Tag: Libraries

The Irresponsible Reader Rambles about His Library Card

Library ShelvesIf you were to ask if I supported public libraries, I’d reflexively say, “yeah, of course.” What book nerd doesn’t? I reflexively vote yes on various bonds for them when they come up*, I use them all the time—and don’t remember a time when I didn’t (Literally. I’m pretty sure Carter was in office and I would have struggled with a Dick and Jane tome), when I have the opportunity, I can spend an hour or so just wandering around one soaking in the atmosphere. But it’s not something I really thought about—and I didn’t realize how deep my attachment to “my” library was until a couple of weeks ago.

* well, I reflexively support them and then research a bit before I vote, if you want to get technical.

After COVID restrictions lightened up around here (and they were in place far longer than I expected), local libraries started doing nutty things like looking at expiration dates and residency qualifications again. This meant my card, which should have been renewed last year, was set to expire.

And I really wish it hadn’t.

See, last year when we were forced to move, we had choices of what city to move to—there were three that really wouldn’t have affected our commute to work and left us near enough to our church so we could still be a part of it. I jokingly (mostly) told my wife I liked the house we bought better than another one we looked at the same night because it was in the same city as our last home and I wouldn’t have to change libraries (there were other reasons, I should add, and we picked the right house).

As we were preparing to move in, I made the necessary calls to get the utilities switched over and learned something—while our address is in the same city, our public utilities are paid to another city. We’re closer to its water lines, and so on. And therefore…not in my library’s district. So, despite my careful planning, I had to switch libraries.

So what? Well, for starters—other than a couple of additional computers, the decor in the kid’s section, and the shuffling of a couple of categories (note: shuffling, not expanding—possibly it’s contracting), the library I had to switch to looks just like it did when I worked there in High School. I’m pretty sure the tables and chairs are the same ones I cleared a few times a week. When I mentioned that to a friend she told me, “that’s almost impressive,” and she’s not wrong. But that was so long ago George W. Bush was primarily known as one of the owners of the Texas Rangers or as “The President’s son” (if he was known at all). Yeah, it was that long ago. But the lack of change, the lack of—at the very least—expansion of any kind, says something about the state of that particular library (and of the kind of support it receives from the city). More importantly, the collection of books wasn’t that impressive in range or size back then and sure isn’t now.

I should note, the area libraries have this great collaborative agreement and it’s really not going to affect much about what books I can check out physically or electronically, so that’s good. Still, when I got the news that it was time to change, I was surprised at how disgruntled it made me.

I reflexively ascribed it to a silly sentimentality (what kind of sentimentality isn’t silly?) So I thought about the grounds for that sentimentality. My (former) library is where I’d been going for a couple of decades, and like any good Hobbit, I’m not big on change. Also, it was where I took my kids on a near-weekly basis for most of their lives—where I’d exposed them to more books than I could purchase for them (which is saying something), where I’d tried to show them just how wide and varied interests and knowledge could be. We’d taken part in the summer activities—my daughter even volunteered for a summer there. I’d even won my first Kindle Fire from them—which revolutionized my reading (and content for this blog). From comics to non-fiction, DVDs to hard-to-find classic novels, audiobooks to educational programs—it was a major source of all of those things for our family. We’d all been excited a few years back when it moved into a nicer, larger, more modern home and quickly made it a place we enjoyed being in, too.

Basically, all the things I frequently link to in Saturday Miscellanies about why public libraries matter and are important to contemporary society? That’s what I found in my former library—and really don’t see a lot of signs of in the “new” one.

It’s been a couple of weeks since I made the switch—and it’s impacted my life minimally. Sure, I had to type in my new card number into Overdrive, and it messed with the holds I had. But…that’s about it. Although, when I’ve gone to the “old” library to pick up things, it feels a little strange, like I’m just visiting, it’s no longer “my” library. I’m sure this will pass, and I’ll only remember that it’s not actually “my” library when I have to renew my card every couple of years.

More than anything else, my reaction showed me how deep my attachment to the library was, and re-invigorated it a bit. I should really be more self-aware. I also think I should be a bit more active in that support, somehow. More on that later, I hope…

Header image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

Library Haul 8/3/19, My Eyes are Bigger than My Stomach

Sometimes it really hurts when most of your Library Hold list becomes available at the same time.

Case in point:

That’s my library haul for today. 1,654 pages of reading ahead of me—1,410 pages of which are due back on 8/17. Sure, that’s a very doable number, but at least a thousand of those pages are going to be slow work. Oh, and there’s the new Robert Crais book that should be arriving in my mailbox Tuesday (and you know I can’t let that sit around unread).

Honestly, it’s not that big of a problem (and a great problem to have!), but man…I look at that stack and just feel tired. Anyone else ever do this to themselves?

