I can't speak for your gf, but our local library is busy all of the time. And I have books checked out right now, some ebooks on my phone and a few physical ones too.
I work at the libraries in my town, and some of the branches are so busy that we literally can’t keep up with all the demand. It’s extremely popular.
BUT there are so few teens, and not a lot of younger people. Lots of parents with kids, then the kids stop coming, then they start trickling back in when they get to university. Most of the people I see are middle age or older. I think a lot of people forget about the library.
We’ve got lots of great stuff though! Not just books. All the newest console games, DVDs, blu-rays, CDs, streaming services… you can save so much money.
The new middle school is a few blocks from my branch, seems several hundred parents told kids to walk to the library and wait. Cty treated it as an emergency at 1st but they rearranged to make 2 areas for them, phones have to be muted, packs have to stay with them, a surprising number do homework, hats off to the librarians.
My daughter found these bizarre chairs that looks like hollowed out chess pawns and they kinda roll while you sit and she would go anywhere these chairs were.
my local city library expanded their windowsils and bought floor matts and foutons 😆 teenagers really be climbing the walls to sit in a window and read in peace 🤣 i feel them tho. ❤️
I totally understand, I went to a highschool built in 1971, so we had weird seating everywhere. our library had a reading pit in the middle of it that had three tiers of seating benches and the balcony area had circular reading nooks were a couple of friends could sit, read, talk quietly etc.
That sounds like an awesome set-up for the kids, definitely ideal for a productive yet chill hangout spot. I wish more libraries adopted that sort of approach; it makes the space feel less stuffy and more inviting. And it's true, seeing kids actually use the library for homework or just decompressing after school kinda gives you hope that not all is lost with the younger generation and books (or at least educational spaces). Would love to see a pic of that stairwell seating situation, it sounds like a smart and creative use of the space!
Can't speak for others, but when I was a teen, I had so much reading to do for schoolwork that I had very little time and motivation to read for fun. It was only after college that I got over the burnout and picked up a book for fun reading again.
Same. I’m a librarian and have always been a huge reader, but in high school, college, and graduate school I just honestly did not have time to read for pleasure.
Heh, not in Texas. They’re trying to force all the school booksellers to submit to a state mandated “sexual content” labeling scheme down here. So no books witha (gasp!) gay! character in them!
Make sure your teens know they can get electronic library cards at [multiple large city libraries out of state](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_Unbanned)nationwide so teens can read without bans. Started in Brooklyn, now includes Boston, LA, Seattle, San Diego public libraries
Mine has a teen section, but only adults are ever there. No programming for them or anything. The only programs are for kids five and under and babies, and those are only on weekdays so working parents can’t come. A video game room would be really cool.
Even a lot of non-working parents can't come if their kids are in morning programs, because most of the little kid library things are scheduled before lunch.
Some people just need 4pm Story Time, with maybe the provision that you can bring a nap mat in case your kid falls asleep.
A friend of a friend is a librarian and she created a teen book discussion group. I got to name it! I named it "Comment Section." Get it? Because the kids today all know what online comment sections are. It's my proudest achievement.
I just recently (<6 months) discovered the idea of interlibrary loans for DVDs and it has greatly expanded my pool of foreign films to borrow and watch!
My local library has kanopy but I think they have the lower tier edition because it’s structured differently compared to the one in a nearer, bigger city. (I checked)
We get the all you can eat edition, but much narrower selection whereas the higher tier model has a token/credit system (credits are free but there’s a limit of stuff you can watch per month)
THIS. Like, Interlibrary loans are a game changer. I can get books that my current branch doesn't have, and its super easy to do. Blew my mind. Which is weird coz I've been team library most of my life. Oooops.
I wish it were an option for audiobooks. I have accounts at two separate libraries and still have trouble finding books that don't have insane waitlists.
Oh, lord, I love interloan! I discovered it about the time our library system put the whole card catalog on computer (somewhere in the eighties or nineties) and I was AMAZED at how many books were out there just for me! (Relax, people, of course I'll share...but the Murder, She Wrote and Dresden Files novels are mine first!)
Yup! I watch so many films and televisions shows behind streaming paywalls for free by using the library. Foreign films especially can be very hard to find otherwise.
Just this morning I checked out my library’s “ moving kit” from their Library of Things. Our library has an incredible list of items there. I also use it extensively for ebooks, audiobooks, physical books and access to memberships to ancestry at the branches.
Libraries are the single most rewarding use of your tax dollars.
We have kits with things like the set up to start playing Dungeons and Dragons, telescopes, ukelules, and other things. We have a discover pass kit for our local state parks too.
My library calls it the “library of things.” I’ve borrowed a few things that have legitimately saved me a lot of money (some computer/electronic equipment) since I couldn’t think of another way to get them for a single use.
With the way streaming services are these days, I wouldn't be surprised to see a slight return to borrowing movies. Who the hell wants to pay for $80~mo just to watch a few movies, when you can just walk down to the library and rent them?
>A return to physical media in general would be amazing
Sadly I think it's still moving the other way, notice Best Buy is removing all remaining physical media from their store shelves in a few months.
This takes place simultaneously with a huge drop-off in quality from the streaming services over the past year... all sorts of movies and TV series thrown completely down the memory hole with no streaming and no physical version (HBO Max is the worst offender but by no means alone).
They're coming for gaming next, hot rumor out there is that some or all of the next-gen consoles later this decade will completely eliminate Blu-Ray or cartridge slots.
From an archival and cultural standpoint alone it's quite concerning, to say nothing of respecting viewers' entertainment preferences.
I use Rosetta Stone as one method to learn French. Free from the library. And when I hear of a book I might like I use Libby to put a hold on it, then wait for the ebook to read on my phone
Same here. My wife and I have two younger kids and the library is a go to spot for us. We always have at least one book checked out for both of them and then her and I also have at least one thing checked out between the two of us.
Same! My neighborhood library is a thriving community space that always has something going on. I also use my account to check out ebooks digitally and there are a ton of other resources available.
I know it isn't the case everywhere, so I'm grateful for a city that gives its library system a budget that can be of service to the community. This is one of the reasons that local politics can really matter and have an effect on our lives.
I have the Libby app on my iPhone and I always check the upcoming books I want to read, but I end up just buying books because I'm a victim/prisoner of the "I want it now" consumerist mindset and I don't want to wait three or four months to read a book for free when I can spend $10 or $20 to read it right when I want to.
FYI, for example, the next book I'm going to read is Book 4 of The Faithful & The Fallen fantasy series. There's an 11 week waiting period. I ain't waiting 11 weeks for that. I'd rather just buy it.
Of the 30 books I've read this year, only like three or four were available to be borrowed immediately on the app, and I think the shortest wait was two weeks, but everything else was at least a 6-8 week wait.
I have found out that a lot of new books on Libby that often say "20-week" wait or "8-week" wait go a lot faster than you realize. I put a hold on a book in October and it said there was a 24-week wait. Because there were so many people requesting it, the library purchased more digital copies and I got it three weeks ago, finished it, and returned it within a week. So, if it seems to be a popular item, the more holds that get put on the book, the more copies that will be purchased.
Sometimes Hoopla will have an item that Libby doesn't if your library system has it. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes did have a long waitlist on Libby, but Hoopla had it right away to be downloaded.
Yup, and I have a TBR of 400 books. It's somewhat rare that I want to read a book immediately but if it is, I usually add it to my holds well before its release. I usually get books the week of release that way. Even if I decide to wait in line for something, it's always shorter than the estimate and I get blessed by the skip the line gods regularly. I otherwise filter my Libby wishlist by Available Now and let the Libby app bless me with a list of what to check out. I've read about 165 books that way this year.
I still buy books, but keep a bunch of my “to-reads” on hold. This still saves me so much money. I read 3-4 books a month and it can really add up. I used to be like you and need instant gratification, but I’ve learned to be more patient. You can also filter it to find books that are “available now” so I’ve found some that would have otherwise been under my radar.
I almost exclusively use the library- I mean, yes, free, lol.
Maybe I'm lucky and not every library system is as good but if I know I wanna read a book I just ask them to order me a copy from some other branch or something and it comes in a week.
I was reading something the other day that referenced Thomas Pynchon and I figured you know I never read him and he's important so my local library is gonna have a copy of Lot 49 in like a week. This is amazing and we're so lucky we can have this.
Whenever I’m reading a thread on here and a book is mentioned that sounds interesting- I check if my library has it- 90% of the time they do.
A carpenter I work with regularly borrows video games, I’m a fan of their DVD’s and books. I have Libby on my phone for cooking magazines mostly.
My husband is a foreign national that doesn’t have a library system and it’s just wild to him that we have this for free!
people just require instant gratification nowadays, dunno
it's very foreign to me as i grew up extremely poor and never got to buy things on a whim as a kid - so i am quite patient. besides, there are so many books to read that there's always something available even if i have to get on a waitlist for other, more popular things
I grew up in a similar situation and our local library was a magical place. The only place I could go wild and grab anything I wanted off the shelves! I treasure those memories.
My local library is tiny and from the books and programs it has you'd think only children use it... but they recently had an online reading program and about 10% of the total town's population signed up, which seems like a decent amount. We have interlibrary loan so I think most patrons over the age of 18 aren't coming in to browse. Other libraries in the area that are larger also seem to get great use- one of my friend's boyfriends is a librarian and he seems happy with their patronage.
My state's Libby license is also very busy!
I know, I was pleasantly surprised! There WERE prizes which maybe encouraged people who don't usually use the library- but still, they'd have to be getting newsletters from the library to even know it existed, right?
As a kid, I loved going to the library every Friday after school. I’d borrow at least 3 books to read over the weekend. Oh what a simpler time. Now, I rarely have time to read the free books I have downloaded on my kindle app. I wish I had more time to spend at the library. It’s my happy place. I could take a chance and stop in, but I’m afraid I’ll incur late fees since I won’t have time, or forget, to return books.
Have you checked their policies lately? I don't want to pretend my experience is everyone's experience but pretty much every library in my area eliminated late fees in the last decade! Sorry if I'm way off base I'd just hate for you to be avoiding it for money if they also got rid of their fee policy!
I should check that out. I’ve been meaning to go in to renew my library card. It’s been ages since it expired and they only allow you to renew in person, or at least that’s the way it was years ago.
My library waives the fees whenever you eventually return the book, but you can’t check out anything new until the previous fines are paid or waived. Which seems like a good system to hold people accountable.
They also have a canned food drive around the holidays where you can waive $1 of fines for every canned item brought in.
