Steve Probe 2024: You and Your Library!
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- Опубликовано: 6 сен 2024
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A friend and I spend 5hours 2 days a week at our local library. We often discuss our books like a 2 person book club. We love being there and all the kind and intelligent staff know us. We also borrow books and it is a wonderful outlet for two 78 year old ladies who adore reading. Thanks Steve
Hi from Seattle, WA our public libraries are a refuge for the drug deals, alcohol drinking from water bottles, and for homeless sleeping, taking restroom sponge baths, and grocery cart u-haul storage in the library opened / til closing time. I haven't returned because a book checkout had a dried booger on one page.Cleanliness ! So I resort to ebooks
Most of my reading is backlist books which are not always available as an ebook. The 40 libraries in my county have formed a cooperative so that as a patron, I can request a physical book from any of them and pick the book up at my local library. I read about 50 library books a year - both ebooks and physical ones, so I generally visit about twice a month. Before I retired, I often would spend my lunch hour at the library closest to work. It was wonderful to commune with the books to rid my body of work stress! That library kept all of its mysteries in one room, not filed in with all the rest of the fiction. Thosd lunch hours were heavenly!!
I live in Finland and libraries are among the most beloved institutions here (also, books are quite expensive). There's a national free e-library, but I prefer reading physical books, newspapers and journals and visit my local library almost daily, since it's only 5 minutes walk away. Academic libraries are free to public as well and I use them actively. I'm actually studying to be a librarian at the moment but we'll see what's the future of that career choice..
I'm in TX. We have a small library nearby. A short drive. I regularly borrow, DVDs, blu-rays and books. I'm quite thankful for it all. Seems like a lot of the patrons (varying ages) use it for the internet, job help resources, air conditioning and as a means to occupy their children's time (about a quarter of the building is dedicated to a children's section). Books are still being borrowed but seem to be of increasing less importance. In the last year or so I've noticed a steep decline patrons borrowing movies. Many of the new releases that used to take weeks or months to get a hold of now sit there on release day. Most of the books I borrow are not ones I find at my usual haunts.
Public libraries are essential for me. To save money, Monday through Saturday, I happily go read the NYTimes, Boston Globe, Wall Street Journal & Manchester Union Leader. I can't afford to buy a newspaper.
I go to the local public library around once a week. It is part of a county system which has 6 branches.
In the main branch, which is about 10 minutes away by car, they did a renovation of the children’s area when we first moved to the area to design it to imitate the local “downtown area.” So there is a section that looks like a grocery store with kitchen and plastic food toys and a toy cash register, a section with seats fashioned like a train on fake tracks, another section with puzzles and mats for babies and toddlers, and an upper section with makerspace and crafting activities like legos, marble runs, crafting projects, a 3-d printer, and coding robots. So one reason I use the library so frequently is it is a free place to bring my children. Preschool story time is packed, you have to fight for a space in the parking lot.
In addition, they frequently host other planned events: local author readings, gardening clubs, book clubs, movie nights, dungeon and dragons for teens, Pokémon trading card night, etc. They also offer passport services at our library. Basically it’s a community hub for all sorts of things.
We also borrow physical and e-books once a week when we go (both grown-ups and kids). Occasionally also a DVD and a board game and puppets and toy sets.
According to the stats they posted for 2024 they had 3 million+ total circulations of which 745,000 were digital across all branches, and they had 725,000+ visitors.
I live in Colorado. I like to read paper books, though I do have a Kindle and an Audible account. I'm a bit of a dinosaur because I go to the library almost every week. I read library books almost exclusively. Although I don't browse the library often. I usually put books on hold and then pick them up, so I'm in and out.
1) We have great libraries with great staff here in Edmonton! Lindy of Magpie Reads here on Booktube was a librarian at my local branch before she retired- she was the best of the best. I can't walk to it but it's a 10 minute drive. I work downtown and we have a beautiful new branch there that I can walk to. 2) Library is still a huge part of my reading life. I don't use it as a third space much anymore since covid. That's probably more to do with my kids age. They are too old for the programming and I can sit down and read/write without them bothering me, in a way i couldn't when they were little. Like dogs, they grow out of needing constant reassurance! But I will often put a book on hold both in paper and ebook and just take what comes first. So I go in person to pick up, but don't do a lot else. Well I do go to the semi-annual book sale!
