I used to use my local library all the time when I was in school.
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I even spent every lunchtime in my school's library. My friends and I were pupil librarians and we practically had the run of the whole library. And then, when I started University, the only library I had time for was the University library. And that wasn't an enjoyable experience.
However, last summer I started going to my local library again. (I then had to stop again when I got my job.) And unfortunately, I was pretty disappointed.
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The availability sucks. I can deal with books I want that are already out on loan. It's the complete lack of decent books the library has on its system that gets to me.
All those months I went to the library last year and I never left with a book that was already on my TBR. I walked around that place looking at my Goodreads trying to find any book on that list. And I couldn't find any at all (except for the Classics).
To be honest, I never even found a book that was published in the last year in that library, or even from 2014.
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Sure the library does get "new" books in every few months, but in reality, they aren't new releases. And often I've never even hear of the new books (not that that's necessarily a bad thing). Even the ebook collection available is abysmal.
I just want to be able to borrow the new release books that I'm desperate to read. I can't go on spending money on books.
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If all libraries are like this, then it really isn't much of a surprise that so many are closing left right and centre.
So tell me, do you use your local library? And is availability up to scratch?
I don’t use my library very much either. They have a lot of older books, but I have a hard time finding ones that interest me. I also own so many unread books that I’d rather read those than go to the library. I have my own library.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I know exactly what you mean, the books are all old, obscure or just not of interest. I almost have my own library at home too - like many others I'm aiming to have a room full of just books haha!
DeleteI'm so sorry! I live outside of Boston and my library use a system called Minutemen. All the libraries are connected, so if you need something that isn't in your library, they transport it from another.
ReplyDeleteI would say to ask the librarians - maybe request some of the new titles you'd like to see. Or try a different library. I'm not sure what the rules are for obtaining a library card in different towns, but it seems worth a shot.
This is just really disappointing to hear because I recently became a HUGE fan and supporter of libraries. I had previously bought every book I had planned on reading. Then my husband and I got serious about saving for our house and I used the library for everything. Now I'm hooked and want this as a regular lifestyle. I hope it works out for you!
- Elizabeth @ Book Yabber
All the libraries in our county (7 towns) are connected too and you can request from all of them, but the selection is just so poor.
DeleteThe librarian's just don't seem to listen either, which is annoying because a close family friend is one.
The city I work in is in a different county, but you need to live in the county to join their library system.
Agh, I HEAR YA. Actually my library is quite good, but their ebook section is horrendous and they NEVER update it. And they so so sooo rarely get new books. Like I just found a way to purely look up what YA books they've got from 2015. Pfft, it was just a handful and most I'd already read. D: I ask them to buy a lot of books and they do, though, so THAT IS NICE!! But I really covet a library that keeps up-to-date with new releases.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!
You are so luck that you have a good library! And it's so nice that they listen to your requests, I wish mine did. I can definitely relate to a horrendous ebook selection though - I've never heard of any of the authors. A library with an up-to-date selection would be heaven on earth!
DeleteI actually didn't enjoy my library that much, because a lot of their books are so old. I recently found the online ebook system that my library has, and the books are much more recent and there are so many on my TBR list. My state has a whole combined online ebook library, so the bigger cities probably put most of the books out there.
ReplyDeleteKrystianna @ Downright Dystopian
I totally hear you! Old books are nice enough, but sometimes (always) you just want the brand new releases. Your the first person I know whose library has a good ebook selection! That is just brilliant and I'm so jealous!
DeleteMy library kind of sucks too, but they've just expanded one of the branches and they're building a new one as well, so I'm hoping things will get better. Unfortunately, the new one won't be ready until 2018, but in the meantime, there's the expanded branch I can go to. I've also learned that inter-library loan is my friend. That's where you can request books from nearby library systems that may be more likely to have what you're looking for due to better funding or larger population, etc. It's kind of a pain, but it works in a pinch. Unfortunately, libraries just don't get enough funding. The big cities in my state have great libraries, but they have a higher population and more funding, so I really think it comes down to where you live and the priorities of the local polititians. :(
ReplyDeleteAww, that's nice that you're getting a brand new library! But it totally sucks that it's going to take a while to open though.