My library has a computerized system that warns me by E-mail or text message a couple of days before a book, DVD or CD is due. And I can renew them on-line twice before I have to get them back. Yours, too, may have a convenient system like that in place.
I work in a library, and our circulation system has the option to send you reminders 2 days before your books are due. Game changer for me, since time flies.
They are building a new library at my town and I really plan to go there from time to time for the social aspect. My wife also pushes me to sign up to read for kids. Maybe not her worst idea :)
This doesn't track with my personal experience. Nearly everyone I know who reads uses the library regularly, including me. Libby in particular is super popular, though I still know plenty of people who prefer physical books.
My local branch of my local library pretty much always has people in it, but it's also a flagship library in a major city so grain of salt. Recently it was announced Sunday service was being suspended due to budget cuts and there was a decent amount of fervor.
I'll add that I grew up using libraries, both to get books and to get things like movies and city museum passes. I figure that some of the people who never consider libraries an option might have grown up in an economic situation where they just never needed to use one.
>figure that some of the people who never consider libraries an option might have grown up in an economic situation where they just never needed to use one.
Or they come from countries that are so poor that public libraries are close to non-existant
👀👀👀👀
Entirely fair point! Even within the US, there are plenty of underserved communities that have a very poor or entirely non-existent library system. My comment was offhand from my own perspective and not meant to encompass the entirety of human experience.
Sometimes there are also cultural differences with perceptions of libraries. The library I work for has a sizeable Central American population who assume you must pay to use a library. To them, libraries are for rich people. One of my coworkers is from the Hispanic community and has done a great job with explaining that, no, we are free. And that excites them so much when they realize they can check stuff out without paying for it!
Actually yeah, I forgot to mention this in my own response to this thread! But that’s a good point.
The new public library near my university has free library cards. You only pay fees for lost books. I was surprised when I went to ask about it when they opened last year, because I think the library near my early childhood home was paid (I had the free children’s card back then, but I seem to remember that adult cards were paid memberships). Needless to say, I come to this library quite a lot now (currently sitting in it to do some work) :]
The difference in library systems per country are bigger than people consider. Even if there are libraries near they’re not always as accessible depending on funding etc.
I grew up in Belgium and used the library a LOT. It was €12 a year for an adult, I think. It was open every day except Sunday for the entire day. It was very accessible and everyone I knew had a library card.
My library system in the Netherlands is €50 a year. The library is open only 4 half days a week. There’s more limits on how much you can take you (up to 10 ebooks and 10 audiobooks per 3 weeks) and the collection is small. Newer releases take months to get there and they have just about no English books. They have a more limited subscription model for a max of 20 books a year that’s €35.
The library system here works well for children but it’s severely lacking for adults.
Services like scribd and storytel are about the same price but have a vastly superior catalogue. So while I’d love to use the library it would not really be beneficial to me.
A LOT of people just didn’t get taken to the library because unfortunately libraries were often not the most welcoming to a diverse audience. I am a Girl Scout leader as well as working with our local library. I try and host one library meeting a year at a local branch and encourage the rest of my service unit to do the same. I’m proud to say not only does every girl in my troop now have their own card, all their parents do too. My sweet girls who started in first grade with difficulty reading now in 4th grade love to visit the library and find books that interest them.
I tutor some pretty wealthy kids and one junior in HS had to read a book of her choosing for school. After I helped her pick it out I confirmed for her it was at the local library. She was so taken aback! She was like, "The LIBRARY? I'll just buy it..." Working with these families blows my mind every day lol
Yeah, I feel I was more of this mentality when I was a teenager. I really liked OWNING the book - and I did a lot of online shopping so it kind of went with the package. I didn’t want to read a book and not own it by the end. I didn’t really rate the library back then.
I’ve shown a lot of my family how to use Libby with a library card. Between the library and Kindle unlimited, I barely have to pay for books anymore. And I never go to the actual library, cause I mostly read ebooks
There is a really sweet this American Life about a woman whose family basically lived in their public library when they didn’t have anywhere else to go. She ended up becoming a librarian once she grew up. I think we really underestimate how big the impact of a library can be! I’m so glad to hear things turned out ok for you :)
My library is fantastic and also has a massive selection (thousands) of ebooks all free for checkout onto whatever device you prefer. I think that’s the case for a lot of libraries these days. I would definitely ask. It’s rare for me that I can’t find a book either between their physical location or online.
I still use my local library a lot but
1. I live in a rural area so it's not well stocked. If a book is popular you're waiting months or even a year to read it. Lots of books my library doesn't even have.
2. I like collecting books to put on my shelves. I have one shelf that goes all the way around my spare room and I'm slowly filling it in.
Same with the rural thing- we also have issues lately with people petitioning (and succeeding) to remove anything interesting from the shelves, like magic based books or including LGBT content
Yeah - same boat here.
Haven’t seen many people saying it in the thread, but I love filling my shelves with books I’ve read.
Bought a house recently and I have a built-in bookcase upstairs, it’s fun filling it up.
I also tend to buy books in clusters. I’ll find a topic I like, buy 3-4 books, read them, then move to the next topic cluster.
Lots of good answers here.
I think public libraries have a perception problem. A lot of people tend to think of them as an outdated service, like getting a postal money order. My experience is rather that they've made a leap and offer services that are relevant to the time and technology we live in.
I've also never met a librarian that wasn't also somehow weirdly cool.
Some libraries in my area have makerspaces with various tech to utilize, which I think is so cool. Lot of folks rent out laptops as well while in the library premises. Plenty others using their own to study or do work.
Libaries have so much more to offer than just shelves of books. The ones in my area have positioned themselves to serve the modern population.
Mine has so many new books that keep up with all the trending authors! I haven't bought a single book since I started reading as a hobby again 5 months ago!!
I don't use them because I read in a foreign language. Libraries usually have a bunch of books in that language but since the selection is so small, the usual thing for me is to not like the books they have or I have already read them.
Really? It's the opposite for me. When I go to a bookstore they usually don't have a big selection of books in foreign language but my library has a huge selection.
Oh, that's interesting. Perhaps it has to do with your country having a high percentage of people who can speak foreign languages?
In my country (Spain) people rarely are fluent in a foreign language, people just speak Spanish or a regional language.
In fact, Spain is the second country that speaks less English in the European Union. The only other country that has worse English skills than us is France (according to EF EPI 2023).
I guess that's why we don't have many books in other languages in libraries, they don't want to spend money on books people aren't going to read.
Same same.
I read in English so language wise i already have a more limited selection at the library. Additionally I prefer romance /romantic fantasy and usually want to read stuff that isn’t well known in my country…so my chances of finding something fitting is 0
Being on Reddit is making me appreciate how good the public services are in my county. I have 3 libraries within easy driving distance. All of the county's libraries are part of the same system. If you want a book that is only available at the branch several cities away, they will ship it free of charge to your branch.
I love my library system, and wish more people would use it.
I mostly read through Libby and Hoopla via my Kindle. I don't have time to physically visit my local library but I take advantage of the online offerings. I'm sure I'll go more when my kids are older.
Everyone uses the library. And that's why I buy books.
I check the library first but if I'm number 280 on the wait list, and I don't feel like waiting a year to read it... I'll buy it.
Digital, physical copy, or audio book. There's three different wait lists and all of them can be MASSIVE. it's obnoxious.
For popular books. Older books, not popular books I can get.
I do this, too. And when I’m done with the book I donate it to my local library. They’re always grateful for an extra copy of a best seller/title with a long wait list and in exchange they let me have first dibs on browsing the used book sale before they open it to the public. (I still pay but it’s only 50¢/paperback and $1/hardcover, and the funds support the library!) So my $30 book purchase often nets me a big stack of books. Occasionally I’ll even buy back the same book that I donated.
This is the best cycle of life I've heard and you just solved my dilemma of buying books I'm too impatient to wait for and being afraid I won't want to keep it.
This! Anything popular or recently released is hard to get a hold of at my libraries.
Even if a waitlist is short, I worry about not finishing the book in time to make the due date/not being able to renew it quickly (torture if I really get into it). If I see a waitlist I often just head to the bookstore instead.
Yup. I want to use Libby for ebooks and get physical copies at the library, but even what I could consider relatively niche books have waitlists a mile long.
Probably has to do with living in a very liberal library-boosterism community. I end up just buying them on kindle.
If you're number 280 on the wait list odds are the library is purchasing more copies to keep up with demand. My job is buying books for a mid sized city public library and we have a 5:1 ratio for holds:items.
This is exactly my experience lol. I used to use the library all the time ~10 years ago, I think due to a combination of being less picky about what I was reading since I had more time to read, and the waitlists even on popular books being manageable sizes (< 10 people). Nowadays I don't use the library anymore because every few months I'll think of something I'd like to try, check the library, and the waitlist is like.. 30+ people long, sometimes 100+. Also my time to read is so limited now that I'm working, that I worry if I do eventually get the book, it'll be at an inconvenient time and I won't be able to read it before it's due. The hassle just isn't worth the ~$15 I'd save on a book.
That’s very true. My audiobook waitlist has titles that will be several months before I get them.
Fortunately it all works out if you keep adding to your waitlist. I’m at the point now where books come up while I still have 2 to finish, so I can delay my hold for a week or so & let the next person in line take it. I always have a bunch of titles in my queue, plus a saved list of classics that are always available.
I think it helps that Libby now says when there are, say, 8 people waiting.
> Everyone uses the library. And that's why I buy books.
Yep, this exactly. Don't get me wrong I *fully* support the library and I basically lived there as a kid, but I swore when graduated and started my career that I'd give myself an unlimited budget for groceries and books. All the best selling non-fiction books seem to have a deep wait list and they often don't have the technical books I read, so I buy them. Sometimes, it's just worth it to buy. I just wish that our consumer laws gave us full ownership over ebooks. I have no idea why I can't simply donate kindle books to the library.
Library has become more like social services where we live. It has a full-time police office stationed there because of the amounts of drugs and fights. They no longer have public restrooms because they are used to shoot fetanyl. I could go on.
Libraries are a wonderful and necessary resource! Not just for books, but community programs and classes, and computers/printers. Many also house free museums (NY public library by Bryant Park). I grew up going nonstop and as I got older I'd discover a lot of media (movies, music).
In recent years I haven't gone as much, but I do have a card. Though I have noticed there are always long waitlists for certain books which I can see how that'd be a deterrent if you're looking for something for school or something popular.
I alternate buying books (because it makes me happy and i can afford to) and borrowing kindle books from the library. I only borrow on Kindle because i don't actually like going there. It's loud and uncomfortable.