I miss my old library in Sammamish, WA. It had a floor to ceiling fireplace and many cozy chesterfield style chairs to enjoy next to the evergreen trees through the window. A “third place” I used to study for my CPA exam, I miss it terribly.
Wait, what happened to it? Did you move away, or was it bombed off the face of the planet?
@@saintdonoghue I moved! I live in hell aka Phoenix now. 🔥
Nice to hear the place name Sammamish without mentioning that infamous serial killer who shall remain nameless
I'll tell you what I miss about libraries and I admit it's weird and I never would have thought it at the time but I really miss card catalogs. I know computers are more efficient and easier to use but the physical experience of flipping through a card catalog had an element of the hunt that has been lost
Yes, I miss that too! The good old Dewey decimal system and the card would tell you right where to go. As a child it amazed me.
@ingridfitz5677 you also had to go through a lot of other cards to find what you were looking for so you would see things that were related to what you were wanting to look up. Now you just type in a title and it comes up and you don't get the other stuff that may be useful
The coffee shops have gotten to where the music is so loud that you can’t go there anymore to just be around people but not necessarily to interact with them. The library can offer you a place where you aren’t alone but you can sit quietly and chit chat or write or read. Plus with the costs of books it’s a great value for the costs. I. Lucky enough to be in a system that has libraries all over the state that interact with one another so I can borrow a book from one library and it be sent to my home library who doesn’t carry that book. Opens up a larger selection for me.
Libraries are for randomness for me. I'd not go looking for 'roadkill and what science learns from it', but that's what caught my eye last visit and it was brilliant. Most of life I find what I'm looking for and only what I'm looking for, and that saddens me cause there are a million things it'd never occur to me to look for. So, I go to the library. It's also where I go when I can't find something, like the obscure book not in any catalogue in the state a librarian recently tracked down and printed (!) for me. My ereader's brimming and libby for audiobooks, but a physical library brings something to the table neither can
I use my library all the time. I’m there at least 3X a month. I like to borrow physical copies and I also like to use Libby that is provided by the library for audiobooks. I don’t own a kindle. In fact, my library just placed an Interlibrary Loan for me on a book I learned about from you! Them Bones. I don’t pick out random books from shelves as much as I used to, but I may start doing that again one day.
Save Our Public Libraries... 💖📚💖📚
I have seven different library cards, but haven’t used any since early 2020, when the pandemic forced them closed. Now I’m living next door to my grandparents’ whole house library, so I don’t need to go far for a fresh book.
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I'm not a Millennial or Gen Z and the library has always been my 3rd place. I can't walk to any libraries. I have memberships to 3 library systems: my home county in my state, the DOD library where we are currently stationed, and the local library in the UK village where we currently live.
I still heavily borrow physical books. I also borrow a lot of audiobooks. I take my youngest son to the library at least once a week. I did the same with his brothers before they grew up and turned into college students.
I spend every Saturday all day at the BPL Copley Square. If I didn't have to work I'd be there on the other six days too!
The wait list for ebooks is almost always a LOT longer than for printed copies, so it’s wild that most people don’t even know about them!
I have a routine of grabbing lunch every Sunday at a local Mexican restaurant, and then going to my libray. I still check out print books and DVD/Blu-Rays; I also do a lot of my journaling at my library. I live in the Chicagoland area, so there are many libraries within a reaosnable distance, some of which I''ve setup borrowing privilages; I'll drive to other libraries on the occasional Sunday and engage in my routine.
I visited my small-town library once a week from about middle school through high school. It was on the lot next to my church, and we would always get to church early on Wednesday (Southern Baptist church) and I would go to the library for an hour or so before youth group started. I would pick out a few books to get me through the next week.
Now, I read almost entirely ebooks, or used books I find, but I still take my kids to pick out books at the library every few weeks. We moved back to my hometown a few years ago, so we get to go to the same library I grew up with. My older two (ages 9 and 8) have kindles that they love, but they still like to look through the shelves and pick out a book or two they've never seen before. My youngest (age 3) loves to pick out 8 or 10 picture books at random.
