Today, it’s 34 degrees outside and it’s supposed to go down to freezing with accompanying ice and snow. I’m sitting at a nice table with electric outlets built-in for my computer and phone and decent wi-fi. In about 30 minutes, it will be time for me to pack up and walk back to where I’m staying to wait out the storm. I’m at my local library.
A month or so ago I picked up a cookbook here to confirm a couple of party recipes. Waiting for me where I’m staying is a mystery novel I borrowed from the library a couple of days ago. Maybe before I leave the library today I should look for a movie to keep my host happy? (For those of you who know me well, you know I’m kind of allergic to movies. But he adores them and if I pick the right one, I, too, can watch it!)
A couple of weeks ago, I arrived home from a holiday visit to my younger son and his family in San Francisco. What did I do in San Francisco besides spending time with them? I spent a lot of time at the main branch of the San Francisco Public Library. They have fabulous wi-fi and carrels that overlook beautiful public buildings. Plus it is within walking distance of my son’s apartment, so I got some exercise.
I confess that I’m addicted to libraries. But I suggest that even if you love buying books or even if you never read books, you should still 1) have a library card and 2) visit/use a library now and then. Why?
Most obviously libraries are a depository for books. Even the most ardent bibliophile occasionally needs information from a book they don’t own. Personally, I have borrowed books I had a vague interest in only to immediately buy said book when I realized its ongoing value for me. (Examples are Turbulent Mirror and Finding Your Way in a Wild New World.) Do you prefer audiobooks or books on your Kindle or other electronic reader? Libraries now lend materials in those formats as well. Really.
Right now I’m lucky enough to live in a city where the public library has one of the best collections in the United States, so I can almost always find that old odd reference, that juicy novel, or that strange new work discussed on a recent talk show. (OK, sometimes I’m on a waiting list for the last. But that works for me too.) Almost all libraries can borrow something for you from another library if it’s not part of their collection. If you have small children, borrowing books is an easy and inexpensive way to help instill a love of reading in them.
Do you still use CDs to listen to music? (I realize this is changing.) Libraries have a great array to lend. The movie addict mentioned above also collects CDs and finds new ones to enjoy at the library and so expand his listening. Love movies? Check out the DVD collection as mentioned above. (VHS tapes are available as well if your equipment is older.)
Maybe you just need space in which to work as I often do. My computer gleefully recognizes wi-fi in libraries in Cincinnati, San Francisco, and Seattle. I’m pretty sure there are two or three more library systems where I don’t need to sign in either. Plus, while at a library, like today, I’m not getting phone calls or being distracted by the demands of an office or home. If you prefer total privacy, some libraries even provide private study spaces with doors you can shut and lock.
Libraries are expanding and changing. Many libraries offer special interest groups, special events, and expanded services. For instance in Portland, Oregon, you can “borrow” a pass to get you into popular local museums and cultural sites in that city. The Cincinnati, Ohio, library system has “MakerSpace” where you can use equipment that ranges from block printing and sewing machines to a well-equipped sound booth to 3D printing. You can also publish and print books you have created yourself. (It is a library after all.) At some libraries, you can ask for and receive assistance in finding a job. Other libraries offer after school programs to help children with homework and teen centers where there are clubs, school assistance, or just space for hanging out away from parental-type adults. Additionally, some libraries offer meeting rooms, concerts, lectures, and “writer’s in residence” programs.
If you have trouble finding a book, need help or recommendations, or assistance in using the library’s computers or copy machines, just ask a librarian. Librarians are the most important resource in a library, Personally, I have seen librarians reading to groups of children, overheard one answering questions about patents, and have received help finding a book I could only describe in the vaguest of terms.
Last summer, the Cincinnati libraries, as did other libraries around the United States, lent eclipse glasses (supplied partly through funding by NASA), for viewing the almost total eclipse of the sun in a community event setting.
Libraries are warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and there are public restrooms. So, if you’re out and about and need a place to hang for a while, go in and grab the latest issue of your favorite magazine and find a chair, which is usually a very comfortable one, i.e., they are not all straight-backed and made of wood.
Unfortunately, today, in many places, library funding is in jeopardy, which may not seem important to you—until you need the services of a library or realize how a library can stretch your budget and resources. Interestingly it is a teen magazine that recently published an article on national funding for libraries and what you can do to help, no matter what your politics.
What have I missed? What is offered at your library? Send me a note next time you visit!
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All photos by Spirit Moxie. From the top:
Banners in the Main Library of The Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
View from the stacks and study carrel on the 5th floor of the Main Library, San Francisco Public Library
Inside the Central Library of The Seattle Public Library
Materials printed on a 3D printer
Music for the eclipse: flutist wearing eclipse glasses