Books Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card!

[professor plum]

Is there a library in your town? Do you have an active library card? Do you use your library's online services, e.g. eBooks, eMagazines, etc.? When's the last time you checked out a physical book?

I had a library card growing up and used to go at least once a week during the summer. I stopped going to the library regularly in about 7th or 8th grade.

About 2.5 years ago, I wound up getting a library card in my current city - our main library has about 5 or 6 branches throughout town, with one literally two blocks away from me. I predominately only use it to check out eBooks via Libby, an app our library has to check out ebooks.

While I've not actually checked out a physical book from there yet, I did enter a contest a few months ago where I won a copy of The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern.

What about y'all?

 

[Zeostar]

I would walk from the library from my school all the time before covid started when I wanted to chill out because it was a quiet place.

I'm not much of a reader so I never bothered getting a card.

 

[Aslan]

I love the library. Reading is one of my main hobbies in my spare time so I've always loved just browsing through the books to see what seems interesting to read. I tend to borrow a lot of books in one go when I go and then inevitably return them months overdue. Luckily our library removed the overdue fines system or I would be in so much debt. :D

I do try to borrow physical books where I can but if I can't find it in the library, I'll often just find an online version of the book and read that instead. Something I love about the library is how much selection there is. I pick up a lot of books I would have otherwise not read because they're by smaller authors that I wouldn't have known about. If the blurb and first page catch my attention, I do my best to give the book a go but I also don't pressure myself to get through every library book I borrow. When I go to the library I still tend to stick to genres I like (historical fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, bildungsroman, classics) but I do still browse through other sections to see if I like anything.

These days I borrow from my local library but up to the end of HS, I would also borrow books from my school libraries and I would be that person who would sometimes just disappear to spend lunchtimes reading when I wanted peace and quiet. I've found I've also been able to finish library books a lot quicker by trying to find short breaks in the day to read chapters whether that's on my commute or when I'm taking 5-10 min breaks from work. Reading is incredibly relaxing and I can't emphasise how much I like the library. My one regret is not reading more when I was younger, I read so much before I entered HS but it fell off as I got busier. These days I've realised I can't keep using the excuse I have no time to read and I've been much happier now that I read a lot more, going to the library during my holidays + reading challenges help with this a lot. I wish I could visit more often to just read, I still spend a lot of time in the library but it always seems to be for studying now which is lamer in comparison D:

 

[pkmin3033]

I see your Arthur reference, Tyler

I haven't been to my local library in...years. A lot of my childhood was spent in it, but as I got older and had the money to buy my own books, I stopped going there. The selection wasn't great - mostly crime novels - and getting full series from other libraries took too long and wasn't guaranteed. They did have practically every Animorphs book there, though!

 

[Flowerchild]

I went to the library a few months ago to get some warrior cats books. That was the first time in like 10 years, I don't read very consistently anymore. But I went there SO much as a kid!

 

[Bay]

My city has the largest library in the county and even has a small coffeeshop and career center. I actually volunteered there for several years to shelve books and helped people with computer and resume stuff twice a week (before the library canceled the program due to low attendance).

The last physical book I checked out was summer 2019. When the pandemic hit I checked out books through Libby instead. I would like to go visit the library again soon as I would like to use some of their services once more.

 

[MiamiHeat305]

I rather just buy books than go to a library because I hate having to return them lol

 

[colours]

i miss the library. :c

i remember going to my local school's library a ton when i was younger, and checking out books then. i used to actually hang out at the library quite a bit in grade school; it used to be my hangout spot whenever i wanted someplace quiet to be by myself.

interestingly enough though, i haven't checked out many books. i'd really go to the library to read the books there to kill some spare time, and work on assignments. that even applies to the modern day, actually. :o whenever i need someplace quiet to work on coursework, the library would be my go to place. it's really so mentally relaxing for me, too!

the one thing that bothers me though is that ever since the pandemic started, the local library near me has changed into a "do whatever you need to do and gtfo" service, so i can't really relax there like i used to. i'm unable to go to my local campus library either because it's stupid far and i'm unsure if i'm able to as well, so i don't want to make the commute for no reason. @__@ dumb pandemic. :c

 

[XNaut]

I used to do volunteer work at the library and it is around a 10 minute drive. I had a library card and I would also check out books. The last time I checked out a book was somewhere around 4-5 years ago.

 

[ReKoil]

We do have a library here, but I've never even been inside lol
If I want a book I usually just prefer buying it in a store. And I prefer actual physical books. I've been avoiding ebooks and the like for some time now 😅

 

[Devalue]

Yes. Put a public library across from one of the district's elementary schools. Cannot recall ever checking anything out from it, at any age. May have happened, though.

Frequented the school's library through sixth grade. Marks the last time checking out a book, probably. Brought books from home. Read and reread those.

 

[Duck]

Ok, so, strictly speaking there are public libraries in my city. Quite a few of them actually, but I just never really went there.

Like, I knew of this big giant old building smack dab downtown that's like the library in the country - it's literally called the National Library - but I never actually went there, because I live very far from downtown.

I only really discovered there are others when researching for this post, so that's nice. Still, most of my library usage is done at university - or was, in the before times, lol. In fact I still have a book checked out here from before the pandemic hits.

Nowadays I use Kindle Unlimited a fair bit, which is ... kind of a library, so there's also that, I guess.