What's new

Public Libraries | Pad Patter 11.5

JillW said:
We are out of the district for the library, so to get a card it is $200+ a year ... so, I do not have a card.
Click to expand...

OMG I have lived so much of my life with free libraries I cannot fathom this! Of course, I have also lived in places where all written material was heavily censored and I mean black magic markers through text or photos. So I'm sure $200 a year would be better than censorship.

I wish I had a photo of the bookmobile that used to come Down Our Street when I was in 3rd grade on. The fact that it did come on our street was a miracle because my street was the middle bar of an H. Of course the ice cream man came too but the weekly bookmobile was so special. I think I could have about 5 books a week. When I had read all they had my mother used to take me into the closest library in Washington DC and I read every book in the Fairy Tale section!
Now I see books on line and quickly put them on hold if I see them in our county system. I can also get books from any library in the state and beyond but I don't usually even bother with that. The local stock gives me more than enough to read all year - in fact I passed my 100 book goal last month! Just as well because for the 8 or so on hold for me now, I am #1 or 2 to #56 and #152! It's rough if 5 come in all at once in a week! Rough but good. :)
 
I love the library, but I don't really spend much time there. I look up my books online at home and go straight to them when I get to the library. Or I put them on hold and wait for the notice that they have been set aside for me.

I really enjoy the digital downloads, and I've been collecting digital library access from the different libraries in the area. The City libraries seem to allow any state resident to get a card, but the County library requires that you live in the county.

There are a few Poke stops around my libraries, so I usually take a walk around and see if anything interesting is around.
 
We go every 2 weeks. My kids love it. I usually stock up on a pile of books that go with what we are studying at home. I also get a ton of picture books to read with my kids. My kids were just getting old enough where I could sit down and hang out and let them do their own thing, but now with 2 new toddlers I think the Library experience might be a little less relaxing.
 
Google Ames Free Library in Easton, MA. That is the library in my hometown and it is beautiful! It's really really old too. I can almost remember the way it smelled. Used to go there all the time to study for school (or try to anyway), or do book reports, etc. Next time I go home to visit, I need to go in there...lol

Anyway, I can't really study or read in a library. I can't keep my attention if it's too quiet. I'm one of those weirdos that needs background noise when I read or study.
 
We love our library too! I take the kids at least once every two weeks and MAN can my boys carry a lot of books! Lol! They take the term "stocking up" very seriously. I love that they love it! I also love the digital ebook borrowing and that if I want a book that my library doesn't have, I can request it online and it magically appears at my library within the week! All for free!! (well, ok we pay taxes, but still) I'm always so astonished when I find out that not very many people actually use the library. Weirdos. :giggle
 
I need to go to the library more often. I have cards for two libraries - the one in my small town and the one in the county seat in the next town. Between the two, they've got just about everything could ever want to read, but not quite. I mostly use the digital services to borrow ebooks. If there's something I want to read that's not available through the digital service, I put a hold on it and take the kids to look at books at the library whenever it becomes available. The kids like an occasional trip to the library, but get annoyed when I make them go too often. They go to their school libraries almost daily, so I know they're reading.
 
scrapsandsass said:
I love the library. So much, in fact, that this month I'm applying to another graduate program to get a Master in Library & Information Science. Don't tell Tim! :giggle The program I'm applying to made me swoon because they have research opportunities in things like "community memory," "digital heritage," and "equitable information access." Yes, I'm a total geek.
Click to expand...

I've been thinking about this; there is a university near me (about an hour's drive) where one option of their accredited Master of Library and Information Science program can be done entirely online. I like that it is close enough that I could go to the school if I need/want to, but that I don't have the 75 minute drive to go to every class (on top of my 30 minute daily drive to work.) However, I need to ask them about job placement before I sign up and it hasn't been a priority for me to find out because I won't consider enrolling for at least two more years.

I would love to Archives and Digital Content Management, but that one is onsite only; I'd really like to do Library Services and get placed in a college or university library, but I want to see if they offer some sort of after-graduate job placement. I would love to go back to helping people find the information that they are looking for. (I was a library page in high school, at our local district library, and I think I'd like to go back to something similar, but in a more technical environment, like engineering and science.)

With all that said, I don't spend much time at the library anymore; the hours are inconvenient to my work schedule. Last year I was able to take the kids to the library about once a month or so, but once school started, it became impossible to fit even that much into our schedule.
 
Love the library, but it's not nearly as quiet as it was when I was growing up. LOL There are certain rooms for quiet now . . . which I find interesting. Maybe it's just my local library? I don't know . . .
 
@gonewiththewind No, our library is not as quiet as it once was and definitely not as quiet as they were when I was a child. About 4 people staffing the info desk and 3 or so librarians doing check out all talking to people at normal volume. Then we also have people working with literacy training all over the library (one of my old volunteer jobs) and other people who need computer help. Then of course there's the children' section where they just can't be anything other than little ones who just get thrilled sitting (more or less!), listening to books being read. It's not quiet but it's really good in my opinion. Our library is very welcoming.

We do have a quiet room with the magazines, newspapers and special reference books. That is mostly filled with a couple of old men who glare when you walk in and sit down. Sometimes, I think I could give one a heart attack if I got up on a table and tap danced. Just a thought...
 
we love our local library. Not only do I get all my books there, and my kids get most of them, their programs are incredible. My son gets to help plan the teen programs, and they do a weekly fun thing for kids 11-18. They also have movies 3-4 times a month, you can rent date nights (often things like a cookbook, a puzzle or game, maybe a picnic basket....they are all different, and always checked out!)

Libraries are so different from when I was young - not quite the quiet stuffy place they used to be!! All fun, technological, and lots of studying and play going on together :) - and for those who like the quiet, there are quiet rooms heehee
 
Oh, a library has always been one of my favorite places to hang out!! I go to my local library every other Wendsday get get a couple books. Even better is my librarians KNOW me and if a new book comes in and they know I read that writers, they will call me at home and see if Im interested!
When I was going with my children we always went every Tuesday.
Here in Michigan (at least locally) we have the ability to get cards at surrounding towns so I took turn taking my children to those as well.
I live in the same town I grew up in so I've also seen the changes through the years. From the tiny building I visited as a child to the 'new' library that was built when my children were small. And now the building that used to be one of our schools that they totally re-did to make into what is now our small town libary. I love it as there are study rooms a section with a fireplace and couches around it, my mom uses that area during the winter when she needs to get out (lives alone) and will read there look at a magazine, socialize, or work on a puzzle which they always have a table there for anyone who wants to place one or more in place.
 
Good luck Jen!! We love the library too... nothing quite is the same as the smell and hush of a quiet corner. It brings me back to college where the only place for me to use a computer or research a paper was the library.
 
Back
Top