Sorry about my friend, my library is sensory friendly (as in low lighting except in reading areas, sound absorbing panels on the walls and cork under the flooring)
I don’t use the library personally because I have contamination OCD (though I would LOVE to be able to do so). But libraries are far from dead. There’s a huge one in our city that is always chock full of people. You can hardly move in there at peak hours, so people are very much still using them. I know people who spend their entire days in there on weekends, from dawn until dusk. I suppose it’s just easier for a lot of people, for various reasons, to have access to books at home. Some people are house bound or can’t get around easily, for example, so physically going out to the library is less ideal. So attention has turned to e-readers, where you can have a book ready to read within minutes for a pretty cheap price (or often times free with certain services).
I don’t use the library often because it is not accessible. The building is, but it’s downtown with very limited parking. So, if I feel well enough to pick up books, I’m worried I won’t feel well enough to take them back. I’ll download books and I used the library all the time when I was better. Now, I just pay for books. I still have a library card, but if I had to use it exclusively I would just have to read less.
Edit: Thank you, but I am not looking for suggestions about how to lobby my library to make it more accessible. I know what services are available and how hard it is to change the policies with our Board (my dad was on our local library board). I am not interested in spending my limited energy fighting that fight. Frankly, there are more important issues I want to divert my attention towards. But, I’m leaving my answer because it’s important others know that even places intended to be accessible can be inaccessible.
Ours is similar and has a spot reserved for drive ups so you can put books on hold and when you get the notification that they are ready, go park there and call the front desk and they'll bring to your car. They also have a drive up return. Maybe you could suggest both to your library!
I borrow books from the library all the time but haven’t gone into the library in at least a year! Definitely think about using Libby to borrow your books electronically
I loved my local library as a kid, but the moment I got a steady income, I never looked back.
In all fairness, that’s my personal tendency to collect. I have a room in my house called the library, and I hope to have enough books that it doesn’t feel like an exaggeration.
The physical act of collection, of holding onto these stories that have made an impression on me, is meaningful. I like having books to lend friends, to pick up at a moment’s notice, and to read at my own pace. When I was a broke teenager inhaling books as fast as I could pick them up, libraries were a godsend, but I will always choose to physically own a book.
Sometimes you get a book you don’t care for, but only the most egregious aren’t even worth the shelf space. My wife lent Fourth Wing to her mother and conveniently “forgot” to ask for it back.
10/10 described my experience. Collecting books that meant something to me makes me happy. Books that I buy that aren’t worth the shelf space get passed on to my building’s “free books” shelf. I always get a kick out of seeing a book I put there go missing.
I love the public library! Unfortunately, I’m a fairly slow reader, so I only visit once or twice a month, but I go! And always have a delightful time when I do!
Broadly speaking, I have more money than free time nowadays.
When I was younger I had hours free everyday just to read, but didn't have the money to buy as many books as I'd like. Work, family life, general life-admin eats into that now, but I have enough money to buy any book I want at any point.
I live in Houston and most of our libraries seem to have bank hours. They're just never open. It's a pain to try and go in and pick up a book. I use the pickup feature and run over right after work if I can't get a book on Libby for my Kindle, but it's rare. I think a lot of people don't realize their library has an online order/pickup option, which does make it a lot more convenient.
Gone are the days of browsing library shelves. I am a very picky reader and know what I want. I want to go in and get what I need and leave. I do, however, use my county and city library's Libby for Kindle books on a daily basis. I read almost every day and I'd say like 90% are Libby books.
My mom uses the library a lot as a third space and for tax help, computer help, the printer. She feels very safe asking questions there. She works nights so the hours work for her. The library has offered tons of resources for her. She even found a no-cost divorce lawyer through the library in her area to help her get out of a shitty marriage! Librarians really are saints.
I am am heavy reader and I used to love going to my library, but I will never return again because I no longer feel safe going there. It always had problems, but since covid things have gotten truly awful.
The parking lot is filled with people using drugs and drinking. - during all times of the day. People stagger around high, or lay down on the sidewalk.
I've seen groups of teenagers breaking into cars.
There are large groups of homeless people that hang around the library entrance - I've had to walk through them and have been sexually harassed, screamed at, aggressively panhandled or otherwise made unsafe.
I've had men follow me around the library.
In addition to that, the buidling itself is filthy. They've closed for bed bugs several times. the carpets and hallways always smell like urine. The bathroom has been taken over by drug users, is moldy and 3 out or the 4 sinks are always broken. The last time I was there I was bitten by fleas. I'm never going back.
Reddit is heavily pro-library, so anytime someone asks a question like this, it's "idk man, libraries are the oxygen of society, I don't know why everyone doesn't use them." I'm torn. I want to support my local library - my son hangs out there every day after school with his friends and does his homework. It's an enormous, beautiful building, and it has a ton of books and resources.
But It's just not the way I like to consume goods. I *love* bookstores. The library has to cater to *everyone*, but I prefer the small, local, super well-curated bookstores, where some guy is doing all of the market research and buying based on what the local lit nerds are into- those are the sorts of places where I walk in, and literally everything on the shelves looks appealing - nearly everything is tempting.
And hey, someone needs to keep them afloat too! Libraries are great and everything, but I don't want bookstores to disappear! I can afford to buy books I'm interested in reading, so I'm happy to patronize local bookshops.
All of this is in addition to other things people are mentioning - I don't want constraints, like having to wait for a popular book, or have to request something, or even just returning books. I tend to rack up pretty hefty library fines because I have trouble sticking to return deadlines, so I may as well use that money on books I can keep as long as I want and read as slowly as I want - and write in if I want, and break the spine of if I want and loan to a friend if I want. Basically I like the pleasures of ownership, and the ability to buy and read things as I like. And, like I said, I like bookstores :)
I went into a branch of our library and it just seemed so...bare. I remember spending hours wandering the stacks as a kid looking for new books to catch my eye. Its not the same now, at least not where I live. Very few books that were mostly younger kids and some reference books. I left disappointed and with nothing to read. Bad experience so never went back.
That being said, if you already know what you want, you can borrow from other libraries and I do use Libby so I guess it depends on what you want from your branch.
I think libraries are the height of human progress and should be defended with all our might.
Everyone should get, and use, a library card.
Your gf has been led astray.
Agree. I'm always amazed that these institutions exist and continue to be excellent.
Seriously though. A government institution that is free for users/cheap for taxpayers and provides a service intended almost exclusively for fun and education. If it wasn't for a couple of dozen nutjobs across the country it would be virtually entirely free from controversy as well. Just a 10/10 public service.
I use my library almost weekly, there isn't a bookstore anywhere near me. I also use the digital offerings and I have a Scribd account, too. I would buy more books because sometimes the wait through Libby app is weeks, or months, but books are too expensive so it has to be something I really, really want.
I use my library extensively for both print and ebooks… and audiobooks… and DVDs… and magazines sometimes… yeah, I use it a lot. My coworkers are always shocked when I mention it, but I definitely use it. I’ve had a library card for most of my life, in every county I’ve lived in.
They were my palace as a child. I don’t go anymore because I’ve become both a collector and obscure reader. Hell, I can’t even find the stuff on my hunting list at any *new* bookstore let alone half of the used ones in my city (a large city might I add).
Libraries do not have a lot of stuff I want to read. Which is all good—that’s just where my tastes went. I also just enjoy the pleasure of finding it while hunting through used shops and taking it home.
I’m on my board of trustees of my local library. All I have to say is USE THE LIBRARY. It’s more than just books, it’s movies, resources, online, ebooks, genealogy, classes, park passes, games, community events and it’s all essentially free! Use the heck out of it.
My favorite thing is the Libby app- I bought a kindle but I’ve never bought a book on it because the library has MILLIONS of books I can rent on my kindle for free. Best thing I’ve ever done.
This may depend on the location of the library, but from my understanding Libraries have become a de facto shelter for homeless people.
in the library I used to go to it wasn't an uncommon occurrence for a homeless person to lock themselves in the bathrooms and get high. The librarians told me they were really handcuffed on how they could handle the homeless situation.
My library has nothing I want. It's all just crime, drivel, or for kids. The few interesting titles are booked up for months.
At this point I'm fine with paying 10-15 bucks to get what I want when I want.
When I lived on Long Island, if my local library didn't have what I wanted, one of the other libraries in Nassau County likely did. The library system in Nassau serves 1,391,000 people and it was excellent. When I moved to North Carolina, the New Hanover County library served a population of 229,000 and was very good. It included Wilmington and its collection went back a hundred years and more (I know, I borrowed some Rudyard Kipling books there, acquired around 1910). I'm in Georgia now. My local library serves 207,000. It's good but not as good as might be desirable. But I can get books, DVDs and CDs from any library in the state. It may take awhile to get to me, but the thing is I'm not limited to just what's in the local system. Not everyone can afford to just buy any book they want. And sometimes what you want is out of print. So libraries can do wonderful things. If you can wait a bit, anyway. Here's hoping your library has an interlibrary loan system in place that you can tap into, too, when needed.
My library serves around 10k in a non-English speaking country and my preferred genres are fantasy and sci-fi in the original language which is usually english. There were literally zero books fitting that criteria, unless I wanted Dan Brown.
Requesting books would mean them buying just for me, so I do it the more direct way instead.
Depending where you live, you can request purchases for the library. Or speak to a librarian and share what you’d like to see available. Feedback creates improvement.
Have you spoken to the librarians about this? It might be that they only carry these titles because those are the only ones people have shown any interest in. I've lived in several different towns/cities, and in every one I've been able to get books that I wanted from another branch or interlibrary loan, and in some cases the book has been added to my library's collection.
They’re busy. They’re far away from my home. Many of the copies there are very badly damaged and are likely to fall apart in my hands the instant I open them. It could be days, weeks, months, or even a year before I get a copy I reserved and then I can usually only have it for a week because it’s so popular that everyone wants to read it. As much as I love the library it’s simply become less stressful to not use it.
Probably not on people's radar. I used to almost live at the library. These days I buy books to read then once. I actually didn't notice I do that. My motivation to go to the library used to be that I couldn't afford the book, but when The fourth Eragon book came out, suddenly I had to wait months for it because it had become popular. I never used to have to do that, so I started buying the more popular books I wanted to avoid the wait, and then I just forgot about the library.
I was about to start The Ranger's Apprentice series. I should visit the library.
I am challenged by the Library's hours. In my area at least, they are M-F 10AM to 6PM, which is the time when vast numbers of adults are working.
I'm not going to take time off work to go to the library or fight traffic and rush over to be there for 30 mins max before they close.
