Local library

carolbee

t14cy_t wrote: »

I'm blessed with 3 very good libraries here on the isle of Sheppey. all are well used and I'm always in there! the staff are always so friendly too. xx

I'm in Kent too, and we have free reservations. I read about a book in various places, forums, online etc and order to be delivered to my local library. We can also have magazines etc online, but love a physical book.

I'm also lucky enough to have a group of book loving friends and we pass paperback books around between us.

I also buy 3 for £1 at local cancer charity

[Deleted User]

nearest library, 9.30-5 on 4 days plus half a day. One bus every 2 hours, 8 miles away. Miss the bus when it sails past as though you are invisible and it is a 5 hour round trip. By car, petrol and parking and it is small and limited. So I don`t use it. Mobile library once a month. Don`t use that either. I like to browse in the cs at my leisure and having some actual books in reserve in my home is part of my winter prepping

VfM4meplse

I really can't complain: I have at least six branches (that I know of) in my borough. Most are open until 8pm at least one night a week; one is open on 5 nights a week, and the one thats open until 10pm during weeknights is also open on Saturdays and Sundays.

Plus being in London, the loan system is free and stretched across all boroughs, so it never takes that long for a reservation to come through.

Ilona

I don't but any books at all, not boot sales, charity shops, or new, don't have a kindle. All my reading comes from the library. We have a van comes every Tuesday, I borrow as many books as I can, don't want Stan to lose his job. I sometimes pick up a few from the big library if I am in town.

I don't order books, I only read non fiction, so I am not familiar with any novelists.

Our library accepts any donations. Good condition books are cataloged and put on the shelves. Old books are sold for the paper value and go to recycling. The money is spent on new books.

Ilona

jackyann

My local library is set for closure, despite being heavily used, and raising 90% of the 'target' the Council set last year for us to avoid closure. I think we may avoid closure if the Council will be sympathetic about, say maintaining the building. We have a decent pool of volunteers who will step up, but of course we have reservations about volunteers taking over the jobs of paid staff; also there is no recognition of the dangers of untrained volunteers working in these situations.
I agree that libraries have to be responsive to local people. Ours has been until about a year ago, when finances have made it very difficult. I requested the new biography of Clem Attlee about 9 months ago, but the entire county system have not bought one single copy. I find that ironic.
Our local councillors have been appalling unsupportive.

Pollycat

jackyann wrote: »

My local library is set for closure, despite being heavily used, and raising 90% of the 'target' the Council set last year for us to avoid closure. I think we may avoid closure if the Council will be sympathetic about, say maintaining the building. We have a decent pool of volunteers who will step up, but of course we have reservations about volunteers taking over the jobs of paid staff; also there is no recognition of the dangers of untrained volunteers working in these situations.
I agree that libraries have to be responsive to local people. Ours has been until about a year ago, when finances have made it very difficult. I requested the new biography of Clem Attlee about 9 months ago, but the entire county system have not bought one single copy. I find that ironic.
Our local councillors have been appalling unsupportive.

jackyann
Your sad tale of your local library just highlights how inaccurate the OP's post really is:

Litchielou wrote: »

If this is a money saving site why are posters buying books from charity shops and not using their local library, we pay for this service through our council tax.
I remember taking my children on a Saturday morning where an assistant was reading a story then choosing a book for the week now they do that with their children. It has given me and them a love of reading and going to the local library is now part of our lives.
If it's not used they will disappear and I for one will feel sad.

It's not a case of 'use it or lose it' as the OP says, is it?

kittie wrote: »

nearest library, 9.30-5 on 4 days plus half a day. One bus every 2 hours, 8 miles away. Miss the bus when it sails past as though you are invisible and it is a 5 hour round trip. By car, petrol and parking and it is small and limited. So I don`t use it. Mobile library once a month. Don`t use that either. I like to browse in the cs at my leisure and having some actual books in reserve in my home is part of my winter prepping

And kittie's post above just highlights how hard it can be for someone who would use the library if it was easier.

And of course, as others have said, buying books from charity shops doesn't preclude them from using the library too.

jackyann

Our local library is in a market town of about 7,000, and serves a rural population of another 2,000 or so. Homework clubs, craft activities, all sorts of services and groups for all ages, all well attended. They very sensibly got the libraries to conduct a lot of council business, but that makes closure worse.
The council have helpfully got some poor junior / work experience person to googlemap where our nearest libraries are should it close. It takes no account of bus routes - the 2 nearest have either no service, or once-a-day go-and-return. The other has a more frequent service - you could manage a trip to the library and back in half a day, but it is in a town with no NHS dentist, very few shops, no council offices, and doctors who don't take from our area - so the only reason to go would be the library!

VfM4meplse

jackyann wrote: »

Our local councillors have been appalling unsupportive.

Which makes me wonder about their own literacy and appreciation of culture. Elections are no more than a popularity contest based on promises rather than action: appointed officials at least have to demonstrate skill and a track record.

dekaspace

On a side note people complain about benefit claimaints and tell them to go to their nearest library, well as people have proven here they are not always open 6 days a week and not always 9-5

Serendipitious

I love our libraries and have visited most branches within the county.

Each has a very well-stocked fiction section, then they each specialise in one or more genres as well, so one branch has an extensive SF section, another will have a large Crime/Thriller area, and so on.

I find if I get jaded by seeing the 'same old' novels, it's soon cured by a trip to a different branch.

Ours also has a shelf for donations & purchases by the main doors.

But I miss the personal element and the chat now there are so many self-service machines. (Although sometimes it can be a saving grace - one branch is staffed by the most unfriendly bunch!)