Our local library in UK has been largely defunded by the local council. It is now run by volunteers and is useless. The stock is hugely depleted and no new books are available, They have ebooks, but anything you want to read is unavailable. I gave up. I used to love the Devon County library, but I moved to Torbay. The council is stuffed with hoteliers and the only have self-interest in visitors, local people being mere cash cows. They no longer adequately fund the museum nor the library, roads are in a disgraceful state, and local tax is at an all time high.
I have thousands of books, but anything I want I get an ebook now unless they isn't one, so I still buy the occasionally. At present I'm keen on Penguin Classics Deluxe, which are stronger than the normal paperbacks without the weight of hardbacks.
I don’t know if you want any info on the U.K. Here libraries have been fighting to remain publicly funded. I am about to start running a ‘community library’ in a slightly deprived area, so that means we get more funding. I see many customers have remained using the facilities and physical books but we are trying to promote more our digital services. I don’t think older readers are as bothered about ebooks but we have seen a decline after COVID. They don’t come in the same numbers. The library has become a community space for groups, new mothers, remote workers, and some students. We still see many people who use it as a refuge, from the cold or heat. To have access to the internet.
I use my library for ebooks all year long. During the summer when I am on break from teaching I go weekly to check out books and to see what books that they have for sale. At the beginning of summer the used books were 10 cents for paperback and a quarter for hardback, so I bought a lot. I keep track of all the books that I request in my reading journal. Going to the library is one of my favorite things to do.
I live in a small town not too far from Nashville. We have a public library that is nice and bright and I have had a library card since I was a kid but I rarely go anymore. I love libraries but the one here in town is, I am sorry to say, a little boring. It seems to be very popular with moms who bring their kids and so the kids section is fairly popular. That's great. The public-use computers are almost always being used. I grew up on the campus of a private boarding school. My dad was the Headmaster and a teacher (English and history) and my mom was a librarian at another school in town. I always helped in the library of my own schools as well as my mom's . I loved the old library on the campus where I grew up. It was built in 1912 and has a beautiful stained glass ceiling. I spent many rainy days in there and they had tons of old books from the 1800s that I found fascinating. Anyway, my mom was that librarian that you talked about in the video. She knew everything and was happy to suggest further reading. I'd go to my local library if they had more physical books that interest me but they don't. OK, yes, the new releases, sure. But I don't read a lot of those. I have assembled my own library at home. I do get it, though. The library only has so much space and not a lot of financial resources so they want to stock the library with things that interest their customers and community. A few months ago I was at the library and I amazed a young teen by helping her find a Sarah J. Maas book using the author's last name. She couldn't believe it and said I was "like, a wizard or something." Haha. I felt like a rock star.
My step dad is 84 & he used to go once per week to the cedar rapids library to grab a pile of books. Since covid he checks them out on his tablet. My kids use their respective university libraries for studying mostly. I still regularly check out physical books but also ebooks/audiobooks at mine. I like to go because i always find something i haven't heard of when i browse
I went to the library a few weeks ago for a book sale and I was shocked all the changes that happened. I am making it a goal to go to the library at least once a month. It was great to pick up a book that was on my TBR and read it and now that I love the book I'll end up buying it. Before that I was just really using the ebooks. I have to say I like my library system because it's the whole Southern WI system so if my local library doesn't have a physical book I can order it from a library in that system and it will get to my local library for me to borrow.
My library used to be a 5 minute walk from me and I did use it as a 3rd place. I used to love taking a random walk and sitting by the window to read. Since moving I’ve only used Libby but plan on going to the library in this area when my daughter gets older.
Bah, libraries! Stevestreams are my third place.
Hah! Sorry to miss one tonight!
I am an academic in my thirties who has lived in the US and Canada for several years, and I currently live in France. I do all my professional reading exclusively on my laptop. All papers and most books in my field are available online. Newer journals never had any print versions and they are being phased out by the oder journals as well. I occasionally read for pleasure, probably no more than twenty books per year on average (mostly classics, sci-fi, and fantasy), and almost all of it on an ereader. I do most of my recreational reading on commute and an ereader is a godsend for that purpose, not to mention its convenience when it comes to moving from one country to another. I have never been to a public library. All my workplaces, universities and research institutes, have had their own libraries, not always staffed, which I assume were there as well-maintained historical relics because they served no practical purpose that I was aware of. Can not comment on the usefulness of a library in a social context, the thought never occurred to me, and I can think of better places for myself.