2018 Library Love Challenge

I didn’t do any real challenges this year — other than simply “read as much and as widely as you can” (not sure everyone would agree with my definition of widely — including me) — with one exception: the 2017 Library Love Challenge. Which is basically taking my approach to reading but limiting it to one source: the public Library. I really don’t spend as much time at the Nampa Public Library as I used to — but I still depend on them as a source for books and inspiration. Still, 41 of the books I read this year came from there (more, really, but I didn’t track audiobook sources for some reason).

There’s a nice Goodreads group for this challenge. too. It’s a great source of encouragement — although it could be larger.

Anyway, I liked doing it enough that I’m signing up for 2018, too. You should give it a shot, too. Here’s the info that I blatantly copied from Angel’s Guilty Pleasures:

I hope you will join use in celebrating and support libraries.

If you are like use then you like to purchase every book you want to read. And, well that can put a hurt on your wallet. One way to help lessen the hurt is to check out books (prints, ebooks, or audios) from the library. If you do this then it will help save you LOTS of money $$.

Getting a library card in most places is FREE. So, if you love to read and/or listen to books then grab your library card and join the challenge.

Details:

Runs: January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018. You can join any time.

  • Put a sign up post on your blog or (dedicate a Goodreads shelf or LibraryThing) and link it below. Make sure it’s public.
  • The goal is to read at least twelve (12) books from the library, but you can read more. While twelve is the minimum, there is no maximum limit. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you.
  • Any format will work for this challenge (prints, ebooks, or audios); as long as you checked it out from the library, it counts.
  • Books can be any genre (fiction, nonfiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, thriller, horror, etc.).
  • Crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed, including re-reads. The goal is to support your local library and save money.
  • Write a review to enter the giveaway – 2 sentences or an essay, whatever works for you, but there is a minimum of 2 sentences. Not sure what to write? How about something like, “The plot was a delight, but the characters didn’t capture me.” “I enjoyed the story and really liked the characters.”
  • As an added bonus: We are offering up a GIVEAWAY with this Challenge. Winner will be picked at the end of the year!! The entries are the direct links to your book reviews and you will have until Jan. 3rd, 2019 to enter your reviews in the linky and then the Rafflecopter. Go here to enter the giveaway: 2018 Library Love Challenge Review Link-ups.

 

Levels:

  • Dewey Decimal: Read 12 books
  • Thrifty Reader: Read 24 books
  • Overdrive Junkie: Read 36 books
  • Library Addict: Read 48 books
  • Library Card on Fire: Read 60+ books

 

Head on over to Angel’s Guilty Pleasures or Brooke Blogs to sign up!

I’ll be tracking my reads here or you can see the posts about the books here.

2017 Library Love Challenge

Saw this earlier, and figured I’d jump on — might as well, I’m at The Nampa Public Library at least 2-3 times a month anyway. More importantly, it looks like fun and anything that draws attention to Public Libraries gets my support.

Taken from Angel’s Guilty Pleasures:

—–

Library Love Challenge!

If you love to read and/or listen to books then you also love to buy every book you want to read. And, well, that puts a hurt on your wallet. Checking books (print, ebook, or audios) out from the library can save you LOTS of money and in most places getting a library card is FREE.

Details:

Runs: January 1, 2017 – December 31, 2017. You can join any time.

♡ Put a sign up post on your blog or (dedicate a Goodreads shelf or LibraryThing) and link it below. Make sure it’s public.

♡ The goal is to read at least twelve (12) books from the library, but you can read more. While twelve is the minimum, there is no maximum limit. See the different levels below and pick the one that works best for you.

♡ Any format will work for this challenge (print, ebook, or audio); as long as you checked it out from the library, it counts.

♡ Books can be any genre (fiction, nonfiction, romance, fantasy, mystery, thriller, horror, etc.).

♡ Crossovers from other reading challenges are allowed, including re-reads. The goal is to support your local library and save money.

Write a review – 2 sentences or an essay, whatever works for you, but there is a minimum of 2 sentences. Not sure what to write? How about something like, “The plot was a delight, but the characters didn’t capture me.”

Levels:

  • Dewey Decimal: read 12 books
  • Thrifty Reader: read 24 books
  • Overdrive Junkie: read 36 books
  • Library Card on Fire: read 50+ books

 

As an added bonus: We are offer up a GIVEAWAY with this Challenge. Winner will be picked at the end of the year!! The entries are the direct links to your book reviews and you will have until Jan. 2nd, 2018 to enter your reviews in the Rafflecopter.

What you could win: Winner gets their choice of 2 books (shipped from Book Depository) or ebooks (nook or kindle) up to $12 each. (Open INT)

a Rafflecopter giveawayJoin the Goodreads Group Library Love Challenge, where we talk, share, and discuss the books we snagged/read during the 2017 Library Love Challenge – Click Here

To join this challenge, grab the 2017 Library Love Challenge button and post this reading challenge on your blog to track your progress. Please include a link back to this sign-up post so others can join the reading challenge too. You do not have to be a book blogger to participate; you can track your progress on Goodreads/LibraryThing (as long as you have a dedicated shelf someplace).

Once you have your sign up post live. Add your link!
Please grab the button to share, too!

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