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What's wrong with the public library?

hm. over the years i've only taken out books so my mom saved money that way. i also got them a lot quicker from school since i wouldn't even go to a book store very often. my school library in middle school always had the new releases right away. that was back when i'd read those realistic fiction books for teens alot.

now i buy if i can't find the book in a library for the life of me. some i buy b/c i have money to spare or there was sales or whatnot.. or b/c i already read it years prior and loved it and would want to read it over and over again. some books i also bought just to almost.. show off? that i own them. some people judge you by the books you own =P

but if i buy a book, i generally take more time to read it then a book from a library. i get around to reading the borrowed book faster, and i read it faster. so in essesnce, i'm better off to sticking to libraries. far cheaper and i end up reading more.

the problem w/ libraries is that it takes forever to either take out a copy, or the copy is to old/tatered so it makes reading it unenjoyable. i bought a copy of Middlesex b/c it's been taken out of the library the past 2-3 months. every time i went, it was checked out. the library i drive 30 min one way specfically to is new, therefore does have more copies and books. i have actually stood in an aisle and compared multiple copies of the same book to decide which one i'll like reading more. once i was actually comparing the same exact books.. same fonts/size/format, but i guess two of them were more tatered or something, i dont recall.

but again, the good thing about libraries is that you're not afraid to take a chance on a book at all. i'm more skeptical when i buy and i hate it when i end up hating the book i bought.
 
Local one is rather pitiful. I'm better off buying used books and ordering from Amazon on occassion than I am going to the local public library. It isn't exactly a priority with my town, which focuses on youth programs and children's books. The latest book they have that would interest me is a biography on Sinatra, the reading list is rather paltry. Of course, that is part of the problem of living in a town of roughly 1300. I don't have a materialist or consumerist streak--a service isnt' provided, so I go to where one is that is easist for me to use.
 
I love the library! I get most of my books from there - I can't afford nor do I have the space to buy everything I read. I think the library is great, and not just for books either... they tend to have a reasonable but small collection of cds and dvds too.

I love collecting and owning books, but the library is far more practical...
 
I get most of the books that I read from the library because it is so much cheaper, and also because it provides a way for me to read the books that I'm not too sure that I will like other than buying the book and then finding that I don't like it.

My library doesn't have an overly large selection, and doesn't pick up the new books very fast (unless they are mega-sellers of course), but most of the books that they don't have I can usually pick up off the internet for a reasonable price. It is surprising some of the titles that they don't have, such as Magician and Lolita, but I guess that they must be books that someone has borrowed but never returned. Someone did that with A Child Called 'It' just recently, which is rather annoying as it is one of the books that I'm dying to get my hands on at the moment.
 
MonkeyCatcher said:
Someone did that with A Child Called 'It' just recently, which is rather annoying as it is one of the books that I'm dying to get my hands on at the moment.
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Ooo, good book. Very sad, very disturbing. Make sure you borrow both that book and the next one to find out what happened to David.
 
My local library is terrific. Its a small town, so the selection isn't as big as any of the branches in Wichita, but they are plugged into a statewide database so that they can do interlibrary loans from any public library in the state. And the ILL librarian gave me the website and code so I can access the system from home and order books to be sent to them. This saves her so much time, since I've already done the legwork to see if the title is available. If something I want is not in the state, they can order out of state too. This is even better than going to Wichita because if I request something from another Wichita branch, they charge per title, whether I pick it up or not. My library never charges for ILLs.
 
"What's wrong with the public library?"

It doesn't give me enough time to listen to books on CD. Other than that, nothing.
 
The Prussian said:
"What's wrong with the public library?"

It doesn't give me enough time to listen to books on CD. Other than that, nothing.
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I have to agree with you there.
 
Kookamoor said:
Ooo, good book. Very sad, very disturbing. Make sure you borrow both that book and the next one to find out what happened to David.
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I'm planning to as soon as I can get it. I'm bidding on one online, so hopefully I get it because I really want to read it.
 