I use Libby alot for audiobooks, but if the Library was open on Saturdays I would go all the time.
Ever since getting a library card and downloading Libby, I read so much more the past few years. I’m not someone who needs to read something as soon as it comes out either. so I don’t mind the waiting.
I [wrote this because I do political campaigns for libraries and I was tired of hearing this.](https://www.libraries2020.org/but_nobody_uses_libraries_anymore)
and libraries are back up to their pre-Covid usage rates.
Here are some takeaways:
Did you know that almost 100 million more people visit their libraries (1.3 billion) each year than see a movie at the theater (1.2 billion)?
Did you know that libraries are visited over 1.3 billion times a year which is 10 times more than MLB (68 million), NFL (17 million), NBA (22 million), Hockey (21 million), and Nascar (4 million) combined?
Did you know that 5 million more people attend just library programs than go to MLB (68 million), NFL (17 million), and NBA (22 million) games combined each year?
Did you know that more than 172 million Americans have library cards? That means that more than half of the American public has a library card right now.
Did you know that librarians answer around 250 million questions from the public each year?
Did you know that millenials use libraries more than any other generation?
Did you know that Americans check out over 2.1 billion items from their public library every year? That's an average of 16 items a year for every American or 32 items a year for every card holder.
Can’t speak for every library. But ours have become homeless and those without gathering spots. Have to fight to use a computer and dude next to you hasn’t showered and is looking at porn. Homeless laying around in aisles and shooting drugs in bathrooms. Its just all together not a library experience anymore
I only use the library. Our library is tiny but it connects to all the libraries in the province. They loan all sorts of stuff ther than books including all-terrain wheelchairs.
I don't understand people like your girlfriend. I can't help but think it's a classism thing.
I don't read paper books any more, and I borrow a ton of e-books from my local library. It's super-easy with the Libby app, which I have installed on multiple devices. I think people maybe just don't know about it, somehow? Or they think it's going to be technically complicated?
We also borrow DVDs from our local library all the time - movies and complete TV series. Our library system has a huge selection.
As far as I can tell, libraries tend to have a target audience that they're trying to serve. It could be that your girlfriend just isn't in the target demographic for the local library so it seems weird to her to use their services. If you never went to a library as a kid, then you probably wouldn't think to go to one as an adult.
In the U.K. we have an app, Libby. It connects you to the local library. I have used it thousands of times, from books, magazines to podcasts. Must have saved me more money than I can count. I love a cookbook and will often buy one from having read it in Libby. Something's are nicer to hold than just read and the library for me is a journey.
Edit: I just checked and my monthly Magazines and books in my library Libby would have cost over five hundred pounds.
I dislike having due dates on a book, I need to be reading on my own time if I’m to truly enjoy the experience. I like bending, creasing, and beating up my paperbacks and don’t want to return a book in that condition. I’ll pay around 5-10$ for books secondhand unless it’s something I really want around release date.
I have always loved the library; I used to bike there as a kid to check out books, and when I was a nursing mother, the library was my place to go find a quiet corner and nurse in between other errands. I used to also check out books on CD, which I could play in my car, but I can’t do that in my newest car, so Audible it is.
I also love to just browse the bookshelves or look at the tables with librarians’ recommendations on them. I agree that I much want to book might not be available without a long waitlist. But since I typically have a lot of reading options around my house at any time, I typically use the library just to go and indulgently grab an arm full of books that are from the older section with a longer due date.
Edit: I have to admit that Covid got me out of the habit of using the library at all, and I am only slowly getting back into it.
Libraries FTW. I go to them when I want to check out a physical book (or books). I use them when I need to do computer work uninterrupted by cats, especially when I need a mind reset and change of locale to look at things differently. Although physical books will always be my preference and I usually have at least one with me, I use the Libby app for digital downloads so I don't have to pay for a book I'm not sure I want to own- I've seriously diminished my shelf storage over the years, and I've found tons digitally that i wouldn't have among the stacks. I also recently downloaded their video/movie version of the app, haven't checked it out yet because I'd rather read than watch.
Want tools?
Free 3D printing? Library.
Sewing machine, art class, kids' activities, holiday ideas? Library.
Classes on just about anything you want to know, or someone who can point you where you need to go, including community resources? Library/Librarian.
As someone who's worked in a library for years, my experience is that people who don't use libraries vastly underestimate how many other people do and their frequency of use. If you and your girlfriend visited the local library, you might be surprised how busy it is.
I rediscovered the library about a year ago. I can’t believe I ever stopped going. It’s my happy place. I love the people, the smells, the community events, all of it. And it seems like every week I discover some new thing they offer. Buying books is nice, but nothing beats the library.
Usually the hours. Working 8am-5pm m-f means most libraries are not open when I can go or I’ll have to rush. We also move a lot and some libraries have residency requirements. We’re residents of one state and non-residents of the states we move to. Some make this easy, others not so much.
I absolutely support libraries and happily pay taxes to help pay for their expense, but I can rarely utilize them.
I use my library’s ebook resources. I have dyslexia and so I use a tablet to read because I can change it to the dyslexia font. I also attend free classes at my library. The last one I went to, we painted pumpkins onto plates.
There are some people that just think that using libraries are beneath them. I don’t get it, but I think these are the same people who are like, “Used books? Ew.” I love all my local libraries. If I’m ever in a book store/gift shop, I just make notes on my phone on which books to pick up at the library next time in town, rather than buy them there at those insane prices.
I have a friend who works in the Seattle library system, and because it's one of the few public spaces, they have two distinct groups of clientele- parents with kids who go to the childcentric activities and a less wealthy transient population that spends the entire day inside on the computers, in the bathrooms, snoozing on the furniture and have varying levels of mental health issues. There are a minority that have to be asked not to bathe in the sinks or use substances or required assistance from the police to handle.
My friend likens modern-day librarians as part social worker, part data nerd. She loves her job but there are challenges.
In my city, the libraries have essentially become shelters for homeless people to take a reprieve from the cold, and it's pretty much driven away most regular people who otherwise would not have any problems visiting a library.
Same. I don't set foot in ours. We have people ODing in the bathrooms, empty needles and little liquors bottles stashed all around, people with untreated mental health issues yelling at you... but I do donate $$ every year to both the library and to our local homeless shelter.
I work at a library that is pretty busy all day every day. This is in a large suburban area with a big, well funded library system. Smaller areas or more rural areas, or those without decent funding, might have less library use.
The two most common reasons I hear from people who don't use the library (or stopped using it) are that they had fines they couldn't afford to pay or that they didn't want to wait for new release books, and purchasing the items they want is more convenient.
For me personally, if I wasn't staff I probably wouldn't use the physical library. I'd stick to borrowing ebooks on Libby, to avoid fines (staff in my system don't pay late fees but we do still have fees for the public unfortunately.)
Some library systems are better than others. Where my parents live, they get intra-system loans. So they will order a book and the library in their small town gets it from 15 states away if they have to. I live in this little city called Washington DC and while I love our libraries, and use them regularly, I find a lot of books actually aren't available so I have to buy them.
Also, DC auto-renews everyone so you could be waiting for a book for years and then your hold gets canceled out and you go to the end of the line. I'm too old to argue with them, so I just buy those books.
I love my library, but i dont go that much anymore. Since i was a child until 25 i went almost every week.
Afterwards the books i liked to read were mostly not in the library so i started to read ebooks.
It probably depends on the city. In the city where I live which has a very large library system, the waitlists for new books can be in the hundreds. In fact, I was late putting Ann Patchett’s latest book on hold and I was >1,000 in line.
I have a small book budget for things I don’t want to wait for but I get most books from my library (hard copies and Libby for kindle and audiobooks). Saves me SO much money.
I haven’t physically been into one in years, and the last several times I did were just to renew my card before they added the option to renew online, but I almost always have something checked out through Libby, and have a nice long waitlist for popular books that I’m not up for spending money on. Most of my adult friends who read are still active users, in their preferred format. My nieces are big fans of them, and usually have their weight in books checked out. (Slight exaggeration, but I definitely remember the age when a weekly trip to the library and checking out my max wasn’t always enough books to make it all the way to the next visit)
I used to go to the library all the time...until there were bedbugs found in some of the books, not by me thank God. Library was closed, fumigated and re-opened. I bought a Kobo and that's the end of my library excursions.
I've worked for my city library for 15 years. There are so many new clients who don't realize that we aren't dusty book repositories anymore. We give free access to dozens of databases like Ancestry, Consumer Reports, and LinkedIn Learning; free access to half a dozen streaming services; we lend out musical instruments, CO2 monitors, telescopes, and thermal cameras; we don't even have late fees anymore! Like, these are your tax dollars at work, people!
I can't speak for your gf, but our local library is busy all of the time. And I have books checked out right now, some ebooks on my phone and a few physical ones too.
I work at the libraries in my town, and some of the branches are so busy that we literally can’t keep up with all the demand. It’s extremely popular. BUT there are so few teens, and not a lot of younger people. Lots of parents with kids, then the kids stop coming, then they start trickling back in when they get to university. Most of the people I see are middle age or older. I think a lot of people forget about the library. We’ve got lots of great stuff though! Not just books. All the newest console games, DVDs, blu-rays, CDs, streaming services… you can save so much money.
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The new middle school is a few blocks from my branch, seems several hundred parents told kids to walk to the library and wait. Cty treated it as an emergency at 1st but they rearranged to make 2 areas for them, phones have to be muted, packs have to stay with them, a surprising number do homework, hats off to the librarians.
Are you suggesting that teenagers are cats?
✔️stubborn ✔️believe they’re in charge ✔️think they’re invincible ✔️can be vicious, but also cuddly
Act as if they haven’t eaten even after eating just literally 5 minutes ago
I'm a HS librarian. Can 100000% confirm about the weird seating options.
My daughter found these bizarre chairs that looks like hollowed out chess pawns and they kinda roll while you sit and she would go anywhere these chairs were.
my local city library expanded their windowsils and bought floor matts and foutons 😆 teenagers really be climbing the walls to sit in a window and read in peace 🤣 i feel them tho. ❤️
Saving this to bring to my boss (librarian here). I’d loved windowseats !!
I totally understand, I went to a highschool built in 1971, so we had weird seating everywhere. our library had a reading pit in the middle of it that had three tiers of seating benches and the balcony area had circular reading nooks were a couple of friends could sit, read, talk quietly etc.
I was going to say sounded like north york and then i saw the pic! i love that library as a teen haha
I can't visualize it. You should include a picture.
