: "vainly I had sought to borrow/from my books surcease of sorrow." Usually, books transport me far beyond any type of sorrow.

 

[pb4uski]

+1. As a somewhat reclusive teenager I spent a lot of time reading and in the library. There are even a couple old library books in my library. . The local library is on my charitable contributions list every year.

 

[athena53]

Thanks for the reminder! I've had a library card since I was a kid. When I was taking actuarial exams I used to study in the local public library and it was torture to wander through the shelves while taking a break, seeing all those lovely books I didn't have any spare time to read. Now it's a joy to browse and pick out books. I also love being able to renew on-line.

I keep forgetting to check out kid's books when my granddaughter comes to visit- they're arriving in a couple of weeks so I need to do that.

 

[donheff]

I almost never buy books. I put library holds online and pick them up or download when ready. I just wish the library would keep a data base of my reading accessible so I could confirm whether I already read something. Decades ago they did but stopped when governments abused the information to investigate peoples' reading habits.

 

[Philliefan33]

I almost never buy books. I put library holds online and pick them up or download when ready. I just wish the library would keep a data base of my reading accessible so I could confirm whether I already read something. Decades ago they did but stopped when governments abused the information to investigate peoples' reading habits.

There's an app for that. (Probably multiple apps, actually). I use Book Crawler; I think it cost about ten bucks when I purchased it many years ago. Before the app I kept a spreadsheet of books I had read, but if I forgot to bring a printout with me to the library it didn't help. Now I always have access on my phone.

Like others that have already posted, I am an avid library user. Lately it's been strictly e-books because I prefer to read on my Kindle and it's so nice to check out a book at any time with a few clicks.

 

[eytonxav]

I cannot think of anything that comes close to a library in terms of value/enjoyment delivered to patrons. I am also lucky to be married to a librarian, although she is retired.

 

[Lsbcal]

...
Like others that have already posted, I am an avid library user. Lately it's been strictly e-books because I prefer to read on my Kindle and it's so nice to check out a book at any time with a few clicks.

Our library has a fair number of digital books but not nearly as many as they have in print. Seems to be the same for several libraries around our region including the San Francisco library (though haven't check this one recently). The Marin County library has a great selection but one has to be a resident to get access.

The only time I buy eBook's is when we go on vacations that require flying. Partly it's because I'm a cheapskate and partly it's because I'm so selective. Occasionally I don't like my selection which I just return on the next library trip.

DW does a lot of audio books from the library as she paints a lot. She's also an avid library reader and puts me to shame.

 

[Lsbcal]

I almost never buy books. I put library holds online and pick them up or download when ready. I just wish the library would keep a data base of my reading accessible so I could confirm whether I already read something. Decades ago they did but stopped when governments abused the information to investigate peoples' reading habits.

Yes, that would be a nice reader tool which the libraries could easily provide. I keep a "new reads" list and a "have read" list on one of my spreadsheets. It's now 10 years old and has saved me from re-reading some books by mistake.

 

[Koogie]

+1

I have six books out as we speak and DW has a few ebooks as well (she likes them / I need to hold something real)

We belong to three library systems (two from prior houses). Seems to be fairly common these days.

We also use the new digital services from the libraries. Zinio for reading magazines at home and Hoopla for watching free streamed tv/movies.

 

[6miths]

yes libraries are truly awesome!

 

[gauss]

I love the library. Hopefully they will be able to maintain physical stacks full of tangible books in addition to the digital offerings.

I was kind of bummed when the Main branch of the library "Downtown" remodeled and they went to half-height stacks.

-gauss

 

[pacergal]

I love books-- I was a nerdy introvert kid who was (and still remain) a voracious reader. I used to read our encyclopedias when unable to get to the local library! DH and I visit our local library once a week. I am just now starting to use digital versions, but really much prefer a hardback copy.

 

[scrabbler1]

I have always liked libraries, going back to when I was a kid. I worked in my Jr. high school and high school libraries when I was a teenage and later on my local public library as a page for nearly 2 years - it was my first real job.


That good relationship with my local public library paid some dividends when I needed to take out magazines when I was writing some term papers while in college. I'd research the mags at the college library (which didn't allow mags to be removed from the library) then take them out from the local library (and they let me borrow them for 4 weeks even though the limit was 2).


I also worked as a page in my college library for a year. I had a strange class schedule as a senior and they were very flexible in letting me work my hours. They like having someone who already had prior experience as a page.


I didn't use my local libraries a lot when I was working full-time in the 1980s and 1990s. But knowing my way around a public library was always helpful. In the 2000s, when I began working part-time, I had more time to read and took out a lot of books, a practice which only increased after I ERed.


And thanks to technology, I have made better use of my county's overall library system. This includes using their website to request and renew books. They even requested for me a book outside the county's library system.


When I have had PC problems over the years, I was able to use my local library's internet to stay connected. I once had some problems when I had a newer version of Excel installed on a new PC and some old Excel spreadsheets became unusable. I was able to call up those files on the library's PC and resave them in an Excel version compatible with my new PC.


My local library has online access to a newspaper database which I could access even from home, another nice feature.


I never cease to find more ways to use my local library system to help enhance my quality of life, a no extra charge.

 

[pb4uski]

.... I never cease to find more ways to use my local library system to help enhance my quality of life, a no extra charge.

It seems that some geezers (not you scrabbler 1) have been particularly innovative in finding ways to use their local library to enhance their quality of life.

We had the issue arise in a neighboring community a couple years ago of people with no internet access using library computers to watch porn... or worse.... sometimes even within the earshot of children's areas.

I thought it was outrageous but libraries have trouble regulating it. Some libraries that have put filters in place to prevent porn have been challenged by geezers on first amendment grounds. Crazy world.

 

[Potstickers]

I'm a library fan...but please remember that most libraries need financial donations to support programs and services. You can probably contribute to the Library Foundation or Friends of the Library Group and get a tax deduction as well.

Donations to our library's foundation pay for the summer reading program, concerts, adult programs, films, and many programs and activities for seniors. It also funds proof-of-concept like book-club-in-a-bag (15 copies of a book that can be checked out for your book club's use) and many author talks.

Taxes pay the day to day running expenses for most libraries. Most of the extra goodies come from donations.

If you're so inclined, naming your local public library foundation/Friends group in your will can also make a huge difference. Our local history services are substantially supported because of the forethought of several wonderful folks who left us bequests.

 

[Meadbh]

I almost never buy books. I put library holds online and pick them up or download when ready. I just wish the library would keep a data base of my reading accessible so I could confirm whether I already read something. Decades ago they did but stopped when governments abused the information to investigate peoples' reading habits.

You could use Goodreads for that. Currently, I have listed almost 450 books I've read (some of which I've reviewed) and over 50 on my to-read list.

I totally agree that libraries are one of the most valuable public services, for all the reasons stated.