With all the attention taken by Kindles, iPads, blogs, twitter, RSS and other electronic reading options, it’s fair to ask: who cares about libraries? Haven’t we moved on to better things, “recontextualized for the Information Superhighway”?
It’s true, these new ways to read have much to offer. I love Amazon.com for books: its giant selection, reasonable prices, helpful reviews, and convenient shipping make it one of my favorite Internet places.
But wouldn’t it be better if reading books and movies was free? And still very convenient? If you could walk a few blocks from your front door to get the books you want instead of waiting for delivery? If this sounds good to you, then it’s time for you to catch up with your local public library.
But how can a little library compete with Amazon’s selection? When you search the library’s catalog online, you’re searching across the entire library system, and when you find that book you can have it sent to your local branch. When it arrives there, you’ll receive an email alert to tell you when it’s ready to pick up. Free! Instead of putting an item in my Amazon cart, I now request it be delivered to my local branch to be picked up next time I’m running errands around town.
Do you read obscure books? If it’s in a public library or university library in California, chances are you can have it sent to your local branch, too. They’ve built a combined catalog spanning many institutions that’s searchable, and then they’ve got a distribution system to move the books around to where you want them. Free!
Movies on DVDs? Netflix is $8 per month, but the library charges zero!
And a playground for kids? Wow, it’s as cool as a McDonald’s! Also free!
So what’s the catch? As always, you have to return the materials after a few weeks. And the library isn’t open at all hours of day and night. When you go, sometimes there are people coughing. If you can deal with that, get your card and get cracking.