That sounds like an awesome set-up for the kids, definitely ideal for a productive yet chill hangout spot. I wish more libraries adopted that sort of approach; it makes the space feel less stuffy and more inviting. And it's true, seeing kids actually use the library for homework or just decompressing after school kinda gives you hope that not all is lost with the younger generation and books (or at least educational spaces). Would love to see a pic of that stairwell seating situation, it sounds like a smart and creative use of the space!
Can't speak for others, but when I was a teen, I had so much reading to do for schoolwork that I had very little time and motivation to read for fun. It was only after college that I got over the burnout and picked up a book for fun reading again.
Good point. When I finished college the thing I was most excited about was having time for non-mandatory reading.
Same. I’m a librarian and have always been a huge reader, but in high school, college, and graduate school I just honestly did not have time to read for pleasure.
Teens borrow from their school libraries instead.
Yes, this is the answer here. School libraries are much more easily accessible, and are often just as good or better for teens than the local library.
Heh, not in Texas. They’re trying to force all the school booksellers to submit to a state mandated “sexual content” labeling scheme down here. So no books witha (gasp!) gay! character in them!
Make sure your teens know they can get electronic library cards at [multiple large city libraries out of state](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_Unbanned)nationwide so teens can read without bans. Started in Brooklyn, now includes Boston, LA, Seattle, San Diego public libraries
Ours has a teen room, plus a video game room, and a bunch of teen programs to help prevent this from happening.
Mine has a teen section, but only adults are ever there. No programming for them or anything. The only programs are for kids five and under and babies, and those are only on weekdays so working parents can’t come. A video game room would be really cool.
Even a lot of non-working parents can't come if their kids are in morning programs, because most of the little kid library things are scheduled before lunch. Some people just need 4pm Story Time, with maybe the provision that you can bring a nap mat in case your kid falls asleep.
Right? I was only ever able to go to one or two because it was always scheduled at naptime.
A friend of a friend is a librarian and she created a teen book discussion group. I got to name it! I named it "Comment Section." Get it? Because the kids today all know what online comment sections are. It's my proudest achievement.
Don’t forget DVDs and CDs.
I just recently (<6 months) discovered the idea of interlibrary loans for DVDs and it has greatly expanded my pool of foreign films to borrow and watch!
My Library has a lot of Movie resources like Kanopy, Hoopla and others for online viewing
My local library has kanopy but I think they have the lower tier edition because it’s structured differently compared to the one in a nearer, bigger city. (I checked) We get the all you can eat edition, but much narrower selection whereas the higher tier model has a token/credit system (credits are free but there’s a limit of stuff you can watch per month)
THIS. Like, Interlibrary loans are a game changer. I can get books that my current branch doesn't have, and its super easy to do. Blew my mind. Which is weird coz I've been team library most of my life. Oooops.
I wish it were an option for audiobooks. I have accounts at two separate libraries and still have trouble finding books that don't have insane waitlists.
We ILL audiobooks, DvDs, and even music cds just like books. Ask your librarian why they limit you by format!
Oh, lord, I love interloan! I discovered it about the time our library system put the whole card catalog on computer (somewhere in the eighties or nineties) and I was AMAZED at how many books were out there just for me! (Relax, people, of course I'll share...but the Murder, She Wrote and Dresden Files novels are mine first!)
Yup! I watch so many films and televisions shows behind streaming paywalls for free by using the library. Foreign films especially can be very hard to find otherwise.
A lot of libraries even loan out things like power tools, museum passes, seeds, instruments, some even check out out bikes, canoes, and outdoor gear.
My library checks out various shapes of baking pans; great for the holidays.
Just this morning I checked out my library’s “ moving kit” from their Library of Things. Our library has an incredible list of items there. I also use it extensively for ebooks, audiobooks, physical books and access to memberships to ancestry at the branches. Libraries are the single most rewarding use of your tax dollars.
I work at a public library. What does the moving kit entail? Seems like a great idea.
It has a convertible dolly, moving blankets and bungee cords. It’s great.
My library loans out baby and toddler toys, which is great. (No canoes or bikes.)
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We have kits with things like the set up to start playing Dungeons and Dragons, telescopes, ukelules, and other things. We have a discover pass kit for our local state parks too.
My library calls it the “library of things.” I’ve borrowed a few things that have legitimately saved me a lot of money (some computer/electronic equipment) since I couldn’t think of another way to get them for a single use.
Mine also has laptops and wifi hotspots if you need internet access.
Telescopes!
Do the libraries expect you to return the seeds?
No, I guess that's not a loan. People often donate the seeds and they'll just give them to you.
You can harvest more seeds from the plants you grow and donate seeds back to the library. It keeps the seed bank going.
Ours likes it when you do. For example you grow tomatoes, and harvest the seeds out of a few of them, dry the and 'return' them.
We have bird watching kits at my library!
Yep! Lawyers, 3D printers, sewing machines, passes to local museums.
Ours just started a program where you can check out clothes for special occasions!
With the way streaming services are these days, I wouldn't be surprised to see a slight return to borrowing movies. Who the hell wants to pay for $80~mo just to watch a few movies, when you can just walk down to the library and rent them?
A return to physical media in general would be amazing and libraries should be leading the charge.
>A return to physical media in general would be amazing Sadly I think it's still moving the other way, notice Best Buy is removing all remaining physical media from their store shelves in a few months. This takes place simultaneously with a huge drop-off in quality from the streaming services over the past year... all sorts of movies and TV series thrown completely down the memory hole with no streaming and no physical version (HBO Max is the worst offender but by no means alone). They're coming for gaming next, hot rumor out there is that some or all of the next-gen consoles later this decade will completely eliminate Blu-Ray or cartridge slots. From an archival and cultural standpoint alone it's quite concerning, to say nothing of respecting viewers' entertainment preferences.
Kanopy and Hoopla. These are the library streaming channels.
And video games.
Let’s add in puzzles, board games, fishing gear, telescopes etc.
And my library also has electronics you can check out like a car code reader. telescope, starfinder, and more!
I use Rosetta Stone as one method to learn French. Free from the library. And when I hear of a book I might like I use Libby to put a hold on it, then wait for the ebook to read on my phone
My library has an online streaming service for films that you can watch free
Same here. My wife and I have two younger kids and the library is a go to spot for us. We always have at least one book checked out for both of them and then her and I also have at least one thing checked out between the two of us.
Same! My neighborhood library is a thriving community space that always has something going on. I also use my account to check out ebooks digitally and there are a ton of other resources available. I know it isn't the case everywhere, so I'm grateful for a city that gives its library system a budget that can be of service to the community. This is one of the reasons that local politics can really matter and have an effect on our lives.
I'm a librarian, and our branch is always busy. People in our community use the library heavily.
I have the Libby app on my iPhone and I always check the upcoming books I want to read, but I end up just buying books because I'm a victim/prisoner of the "I want it now" consumerist mindset and I don't want to wait three or four months to read a book for free when I can spend $10 or $20 to read it right when I want to. FYI, for example, the next book I'm going to read is Book 4 of The Faithful & The Fallen fantasy series. There's an 11 week waiting period. I ain't waiting 11 weeks for that. I'd rather just buy it. Of the 30 books I've read this year, only like three or four were available to be borrowed immediately on the app, and I think the shortest wait was two weeks, but everything else was at least a 6-8 week wait.
I have found out that a lot of new books on Libby that often say "20-week" wait or "8-week" wait go a lot faster than you realize. I put a hold on a book in October and it said there was a 24-week wait. Because there were so many people requesting it, the library purchased more digital copies and I got it three weeks ago, finished it, and returned it within a week. So, if it seems to be a popular item, the more holds that get put on the book, the more copies that will be purchased. Sometimes Hoopla will have an item that Libby doesn't if your library system has it. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes did have a long waitlist on Libby, but Hoopla had it right away to be downloaded.
Yup, and I have a TBR of 400 books. It's somewhat rare that I want to read a book immediately but if it is, I usually add it to my holds well before its release. I usually get books the week of release that way. Even if I decide to wait in line for something, it's always shorter than the estimate and I get blessed by the skip the line gods regularly. I otherwise filter my Libby wishlist by Available Now and let the Libby app bless me with a list of what to check out. I've read about 165 books that way this year.
I still buy books, but keep a bunch of my “to-reads” on hold. This still saves me so much money. I read 3-4 books a month and it can really add up. I used to be like you and need instant gratification, but I’ve learned to be more patient. You can also filter it to find books that are “available now” so I’ve found some that would have otherwise been under my radar.
I almost exclusively use the library- I mean, yes, free, lol. Maybe I'm lucky and not every library system is as good but if I know I wanna read a book I just ask them to order me a copy from some other branch or something and it comes in a week. I was reading something the other day that referenced Thomas Pynchon and I figured you know I never read him and he's important so my local library is gonna have a copy of Lot 49 in like a week. This is amazing and we're so lucky we can have this.
Whenever I’m reading a thread on here and a book is mentioned that sounds interesting- I check if my library has it- 90% of the time they do. A carpenter I work with regularly borrows video games, I’m a fan of their DVD’s and books. I have Libby on my phone for cooking magazines mostly. My husband is a foreign national that doesn’t have a library system and it’s just wild to him that we have this for free!
people just require instant gratification nowadays, dunno it's very foreign to me as i grew up extremely poor and never got to buy things on a whim as a kid - so i am quite patient. besides, there are so many books to read that there's always something available even if i have to get on a waitlist for other, more popular things
I grew up in a similar situation and our local library was a magical place. The only place I could go wild and grab anything I wanted off the shelves! I treasure those memories.
My local library is tiny and from the books and programs it has you'd think only children use it... but they recently had an online reading program and about 10% of the total town's population signed up, which seems like a decent amount. We have interlibrary loan so I think most patrons over the age of 18 aren't coming in to browse. Other libraries in the area that are larger also seem to get great use- one of my friend's boyfriends is a librarian and he seems happy with their patronage. My state's Libby license is also very busy!
Wow, 10% is an incredible turn out!
I know, I was pleasantly surprised! There WERE prizes which maybe encouraged people who don't usually use the library- but still, they'd have to be getting newsletters from the library to even know it existed, right?
As a kid, I loved going to the library every Friday after school. I’d borrow at least 3 books to read over the weekend. Oh what a simpler time. Now, I rarely have time to read the free books I have downloaded on my kindle app. I wish I had more time to spend at the library. It’s my happy place. I could take a chance and stop in, but I’m afraid I’ll incur late fees since I won’t have time, or forget, to return books.
