Do you still use your local library?

Libraries seem to reflect often overlooked changes in society. It used to be that there were many computers for internet use in my library and evenings were crowded with people using them or waiting to use them. That is long gone. Now there are only a very few and most are often without users. People have gotten wifi at their homes now and are sitting there alone in their little rooms exploring the world. Not much person to person socilizing any more.

My library has rows and rows of cd's and dvd's that can be checked out. Thus no need for streaming or Netflix. You can use them at your leisure and can pause them whenever you like. And, see them without commercials. Much better than TV.

I love what my library provides me.
 

I love our library. And I can't afford to buy books as I read so many now that I am retired. I do use the Libby app as well. But I love just browsing in the library. And it is never noisy in our library.
 

I used to go to the library every week, I've spent many enjoyable hours there, now it's all computers for me....reading books and browsing info. Libraries are still a great asset to our communities and cities, I hope they will always be there.
 
I try to get over to our library branch once a week.
Mornings the computers are usually free and I log into my free Ancestry.com account set up by the library.
You have to use their computers to access the site, but I don't mind, saves me money.

Plus, how else would I have found out my Paternal Great-Grandfather's first name was Arrelious
and his middle name was Bonaparte...

Use Libby, Hoopla and kanopy from the house.
 
A thousand years ago, when I was a student at OSU, there was a local bar called "The Library", so students could call home and tell mom and dad "I spend most evenings at The Library". I was not a traditional student and didn't live on campus so this did not apply to me...

I haven't been in a real library for decades.
 
Buckeye said:
A thousand years ago, when I was a student at OSU, there was a local bar called "The Library", so students could call home and tell mom and dad "I spend most evenings at The Library". I was not a traditional student and didn't live on campus so this did not apply to me...

I haven't been in a real library for decades.
Click to expand...
That's funny. Wonder if the parents ever caught on.
UM fan here. Go Blue!
 
Buckeye said:
A thousand years ago, when I was a student at OSU, there was a local bar called "The Library", so students could call home and tell mom and dad "I spend most evenings at The Library". I was not a traditional student and didn't live on campus so this did not apply to me...

I haven't been in a real library for decades.
Click to expand...
Some friends who went to college in Colorado loved to tell the story that they met at "The Library" - a bar near campus. Seems more than one tavern owner came up with this brilliant idea.

p.s. My SIL also graduated from THE Ohio State.
 
Do I use my local library? Yes and no. I use to go all the time and get an arm full of books to check out. Then one day it seemed all the book manufacturers started to use smaller print. :oops: I found the large print books were a tad TO large to read! I also needed to have brighter light to read. I found myself leaning towards the lamp; like a plant to get some light.🫤

Then came the paperwhite kindle! It solved my problem of small print and the need for brighter light. I could then download books from my local library and not leave the comfort of my home.☺️
 
Krystal said:
Do I use my local library? Yes and no. I use to go all the time and get an arm full of books to check out. Then one day it seemed all the book manufacturers started to use smaller print. :oops: I found the large print books were a tad TO large to read! I also needed to have brighter light to read. I found myself leaning towards the lamp; like a plant to get some light.🫤

Then came the paperwhite kindle! It solved my problem of small print and the need for brighter light. I could then download books from my local library and not leave the comfort of my home.☺️
Click to expand...
You can also stream movies for free using your library account and Kanopy.com. :)
 
Though I have a Kindle and have a number of books I like to access regularly there, I do use my local library regularly. But I don't hang out there. I figure out what I want to read sometimes by reading articles online or recommendations here or on Goodreads. Then I place holds on what appeals.

The last book I read from my library was the book recommended here, Tell Me Everything, Elizabeth Strout's 2024 Pulitzer winning novel. Yesterday I picked up Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler, another book that was recommended here which I had put a hold on. I read just a bit before drifting off last night but it hasn't set the hook yet. We shall see.
 
Yes, almost daily using the computer. Looking for a new place to live. I may have just gotten the push I needed to go further since they wouldn't it or didn't what to visit me.

Which tells me how I rate with them.

On occasion I've perused the "Books for sale section" but have limited taste and don't find much
 
My mother used to drop all three kids at the Charleston library whenever she would go to town to shop. All these years later, I'm still going to the library every couple of weeks. It's how I know I've always read about 100 books a year and if I had to pay for them all iIwould need to get a job to support my habit.

I'm lucky to have a really nice, quiet library with the children's room on the lower level where they can't disturb the browsers. They have a huge large print room and if it doesn't contain a large print version of what I want to read I can usually go to my account online and order one from another Ohio library.

We have no late fees, every book is checked out for four weeks and if it gets close to four weeks it will automatically re-new it for us.

I have a special love for books written about 100 years ago, many of which are now rare and out of print, but they've been able to find everything I've ever asked for. :love:

This is the one I went to as a child. The children's section was at the top under that dome, it was like a fairytale land.
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Years ago I regularly ordered Sci Fi books mailed to me. After having finished with reading them, I packed them up and put them in my children's little red wagon and hauled them off to the nearby library. (In good condition) I think those books were the only Sci Fi books they had. :-D
 
Nope. However, a couple weeks ago I had occasion to visit a local library, but not for anything related to books. This particular library has a passport processing/application office. It was time to renew my passport and after an unbelievable ordeal in trying to get a passport photo (long story there, but I'll spare you the details), I was directed to this library.

OK, I checked in at the desk and learned there was a 2-3 hour wait.

No thanks. I made an appointment at the Post Office, which was right across the street -- something I should've done from the outset.

But back to the library. Full of chattering, noisy people. What happened to Marion, the Librarian, from the musical The Music Man? She would've shut that chattering down most ricky-tick.
 

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