Most of the time I go to my local library most of the seats are full.
I work at the library now. When I was traveling for contract work, many times it depended on whether I was able to get a library card in the area. Some libraries have many hoops to jump through to get a card. When I moved back home, I visited the library a few times a week.
My library is part of The Timberland Library system of 27 libraries in southwest Washington state. I get physical books, e-books and take part in a book club there. The branch I use most often is a beautiful Carnegie library.
My local public library was built just three years ago as part of the Pasco County Library System. The building’s selection of books is rather small as libraries go, but I could of course request that the library bring in a book from elsewhere in the county system. It is frequented by youngsters, probably because the grade school is right next door. I last checked out a physical book from there last year (Murakami’s _First Person Singular_ ).
The library is two miles from my home. When I was a kid, however, and again as an adult up until retirement, I usually lived about four blocks from my local public library.
I have not physically set foot in a library in a decade. I use libraries virtually for e-books and audiobooks all the time. I have library cards at various libraries around the country, all linked to my Libby app.
My small town library underwent a massive renovation about 3 years ago and more than doubled in size, so I would consider it a relatively large one now. I wouldn't call it busy, but it's also never dead when I go. I see people of all ages.
I'm a fairly infrequent user of it. I definitely like the library as a "third place" but not in a social sense. When I need to kill some time in town it's the only place to go without the expectation of buying something. After the renovation, it has a soundproof room where you're required to read silently and I'll often bring my own book and read in it on those time-killing occasions. I use my card for Hoopla and Kanopy and I will occasionally borrow a physical book, though their selection doesn't line up that well with my taste so I mainly stick to my personal library. It's interesting that you talk about people who never physically enter their library. I was surprised to find that James by Percival Everett had holds in the triple digits for the ebook while the one physical copy was available. Of course, my favorite aspect of it is the 1 or 2 Friends of the Library sales every year.
I love the King County Library in Washington, almost every small and large town has a branch. I'm there about twice a month to pick up holds and take a browse through the stacks. I check out mainly nonfiction books while I buy most my fiction reads at used bookstores. This year the library did away with late fees and will automatically renew your books as long as there are no holds. I do not read on any devices but have been trying out Libby for audible books. At my main branch, which is in Sammamish, there are always quite a few people but it is comfortable place to sit and read.
Great discussion Steve. I live a mile away from my library. It's not particularly new or fancy, but they keep a great selection of physical and digit media. I get ebooks constantly. However I still feel the pull to visit in person to browse a few times per month. I also use the holds system frequently for physical new releases because ebooks seem to have a much longer wait time.
I love libraries too
I went to UCLA in the 80s and loved going to Powell library, the law library, the medical research library. I miss that.
My sister used to work at the music research library at that time and I would leave the science part of campus to meet her up there to have lunch.
Now, while there is a little library a half a mile away I use Libby to check out ebooks every week. I almost never go into the library.
My local library is used for children a lot and seems very good at that.
My daughter volunteered there for a time to teach English as a second language to Spanish speakers.
I’m in and out of my local libraries every week (two public and two university libraries within walking distance). I rarely buy books but borrow print and ebooks weekly (read on a tablet - Kindle devices don’t work with library ebook services in Canada). I’m a hard core catalogue user and request print books regularly so my trips are usually pick-up and drop-off sessions. So not really a third space situation for me.
I’m a retired academic collections librarian (lots and lots of budget work) so most of my library opinions are inflected by that. I entered librarianship post-internet, post-Google, and post-wikipedia: all those things made reference consultations a rare thing - but they were often a source of nerdy pleasure.
I work at mine, Steve! Here in Florida there’s been a lot of bs about card access level changes so parents have to ok their child getting adult fiction, ya, or adult nonfiction if they are under 13. Also allows parents to restrict teen cards to not be able to get adult fiction and YA stuff if they don’t want their teen reading that stuff (a “classics” section has been created which is available to more restrictive access levels; the list is somewhat good but certainly not comprehensive of actual classics). A lot of what we do here is try to help people on the computer to type letters, or print pay stubs,apply for jobs, or apply for benefits (through the purposefully shitty website the state has). We do still have a lot of people checking out items though, especially children, and our children’s librarian is very good about events for the kids to get them into the library. I should also say our branch is pretty close to the campus of USF so we have a decent amount of college kids who want new fiction coming in and checking out stuff. (I myself buy tons of books but also check out my max at the library lol.)