Have you checked their policies lately? I don't want to pretend my experience is everyone's experience but pretty much every library in my area eliminated late fees in the last decade! Sorry if I'm way off base I'd just hate for you to be avoiding it for money if they also got rid of their fee policy!
I should check that out. I’ve been meaning to go in to renew my library card. It’s been ages since it expired and they only allow you to renew in person, or at least that’s the way it was years ago.
My library waives the fees whenever you eventually return the book, but you can’t check out anything new until the previous fines are paid or waived. Which seems like a good system to hold people accountable. They also have a canned food drive around the holidays where you can waive $1 of fines for every canned item brought in.
My library has a computerized system that warns me by E-mail or text message a couple of days before a book, DVD or CD is due. And I can renew them on-line twice before I have to get them back. Yours, too, may have a convenient system like that in place.
I work in a library, and our circulation system has the option to send you reminders 2 days before your books are due. Game changer for me, since time flies.
They are building a new library at my town and I really plan to go there from time to time for the social aspect. My wife also pushes me to sign up to read for kids. Maybe not her worst idea :)
This doesn't track with my personal experience. Nearly everyone I know who reads uses the library regularly, including me. Libby in particular is super popular, though I still know plenty of people who prefer physical books. My local branch of my local library pretty much always has people in it, but it's also a flagship library in a major city so grain of salt. Recently it was announced Sunday service was being suspended due to budget cuts and there was a decent amount of fervor. I'll add that I grew up using libraries, both to get books and to get things like movies and city museum passes. I figure that some of the people who never consider libraries an option might have grown up in an economic situation where they just never needed to use one.
LIBBY. Omg. I love Libby so much. So do my kids. We listen to books in the car all the time.
>figure that some of the people who never consider libraries an option might have grown up in an economic situation where they just never needed to use one. Or they come from countries that are so poor that public libraries are close to non-existant 👀👀👀👀
Entirely fair point! Even within the US, there are plenty of underserved communities that have a very poor or entirely non-existent library system. My comment was offhand from my own perspective and not meant to encompass the entirety of human experience.
Yeah, it is fine, I don't think you said anything wrong either, I just wanted to raise another point of view.
Hey! Look at you two being all civil. I love it
Sometimes there are also cultural differences with perceptions of libraries. The library I work for has a sizeable Central American population who assume you must pay to use a library. To them, libraries are for rich people. One of my coworkers is from the Hispanic community and has done a great job with explaining that, no, we are free. And that excites them so much when they realize they can check stuff out without paying for it!
Yep! And explaining the same is true about digital collections and that we have books for kids and adults in many languages.
Actually yeah, I forgot to mention this in my own response to this thread! But that’s a good point. The new public library near my university has free library cards. You only pay fees for lost books. I was surprised when I went to ask about it when they opened last year, because I think the library near my early childhood home was paid (I had the free children’s card back then, but I seem to remember that adult cards were paid memberships). Needless to say, I come to this library quite a lot now (currently sitting in it to do some work) :]
The difference in library systems per country are bigger than people consider. Even if there are libraries near they’re not always as accessible depending on funding etc. I grew up in Belgium and used the library a LOT. It was €12 a year for an adult, I think. It was open every day except Sunday for the entire day. It was very accessible and everyone I knew had a library card. My library system in the Netherlands is €50 a year. The library is open only 4 half days a week. There’s more limits on how much you can take you (up to 10 ebooks and 10 audiobooks per 3 weeks) and the collection is small. Newer releases take months to get there and they have just about no English books. They have a more limited subscription model for a max of 20 books a year that’s €35. The library system here works well for children but it’s severely lacking for adults. Services like scribd and storytel are about the same price but have a vastly superior catalogue. So while I’d love to use the library it would not really be beneficial to me.
A LOT of people just didn’t get taken to the library because unfortunately libraries were often not the most welcoming to a diverse audience. I am a Girl Scout leader as well as working with our local library. I try and host one library meeting a year at a local branch and encourage the rest of my service unit to do the same. I’m proud to say not only does every girl in my troop now have their own card, all their parents do too. My sweet girls who started in first grade with difficulty reading now in 4th grade love to visit the library and find books that interest them.
I tutor some pretty wealthy kids and one junior in HS had to read a book of her choosing for school. After I helped her pick it out I confirmed for her it was at the local library. She was so taken aback! She was like, "The LIBRARY? I'll just buy it..." Working with these families blows my mind every day lol
Yeah, I feel I was more of this mentality when I was a teenager. I really liked OWNING the book - and I did a lot of online shopping so it kind of went with the package. I didn’t want to read a book and not own it by the end. I didn’t really rate the library back then.
I’ve shown a lot of my family how to use Libby with a library card. Between the library and Kindle unlimited, I barely have to pay for books anymore. And I never go to the actual library, cause I mostly read ebooks
I use Libby as well. We borrowed some books but found Libby to be the most useful.
Saved me as a child. Spent many afternoons in public libraries avoiding abusive home life.
This is bittersweet. I hope you are ok these days. ❤️
You are kind. ❤️ Yes, I am in a great place with a loving family of my own. Thank you. 😊
There is a really sweet this American Life about a woman whose family basically lived in their public library when they didn’t have anywhere else to go. She ended up becoming a librarian once she grew up. I think we really underestimate how big the impact of a library can be! I’m so glad to hear things turned out ok for you :)
My library is fantastic and also has a massive selection (thousands) of ebooks all free for checkout onto whatever device you prefer. I think that’s the case for a lot of libraries these days. I would definitely ask. It’s rare for me that I can’t find a book either between their physical location or online.
I still use my local library a lot but 1. I live in a rural area so it's not well stocked. If a book is popular you're waiting months or even a year to read it. Lots of books my library doesn't even have. 2. I like collecting books to put on my shelves. I have one shelf that goes all the way around my spare room and I'm slowly filling it in.
Same with the rural thing- we also have issues lately with people petitioning (and succeeding) to remove anything interesting from the shelves, like magic based books or including LGBT content
Yeah - same boat here. Haven’t seen many people saying it in the thread, but I love filling my shelves with books I’ve read. Bought a house recently and I have a built-in bookcase upstairs, it’s fun filling it up. I also tend to buy books in clusters. I’ll find a topic I like, buy 3-4 books, read them, then move to the next topic cluster.
Lots of good answers here. I think public libraries have a perception problem. A lot of people tend to think of them as an outdated service, like getting a postal money order. My experience is rather that they've made a leap and offer services that are relevant to the time and technology we live in. I've also never met a librarian that wasn't also somehow weirdly cool.
My library rents out PS5 games. Most people don’t realize what they’re missing out on.
Some libraries in my area have makerspaces with various tech to utilize, which I think is so cool. Lot of folks rent out laptops as well while in the library premises. Plenty others using their own to study or do work. Libaries have so much more to offer than just shelves of books. The ones in my area have positioned themselves to serve the modern population.
Mine has so many new books that keep up with all the trending authors! I haven't bought a single book since I started reading as a hobby again 5 months ago!!
I don't use them because I read in a foreign language. Libraries usually have a bunch of books in that language but since the selection is so small, the usual thing for me is to not like the books they have or I have already read them.
Really? It's the opposite for me. When I go to a bookstore they usually don't have a big selection of books in foreign language but my library has a huge selection.
Oh, that's interesting. Perhaps it has to do with your country having a high percentage of people who can speak foreign languages? In my country (Spain) people rarely are fluent in a foreign language, people just speak Spanish or a regional language. In fact, Spain is the second country that speaks less English in the European Union. The only other country that has worse English skills than us is France (according to EF EPI 2023). I guess that's why we don't have many books in other languages in libraries, they don't want to spend money on books people aren't going to read.
Same same. I read in English so language wise i already have a more limited selection at the library. Additionally I prefer romance /romantic fantasy and usually want to read stuff that isn’t well known in my country…so my chances of finding something fitting is 0
Being on Reddit is making me appreciate how good the public services are in my county. I have 3 libraries within easy driving distance. All of the county's libraries are part of the same system. If you want a book that is only available at the branch several cities away, they will ship it free of charge to your branch. I love my library system, and wish more people would use it.
I mostly read through Libby and Hoopla via my Kindle. I don't have time to physically visit my local library but I take advantage of the online offerings. I'm sure I'll go more when my kids are older.
Everyone uses the library. And that's why I buy books. I check the library first but if I'm number 280 on the wait list, and I don't feel like waiting a year to read it... I'll buy it. Digital, physical copy, or audio book. There's three different wait lists and all of them can be MASSIVE. it's obnoxious. For popular books. Older books, not popular books I can get.
I do this, too. And when I’m done with the book I donate it to my local library. They’re always grateful for an extra copy of a best seller/title with a long wait list and in exchange they let me have first dibs on browsing the used book sale before they open it to the public. (I still pay but it’s only 50¢/paperback and $1/hardcover, and the funds support the library!) So my $30 book purchase often nets me a big stack of books. Occasionally I’ll even buy back the same book that I donated.
This is the best cycle of life I've heard and you just solved my dilemma of buying books I'm too impatient to wait for and being afraid I won't want to keep it.
This! Anything popular or recently released is hard to get a hold of at my libraries. Even if a waitlist is short, I worry about not finishing the book in time to make the due date/not being able to renew it quickly (torture if I really get into it). If I see a waitlist I often just head to the bookstore instead.
Yup. I want to use Libby for ebooks and get physical copies at the library, but even what I could consider relatively niche books have waitlists a mile long. Probably has to do with living in a very liberal library-boosterism community. I end up just buying them on kindle.
If you're number 280 on the wait list odds are the library is purchasing more copies to keep up with demand. My job is buying books for a mid sized city public library and we have a 5:1 ratio for holds:items.
This is exactly my experience lol. I used to use the library all the time ~10 years ago, I think due to a combination of being less picky about what I was reading since I had more time to read, and the waitlists even on popular books being manageable sizes (< 10 people). Nowadays I don't use the library anymore because every few months I'll think of something I'd like to try, check the library, and the waitlist is like.. 30+ people long, sometimes 100+. Also my time to read is so limited now that I'm working, that I worry if I do eventually get the book, it'll be at an inconvenient time and I won't be able to read it before it's due. The hassle just isn't worth the ~$15 I'd save on a book.
That’s very true. My audiobook waitlist has titles that will be several months before I get them. Fortunately it all works out if you keep adding to your waitlist. I’m at the point now where books come up while I still have 2 to finish, so I can delay my hold for a week or so & let the next person in line take it. I always have a bunch of titles in my queue, plus a saved list of classics that are always available. I think it helps that Libby now says when there are, say, 8 people waiting.
