Bookish Questions – Do you use a library?
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Do you use a library?
As a reader, I feel like a horrible human being when I admit that I haven’t had a library card in ages. Growing up, I lived in one of the few townships in my state that did not have library service, so if we wanted library cards, we had to pay for them. Fortunately, my parents did, so I got to participate in all of the great reading programs that our local library offered. I even had preschool there.
When I went to college, I had access to the University libraries at Purdue, so I didn’t get my card renewed. And when I came home, I just never seemed to get around to getting that new card.
But, with my job, I do have access to the library at OCU. It doesn’t have much in the way of books that are for reading for pleasure, but I do make use of it for educational purposes.
When I want to read for pleasure, I go to my own personal library at home, which has a wide assortment of books, including a large number which I have yet to read. And, I also make use of the free classic books that are available for the Kindle app on my phone.
Do you patronize your local library?
No I don’t. Spain went “copyright mad” a few years ago and wants to charge people one Euro per book they check out. The money of course does not go to the individual authors, but to something called the Society of Authors, which is nicely anonymous.This is the country that charges a 35% luxury tax on physical books and then wonders why people don’t read!! Besides, the local libraries are very badly stocked. Considering Seville is the administrative centre for the entire region, there is no excuse for that. I used to go to the British Institute library until they got dumped by the British Council in the 90s and suddenly it was “registered pupils only.” Tough on people who had paid for “lifetime memberships.”
I was so lucky as a child, I went to the only elementary school with its own library in my town. That and the local public library used the Dewey Decimal System, so when I went to college and found myself dealing with the Library of Congress system I was totally lost.
These days I mostly download free ebooks from Gutenberg and other similar sites. The books I buy are usually cookbooks, children’s books with lovely illustrations, and some historical books you can’t get any other way.
I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who doesn’t make use of the library, even if I don’t have such a good excuse.