DeleteMy library does inter-library loans too, but the selection is sub-par in all the linked libraries.
Aw boo! My local library itself sucks for availability (although it is tiny, so that might explain it!) but the availability of books throughout Essex as a whole is really not bad and they do the inter-library loans scheme, too. We have 74 libraries in Essex and a book usually takes about 2-3 days to come through. They definitely don't have all the books on my TBR list, especially not the newer ones, but they have enough to keep me going.
ReplyDeleteOh wow! The choice of 74 libraries is amazing... I think we only have 7 libraries and they're all pretty small. To be fair, it doesn't take to long for books to come through either.
DeleteI don't even have local library around where I live! If I want to go to the library, I need to go to the city :( The only thing that resembles a library is my school library, and like your experience, my school library is relatively new, so it doesn't have many books. And most of the books there are for study. Even when there are some novels, most of them are older than 2015. So yeahh... that sucks :(
ReplyDeleteTasya // The Literary Huntress
Oh my god! To not have the option of going to the library sucks. My school library wasn't too bad, weirdly most books were for leisure and not for study at all. Except for the Senior section, but that was mostly for the English students.
DeleteWhoa, you need to move by me-my local library system is Amazing! In fact I ONLY read library books-yep I don't own a single book and get 100% of the books I read from the library :) I usually go 1-3 times a week, plus I spend a lot of time on their ebook lending site. I get new releases all the time and I can also put my name on pre-release hold lists, for books that haven't been published yet (I'm currently on this list for five books).
ReplyDeleteThe nice thing about my library is it's part of a large library cooperative with numerous other branches. So if there's a book that my local branch doesn't have, then I can request it from another branch and they deliver it to my branch for free. You can have 15 holds at a time and I usually have 10 or so going :)
In the rare occasion that none of the branches has the book I can submit an order request. I've put in 10 requests in the past few months and they've all been approved-and this means I'm also the first person to get the book because after the books are approved they're automatically added to my holds list. Right now I have two books that I requested that are en-route.
And then one more thing going back to their ebook catalog-this is available 24 hours a day and there's literally thousands and thousands of books available for instant download to my Kindle. Check-out takes seconds and then it's magically sent to my Kindle :)
So yeah, you can probably tell I'm totally in love with my library, lol :)
That would be amazing to only read library books! I can just imagine how much money I would save. However, I don't think that I could ever not own a single book - I need to display books in my house far too much. And you're so lucky that you get new releases too!
DeleteMy library does the interlibrary loan thing too, but the council are seriously lacking in choice so it's not the greatest. I think we can request books to but I'm not too sure of they actually pay to much attention to the needs/wants of the public.
My library's ebook catalog is the worst collection of books I have ever seen. It's all old-fashioned romances and non-fiction self-help books.
I wish I could love my library as much as you do yours!
My local library is actually pretty up to date with titles. They've actually been able to order books I've asked for and I've been first on the list to read them. I adore my library.
ReplyDeleteYou are so lucky! Mine is always so far behind or they buy books that nobody actually wants.
DeleteLibraries often can't afford to buy all the new materials they would like due to budget concerns. I know my library would love to buy new books, but once the money for the year is gone, it's gone--so maybe they have to hold off buying all the new releases in the first half of the year, to ensure they can buy some new releases in the second half. It's sad when libraries don't have everything I want, but I know it's not their fault, so I usually just ask for an interlibrary loan and support them that way. Any way you can add to their usage statistics helps them to petition for more funding.
ReplyDeleteKrysta @ Pages Unbound
I do get that, but I think my library network would be better asking the locals what they want rather than just buying that they think would look good. They just don't ask and that would be a survey I would happily take part in. Our interlibrary loan system also isn't great. My library is basically supposed to be one giant one split into different buildings so the overall book collection available is quite dire.
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