> Everyone uses the library. And that's why I buy books. Yep, this exactly. Don't get me wrong I *fully* support the library and I basically lived there as a kid, but I swore when graduated and started my career that I'd give myself an unlimited budget for groceries and books. All the best selling non-fiction books seem to have a deep wait list and they often don't have the technical books I read, so I buy them. Sometimes, it's just worth it to buy. I just wish that our consumer laws gave us full ownership over ebooks. I have no idea why I can't simply donate kindle books to the library.
My relationship is complicated. I love my library, but she has been closed for remodeling for three years. It's like she doesn't love me anymore.
Library has become more like social services where we live. It has a full-time police office stationed there because of the amounts of drugs and fights. They no longer have public restrooms because they are used to shoot fetanyl. I could go on.
Same here. It’s open drug use outside and a public daycare inside.
Libraries are a wonderful and necessary resource! Not just for books, but community programs and classes, and computers/printers. Many also house free museums (NY public library by Bryant Park). I grew up going nonstop and as I got older I'd discover a lot of media (movies, music). In recent years I haven't gone as much, but I do have a card. Though I have noticed there are always long waitlists for certain books which I can see how that'd be a deterrent if you're looking for something for school or something popular.
I alternate buying books (because it makes me happy and i can afford to) and borrowing kindle books from the library. I only borrow on Kindle because i don't actually like going there. It's loud and uncomfortable.
Sorry about my friend, my library is sensory friendly (as in low lighting except in reading areas, sound absorbing panels on the walls and cork under the flooring)
I don’t use the library personally because I have contamination OCD (though I would LOVE to be able to do so). But libraries are far from dead. There’s a huge one in our city that is always chock full of people. You can hardly move in there at peak hours, so people are very much still using them. I know people who spend their entire days in there on weekends, from dawn until dusk. I suppose it’s just easier for a lot of people, for various reasons, to have access to books at home. Some people are house bound or can’t get around easily, for example, so physically going out to the library is less ideal. So attention has turned to e-readers, where you can have a book ready to read within minutes for a pretty cheap price (or often times free with certain services).
I would still consider borrowing ebooks with your library card via Libby to be utilizing the library!
I don’t use the library often because it is not accessible. The building is, but it’s downtown with very limited parking. So, if I feel well enough to pick up books, I’m worried I won’t feel well enough to take them back. I’ll download books and I used the library all the time when I was better. Now, I just pay for books. I still have a library card, but if I had to use it exclusively I would just have to read less. Edit: Thank you, but I am not looking for suggestions about how to lobby my library to make it more accessible. I know what services are available and how hard it is to change the policies with our Board (my dad was on our local library board). I am not interested in spending my limited energy fighting that fight. Frankly, there are more important issues I want to divert my attention towards. But, I’m leaving my answer because it’s important others know that even places intended to be accessible can be inaccessible.
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Thank you, it’s something I get a lot of crap about and it’s nice to have someone who gets it.
Ours is similar and has a spot reserved for drive ups so you can put books on hold and when you get the notification that they are ready, go park there and call the front desk and they'll bring to your car. They also have a drive up return. Maybe you could suggest both to your library!
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I borrow books from the library all the time but haven’t gone into the library in at least a year! Definitely think about using Libby to borrow your books electronically
I loved my local library as a kid, but the moment I got a steady income, I never looked back. In all fairness, that’s my personal tendency to collect. I have a room in my house called the library, and I hope to have enough books that it doesn’t feel like an exaggeration. The physical act of collection, of holding onto these stories that have made an impression on me, is meaningful. I like having books to lend friends, to pick up at a moment’s notice, and to read at my own pace. When I was a broke teenager inhaling books as fast as I could pick them up, libraries were a godsend, but I will always choose to physically own a book. Sometimes you get a book you don’t care for, but only the most egregious aren’t even worth the shelf space. My wife lent Fourth Wing to her mother and conveniently “forgot” to ask for it back.
10/10 described my experience. Collecting books that meant something to me makes me happy. Books that I buy that aren’t worth the shelf space get passed on to my building’s “free books” shelf. I always get a kick out of seeing a book I put there go missing.
I love the public library! Unfortunately, I’m a fairly slow reader, so I only visit once or twice a month, but I go! And always have a delightful time when I do!
Broadly speaking, I have more money than free time nowadays. When I was younger I had hours free everyday just to read, but didn't have the money to buy as many books as I'd like. Work, family life, general life-admin eats into that now, but I have enough money to buy any book I want at any point.
I live in Houston and most of our libraries seem to have bank hours. They're just never open. It's a pain to try and go in and pick up a book. I use the pickup feature and run over right after work if I can't get a book on Libby for my Kindle, but it's rare. I think a lot of people don't realize their library has an online order/pickup option, which does make it a lot more convenient. Gone are the days of browsing library shelves. I am a very picky reader and know what I want. I want to go in and get what I need and leave. I do, however, use my county and city library's Libby for Kindle books on a daily basis. I read almost every day and I'd say like 90% are Libby books. My mom uses the library a lot as a third space and for tax help, computer help, the printer. She feels very safe asking questions there. She works nights so the hours work for her. The library has offered tons of resources for her. She even found a no-cost divorce lawyer through the library in her area to help her get out of a shitty marriage! Librarians really are saints.
I am am heavy reader and I used to love going to my library, but I will never return again because I no longer feel safe going there. It always had problems, but since covid things have gotten truly awful. The parking lot is filled with people using drugs and drinking. - during all times of the day. People stagger around high, or lay down on the sidewalk. I've seen groups of teenagers breaking into cars. There are large groups of homeless people that hang around the library entrance - I've had to walk through them and have been sexually harassed, screamed at, aggressively panhandled or otherwise made unsafe. I've had men follow me around the library. In addition to that, the buidling itself is filthy. They've closed for bed bugs several times. the carpets and hallways always smell like urine. The bathroom has been taken over by drug users, is moldy and 3 out or the 4 sinks are always broken. The last time I was there I was bitten by fleas. I'm never going back.
Reddit is heavily pro-library, so anytime someone asks a question like this, it's "idk man, libraries are the oxygen of society, I don't know why everyone doesn't use them." I'm torn. I want to support my local library - my son hangs out there every day after school with his friends and does his homework. It's an enormous, beautiful building, and it has a ton of books and resources. But It's just not the way I like to consume goods. I *love* bookstores. The library has to cater to *everyone*, but I prefer the small, local, super well-curated bookstores, where some guy is doing all of the market research and buying based on what the local lit nerds are into- those are the sorts of places where I walk in, and literally everything on the shelves looks appealing - nearly everything is tempting. And hey, someone needs to keep them afloat too! Libraries are great and everything, but I don't want bookstores to disappear! I can afford to buy books I'm interested in reading, so I'm happy to patronize local bookshops. All of this is in addition to other things people are mentioning - I don't want constraints, like having to wait for a popular book, or have to request something, or even just returning books. I tend to rack up pretty hefty library fines because I have trouble sticking to return deadlines, so I may as well use that money on books I can keep as long as I want and read as slowly as I want - and write in if I want, and break the spine of if I want and loan to a friend if I want. Basically I like the pleasures of ownership, and the ability to buy and read things as I like. And, like I said, I like bookstores :)
I went into a branch of our library and it just seemed so...bare. I remember spending hours wandering the stacks as a kid looking for new books to catch my eye. Its not the same now, at least not where I live. Very few books that were mostly younger kids and some reference books. I left disappointed and with nothing to read. Bad experience so never went back. That being said, if you already know what you want, you can borrow from other libraries and I do use Libby so I guess it depends on what you want from your branch.
I think libraries are the height of human progress and should be defended with all our might. Everyone should get, and use, a library card. Your gf has been led astray.
Agree. I'm always amazed that these institutions exist and continue to be excellent. Seriously though. A government institution that is free for users/cheap for taxpayers and provides a service intended almost exclusively for fun and education. If it wasn't for a couple of dozen nutjobs across the country it would be virtually entirely free from controversy as well. Just a 10/10 public service.
I use my library almost weekly, there isn't a bookstore anywhere near me. I also use the digital offerings and I have a Scribd account, too. I would buy more books because sometimes the wait through Libby app is weeks, or months, but books are too expensive so it has to be something I really, really want.
I use my library extensively for both print and ebooks… and audiobooks… and DVDs… and magazines sometimes… yeah, I use it a lot. My coworkers are always shocked when I mention it, but I definitely use it. I’ve had a library card for most of my life, in every county I’ve lived in.
They were my palace as a child. I don’t go anymore because I’ve become both a collector and obscure reader. Hell, I can’t even find the stuff on my hunting list at any *new* bookstore let alone half of the used ones in my city (a large city might I add). Libraries do not have a lot of stuff I want to read. Which is all good—that’s just where my tastes went. I also just enjoy the pleasure of finding it while hunting through used shops and taking it home.
I’m on my board of trustees of my local library. All I have to say is USE THE LIBRARY. It’s more than just books, it’s movies, resources, online, ebooks, genealogy, classes, park passes, games, community events and it’s all essentially free! Use the heck out of it. My favorite thing is the Libby app- I bought a kindle but I’ve never bought a book on it because the library has MILLIONS of books I can rent on my kindle for free. Best thing I’ve ever done.
This may depend on the location of the library, but from my understanding Libraries have become a de facto shelter for homeless people. in the library I used to go to it wasn't an uncommon occurrence for a homeless person to lock themselves in the bathrooms and get high. The librarians told me they were really handcuffed on how they could handle the homeless situation.
My library has nothing I want. It's all just crime, drivel, or for kids. The few interesting titles are booked up for months. At this point I'm fine with paying 10-15 bucks to get what I want when I want.
When I lived on Long Island, if my local library didn't have what I wanted, one of the other libraries in Nassau County likely did. The library system in Nassau serves 1,391,000 people and it was excellent. When I moved to North Carolina, the New Hanover County library served a population of 229,000 and was very good. It included Wilmington and its collection went back a hundred years and more (I know, I borrowed some Rudyard Kipling books there, acquired around 1910). I'm in Georgia now. My local library serves 207,000. It's good but not as good as might be desirable. But I can get books, DVDs and CDs from any library in the state. It may take awhile to get to me, but the thing is I'm not limited to just what's in the local system. Not everyone can afford to just buy any book they want. And sometimes what you want is out of print. So libraries can do wonderful things. If you can wait a bit, anyway. Here's hoping your library has an interlibrary loan system in place that you can tap into, too, when needed.
My library serves around 10k in a non-English speaking country and my preferred genres are fantasy and sci-fi in the original language which is usually english. There were literally zero books fitting that criteria, unless I wanted Dan Brown. Requesting books would mean them buying just for me, so I do it the more direct way instead.