I love my library, I'm rather obsessive about it actually. My city library is one of the best in the country, they have freaking everything. I hate the main downtown branch though, the librarians are grumpy, and it's too big. I go to a small branch that has almost nothing in it's stacks, but great service, so Ijust request taht the books I want be sent there through the online system. I'm actually considering becoming a librarian as I cdan't see myself in the banking industry for the rest of my life. mouse, what do you have to do to become a librarian anyway?
 
I still get books through the library way more than purchase them myself. I find most books that I am interested in are too expensive to buy. This past year I have bought a few books on impulse like The Good Earth and The Scarlet Pimpernel, but times like that are rare.

I rather like using the library because I tend to order a lot of reading material, movies, or music CDs. Librarians have come to regard me as a permanent fixture there for the most part.
 
i buy books that i think i will really need and should have, or that i pick up at a bookstore and start reading. i go to the library alot. sometime, i finish a library book and decide to buy it even though i almost never reread books. sometimes you just need to own that book you know?

also, sometimes libraries don't have the things i want but the bookstores do. sometimes, neither has them so i'm forced to wait.
 
I rely on libraries, now that I'm overseas, and don't want to lug a whole stack around with me. But back home, I had a couple of hundred books that I'd bought from various places. Most of the reasons I'd buy a book was because I'd want to read it sometime in the future, but not right now. If I wanted to read a book NOW, and then library had it, then I'd just borrow it. I tend to re-read books as well, so if I buy one, then chances are that I'd get good use from it. :)
 
I am going nuts at the library lately. They are always putting out books on the for sale shelf. I can get paperbacks for 25 cents each. So the spine is cracked that's not a big deal! LOL cheap books!! Last week I got 7 books for a grand total of $1.25...I love it!! And I checked out a bunch too...OMG what am I doing on here, I should be reading!! Hehe :D
 
Well, I can give you all this BS but really, I like to buy my books. I like to have them on my bookshelf for as long as I please. Its a good feeling knowing that you OWN a story you read and can refer back to it with a quick walk to the bookshelf. I don't really have visitors and the only people who really look at my books are my mom and dad so its not vanity, its purely for my enjoyment.:)

Plus, I go to school and I don't work. When my parents give me money, its for whatever I want (they pay for school, clothes, food, etc). I usually go for dvds or books. :D

The library in my city stinks. Literally (p-u!) plus, all they have are old reference books or classics. I never looked but I doubt they have any Irvine Welsh, Chuck Palahniuk, or Vonnegut other than Breakfast of Champions or Slaughter House 5. :(

I also have some debts there.:p
 
CattiGuen said:
. Its a good feeling knowing that you OWN a story you read and can refer back to it with a quick walk to the bookshelf.
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YES! I thought I was the only person who thought this way. It gives me a feeling of comfort to know I own what I've read. Pity I'm poor and go to the library!
 
MonkeyCatcher said:
I'm planning to as soon as I can get it. I'm bidding on one online, so hopefully I get it because I really want to read it.
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Please post about it if you get it - I'd like to discuss this one.
 
jaycee said:
I am going nuts at the library lately. They are always putting out books on the for sale shelf. I can get paperbacks for 25 cents each. So the spine is cracked that's not a big deal!
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Man, our library charges upwards of $3 for most books - I feel ripped off! :D Actually, I don't mind the library making a buck or two. The public one in my town is brilliant - current books and lovely librarians who will go the extra mile and never make a fuss over inter-library loans (I have had bad experiences in the past). It's 2 floors, and the top floor has these huge windows which look out over the river. On wintery Saturday afternoons it is wonderful to sit in their comfy chairs just reading and looking out at the snow falling. My apartment doesn't have big windows, so this is just lovely!

I also love the fact that it now allows me to renew my loans online, greatly reducing my overdue books :eek:. They also don't require you to repay your fines before you can borrow again. I'm not sure if this is a good policy, but they just remind you every time you borrow and ask if you'd like to pay it today. I have a $6 fine currently (overdue movies are expensive :() and am paying it off $2 at a time because I so rarely carry cash on me these days.

The only problem is that they never have their DVDs in. I'm trying to work out when people return and borrow them so that I can come in on those days. Now that they've made them 3 week loans it's even harder!
 
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