Sunday, February 19, 2012

Check It Out


Every so often I have to put in a plug for the library.  Where else can you get all this for free?  If you aren't already using your library, what's your excuse?

I prefer to read e-books.  More and more libraries are offering free e-book downloads, and they aren't just classics or terrible self-published books.  Even Kindle users can read library books now!

I can never keep track of when things are due and always end up having to pay fines.  Many libraries have it set up so you receive an email reminder when your books are coming due.  Library Elf is another option.  My low tech solution is to put my library receipt on the fridge door.  That's one place I'm definitely going to look every day! 

Library books are full of germs.  I've always been a heavy user of library materials and have been working there for ten years now, and I haven't contracted any horrible diseases or gotten sick any more frequently than normal.  If you are really worried about it, wipe down the book covers before you read them.  I don't think people touch the pages too much.

I don't read.  Libraries these days have more than just books, including large dvd collections and sometimes even video games.  Long commute?  How about an audio book to listen to in the car?

They never have the books I want. They very well might have exactly what you want, but it doesn't happen to be checked in or is at another branch. Find out about your library's hold policy.

In Not Buying It, Judith Levine suggests another solution to finding great stuff at your library: Adjust your expectations a little. You may not be able to cruise in and pick up the latest dvd releases or current best sellers, but what about all those books you meant to read someday and never did?  Or how about staging a retrospective of a favorite actor's movies? 

How about you?  Do you use your local library?  It might be worth checking out! 

5 comments:

Robin K. said...

I live outside of the city limits, and have to pay $60 for a years worth of library usage for my family and I---it's the best $60 dollars worth of fun that you could ever have. I use both the physical library to check out books and music, and I have been downloading ebooks and audio books on to my iPod for a year now. I even checked out an electrical usage meter to figure out how much electricity some of my old appliances were using up (a lot!). I haven't tried checking library books out on the kindle yet, but I do download loads of free books from Amazon--I just make sure that there is lots of good feedback for a title first.

lorena said...

I love my library! I put books on hold through their online system then I get an email when the book is ready. I even get an email reminder about a week before the book is due. I haven't tried the ebooks they offer yet but I want to.
I also do push public library use to my kindergarten students and their parents, no reason not to start them early, and we do two library field trips a year. ;)

Denise said...

Germs on the books? Really? What a lame excuse.

Anita said...

I love the library! As a child, I would 'play librarian'. I don't go to the library physically as much these days but I utilize the digital library every day, playing the books on my cell phone or reading them on my computer. And I have a small collection of books of my own, mostly reference because I prefer to borrow them from the library. :D

Kris said...

Why doesn't everyone love the library? I just don't understand! We are there at least twice a week. We rent movies and video games, borrow books and books on tape, and now I borrow kindle books as well. Sometimes my husband looks at my big stack and says, "You should leave some books there for everyone else!"
We have been bad lately about returning things late, but paying a few dollars in fines is still SO much cheaper than buying all of that stuff would be.
We also love the art shows at our library, the events for kids, and my daughter meets her tutor there to study. There really isn't anything I don't like about our library. Or about libraries in general!