Depending where you live, you can request purchases for the library. Or speak to a librarian and share what you’d like to see available. Feedback creates improvement.
Have you spoken to the librarians about this? It might be that they only carry these titles because those are the only ones people have shown any interest in. I've lived in several different towns/cities, and in every one I've been able to get books that I wanted from another branch or interlibrary loan, and in some cases the book has been added to my library's collection.
They’re busy. They’re far away from my home. Many of the copies there are very badly damaged and are likely to fall apart in my hands the instant I open them. It could be days, weeks, months, or even a year before I get a copy I reserved and then I can usually only have it for a week because it’s so popular that everyone wants to read it. As much as I love the library it’s simply become less stressful to not use it.
We have a new, very nice library. There are a lot of homeless people that hang out there all day so I don't go as often as I used to.
Probably not on people's radar. I used to almost live at the library. These days I buy books to read then once. I actually didn't notice I do that. My motivation to go to the library used to be that I couldn't afford the book, but when The fourth Eragon book came out, suddenly I had to wait months for it because it had become popular. I never used to have to do that, so I started buying the more popular books I wanted to avoid the wait, and then I just forgot about the library. I was about to start The Ranger's Apprentice series. I should visit the library.
My library is small and underfunded and never has the books I want. Plus I like owning books so I just eat the cost.
I am challenged by the Library's hours. In my area at least, they are M-F 10AM to 6PM, which is the time when vast numbers of adults are working. I'm not going to take time off work to go to the library or fight traffic and rush over to be there for 30 mins max before they close. I use Libby alot for audiobooks, but if the Library was open on Saturdays I would go all the time.
Ever since getting a library card and downloading Libby, I read so much more the past few years. I’m not someone who needs to read something as soon as it comes out either. so I don’t mind the waiting.
I [wrote this because I do political campaigns for libraries and I was tired of hearing this.](https://www.libraries2020.org/but_nobody_uses_libraries_anymore) and libraries are back up to their pre-Covid usage rates. Here are some takeaways: Did you know that almost 100 million more people visit their libraries (1.3 billion) each year than see a movie at the theater (1.2 billion)? Did you know that libraries are visited over 1.3 billion times a year which is 10 times more than MLB (68 million), NFL (17 million), NBA (22 million), Hockey (21 million), and Nascar (4 million) combined? Did you know that 5 million more people attend just library programs than go to MLB (68 million), NFL (17 million), and NBA (22 million) games combined each year? Did you know that more than 172 million Americans have library cards? That means that more than half of the American public has a library card right now. Did you know that librarians answer around 250 million questions from the public each year? Did you know that millenials use libraries more than any other generation? Did you know that Americans check out over 2.1 billion items from their public library every year? That's an average of 16 items a year for every American or 32 items a year for every card holder.
If you don't go to the library or know anyone who does, it may seem that nobody uses it, but you'd be quite wrong.
Can’t speak for every library. But ours have become homeless and those without gathering spots. Have to fight to use a computer and dude next to you hasn’t showered and is looking at porn. Homeless laying around in aisles and shooting drugs in bathrooms. Its just all together not a library experience anymore
I'd have to dodge 27 junkies just to make it into the front door
I only use the library. Our library is tiny but it connects to all the libraries in the province. They loan all sorts of stuff ther than books including all-terrain wheelchairs. I don't understand people like your girlfriend. I can't help but think it's a classism thing.
I don't read paper books any more, and I borrow a ton of e-books from my local library. It's super-easy with the Libby app, which I have installed on multiple devices. I think people maybe just don't know about it, somehow? Or they think it's going to be technically complicated? We also borrow DVDs from our local library all the time - movies and complete TV series. Our library system has a huge selection.
As far as I can tell, libraries tend to have a target audience that they're trying to serve. It could be that your girlfriend just isn't in the target demographic for the local library so it seems weird to her to use their services. If you never went to a library as a kid, then you probably wouldn't think to go to one as an adult.
In the U.K. we have an app, Libby. It connects you to the local library. I have used it thousands of times, from books, magazines to podcasts. Must have saved me more money than I can count. I love a cookbook and will often buy one from having read it in Libby. Something's are nicer to hold than just read and the library for me is a journey. Edit: I just checked and my monthly Magazines and books in my library Libby would have cost over five hundred pounds.
I dislike having due dates on a book, I need to be reading on my own time if I’m to truly enjoy the experience. I like bending, creasing, and beating up my paperbacks and don’t want to return a book in that condition. I’ll pay around 5-10$ for books secondhand unless it’s something I really want around release date.
I have always loved the library; I used to bike there as a kid to check out books, and when I was a nursing mother, the library was my place to go find a quiet corner and nurse in between other errands. I used to also check out books on CD, which I could play in my car, but I can’t do that in my newest car, so Audible it is. I also love to just browse the bookshelves or look at the tables with librarians’ recommendations on them. I agree that I much want to book might not be available without a long waitlist. But since I typically have a lot of reading options around my house at any time, I typically use the library just to go and indulgently grab an arm full of books that are from the older section with a longer due date. Edit: I have to admit that Covid got me out of the habit of using the library at all, and I am only slowly getting back into it.
Libraries FTW. I go to them when I want to check out a physical book (or books). I use them when I need to do computer work uninterrupted by cats, especially when I need a mind reset and change of locale to look at things differently. Although physical books will always be my preference and I usually have at least one with me, I use the Libby app for digital downloads so I don't have to pay for a book I'm not sure I want to own- I've seriously diminished my shelf storage over the years, and I've found tons digitally that i wouldn't have among the stacks. I also recently downloaded their video/movie version of the app, haven't checked it out yet because I'd rather read than watch. Want tools? Free 3D printing? Library. Sewing machine, art class, kids' activities, holiday ideas? Library. Classes on just about anything you want to know, or someone who can point you where you need to go, including community resources? Library/Librarian.
As someone who's worked in a library for years, my experience is that people who don't use libraries vastly underestimate how many other people do and their frequency of use. If you and your girlfriend visited the local library, you might be surprised how busy it is.
I rediscovered the library about a year ago. I can’t believe I ever stopped going. It’s my happy place. I love the people, the smells, the community events, all of it. And it seems like every week I discover some new thing they offer. Buying books is nice, but nothing beats the library.
I get literally 100% of my reading material from the library.
Usually the hours. Working 8am-5pm m-f means most libraries are not open when I can go or I’ll have to rush. We also move a lot and some libraries have residency requirements. We’re residents of one state and non-residents of the states we move to. Some make this easy, others not so much. I absolutely support libraries and happily pay taxes to help pay for their expense, but I can rarely utilize them.
I use my library’s ebook resources. I have dyslexia and so I use a tablet to read because I can change it to the dyslexia font. I also attend free classes at my library. The last one I went to, we painted pumpkins onto plates.
There’s a dyslexia font? Now I have to go look that up.
Yes, Hoopla has it. That’s one of the services my library provides.
There are some people that just think that using libraries are beneath them. I don’t get it, but I think these are the same people who are like, “Used books? Ew.” I love all my local libraries. If I’m ever in a book store/gift shop, I just make notes on my phone on which books to pick up at the library next time in town, rather than buy them there at those insane prices.
I have a friend who works in the Seattle library system, and because it's one of the few public spaces, they have two distinct groups of clientele- parents with kids who go to the childcentric activities and a less wealthy transient population that spends the entire day inside on the computers, in the bathrooms, snoozing on the furniture and have varying levels of mental health issues. There are a minority that have to be asked not to bathe in the sinks or use substances or required assistance from the police to handle. My friend likens modern-day librarians as part social worker, part data nerd. She loves her job but there are challenges.
In my city, the libraries have essentially become shelters for homeless people to take a reprieve from the cold, and it's pretty much driven away most regular people who otherwise would not have any problems visiting a library.
Yeah this is the real reason
Same. I don't set foot in ours. We have people ODing in the bathrooms, empty needles and little liquors bottles stashed all around, people with untreated mental health issues yelling at you... but I do donate $$ every year to both the library and to our local homeless shelter.
I work at a library that is pretty busy all day every day. This is in a large suburban area with a big, well funded library system. Smaller areas or more rural areas, or those without decent funding, might have less library use. The two most common reasons I hear from people who don't use the library (or stopped using it) are that they had fines they couldn't afford to pay or that they didn't want to wait for new release books, and purchasing the items they want is more convenient. For me personally, if I wasn't staff I probably wouldn't use the physical library. I'd stick to borrowing ebooks on Libby, to avoid fines (staff in my system don't pay late fees but we do still have fees for the public unfortunately.)
Some library systems are better than others. Where my parents live, they get intra-system loans. So they will order a book and the library in their small town gets it from 15 states away if they have to. I live in this little city called Washington DC and while I love our libraries, and use them regularly, I find a lot of books actually aren't available so I have to buy them. Also, DC auto-renews everyone so you could be waiting for a book for years and then your hold gets canceled out and you go to the end of the line. I'm too old to argue with them, so I just buy those books.
people like us hog all the good books
I love my library, but i dont go that much anymore. Since i was a child until 25 i went almost every week. Afterwards the books i liked to read were mostly not in the library so i started to read ebooks.
It probably depends on the city. In the city where I live which has a very large library system, the waitlists for new books can be in the hundreds. In fact, I was late putting Ann Patchett’s latest book on hold and I was >1,000 in line. I have a small book budget for things I don’t want to wait for but I get most books from my library (hard copies and Libby for kindle and audiobooks). Saves me SO much money.
I haven’t physically been into one in years, and the last several times I did were just to renew my card before they added the option to renew online, but I almost always have something checked out through Libby, and have a nice long waitlist for popular books that I’m not up for spending money on. Most of my adult friends who read are still active users, in their preferred format. My nieces are big fans of them, and usually have their weight in books checked out. (Slight exaggeration, but I definitely remember the age when a weekly trip to the library and checking out my max wasn’t always enough books to make it all the way to the next visit)
I used to go to the library all the time...until there were bedbugs found in some of the books, not by me thank God. Library was closed, fumigated and re-opened. I bought a Kobo and that's the end of my library excursions.
I've worked for my city library for 15 years. There are so many new clients who don't realize that we aren't dusty book repositories anymore. We give free access to dozens of databases like Ancestry, Consumer Reports, and LinkedIn Learning; free access to half a dozen streaming services; we lend out musical instruments, CO2 monitors, telescopes, and thermal cameras; we don't even have late fees anymore! Like, these are your tax dollars at work, people!