My local library sold all their cd’s.
I belong to 3 public libraries and 1 research library. I found during COVID I found quite a few "new" ways to use all of them. I probably use them more than I did.
I think you should visit the BPL one day next week! I am sure your viewers would be thrilled to see you there and hear your stories...
I would, but you never know what kind of riff-raff you might encounter there …
Hello Steve. I had an aunt that worked at a library in Georgia. She passed away some years back and I haven’t been to the library since that time. I have been ordering books from Amazon. I also buy books from various Goodwill stores.
Did you tend to go to this library back when she was alive?
@@saintdonoghue Yes I went there a few times but I haven’t been there since she passed away.
Last time I used the library was mid to late 90s. And now, I even stopped going to Barnes and Noble.
I do go to a library once a week now. Not mine, but one for the elderly people I care for at work. They use it as a Blockbuster Video, to take out DVDs. I do check the for sale section when I'm there. Every so often I find something interesting for $1.
I’m in Philly. Free Libraries have branches all over the place. The one near me is in an ancient building and gets a lot of traffic.
My library in Troy, Michigan is pretty great. I mostly use it for digital ebooks and audiobooks. I only immersively read and that gets expensive so need to supplement with the library. I do go a few times a year in person to browse or take the kids. It is always a pleasant experience. I do have about 300 un-listened to audible books, close to 500 unread ebooks, and probably a few hundred paperbacks at home that I haven't read yet. I wish I didn't have to sleep! I read 100-120 books per year.
So, physical visits only a few times a year?
@@saintdonoghue yessir! Only when all other avenues to acquire the book fail
My library took out most of the seating and tables to deter the homeless men from staying there all day. You can book a study booth with a chair and electrical outlet for 1 hour at a time. So E-lending much easier.
I’m a 98’er. I haven’t used a library since I was 12. I get all my books from thrift stores, used bookstores, online retailers, or as gifts (I never shop at major chains like Barnes & Noble because they’re overpriced). I prefer owning all my media and having it physically rather than digitally. It’s the same reason I don’t have streaming services but have shelves and shelves full of blurays.
My third place(s) are my friends’ homes and vice versa for them.
I haven't visited my public library since the pandemic (except to drop off some books for the Friends of the Library sale).
I go to our local branch of the Auckland public library system at least once a week. I mostly request books online and pick them up from the library rather than browse the shelves. I have children who are of an age that the siren song of the online world is starting to seduce them, so I request anything and everything that might interest. Even if we/they read 1/4 of the books we borrow I consider it worth it.
My library tends to be packed with people (mostly people working remotely and students) all the time and I can never find a seat, so I only really ever go there if there is a book sale or to get a physical book if the ebook hold line is too long. Before Covid I would go there to read and get out of the house but now it’s just too busy. I’m in small town PA.
Most libraries are offering classes like learning computer courses.
Hmmm! You’ve got me thinking Steve. I think I’ll do my video on that today.
today at my library the elevator was out of service and i wanted to browse on an upper level, so i came back home empty handed which is disappointing but whatever. at least i have my ereader. that is mostly how i access my library these days because of hassles like the elevator isn't working, or the parking is bad. people of all ages use my library. i think the buidling needs some renovation to be more physically accessible. the layout is not user-friendly unless you are going to the children's room on the ground level. and you didn't ask about this, but i prefer the libraries that have their physical ILL holds directly accessible to patrons. at my local library i have to ask for my holds at the circulation desk but there are others where you can just get your holds yourself and don't have to talk to library staff. sometimes i just want to go in and out with the self-checkout. these days i'd rather read at home or outdoors. interesting discussion. p.s. thank you for the Pride & Prejudice readalong!
I use my local library for use of their printer at tax time. I use my local library and Broward County library for e books and magazines on my Samsung tablet S9
Ha! I remember the last time you went to the Boston library, the most recent book sale with all of the dealer bro's
Hah! Well, I'll be avoiding the sales, anyway -
If your friend is researching Gen Z usage, the replies here may be from a slightly older demographic.
Steve was right.