I don't frequent libraries much. I spent a fair amount of time there in college, but now I just don't seem to make the time. I also don't like their practice of fining people who bring back their books. I mean, I brought the book back are you sure someone else wanted it?
Tonight, as my in-laws have arrived in Minnesota for a visit, I went to the library to get visiting privileges for Ramsey County. Jim, Barb's husband, likes to watch old movies and borrows 10 at a time while he is at my house. While I was at the library I was amazed. It was jam packed with really interesting books. Book I have meant to buy but have been too cheap. I borrowed four. As luck would have it you can even renew over the web now. If I can get these boooks back in time, this may become a habit.
I got the following books.
- "Hero of Everest, Tenzing", Ed Douglas
- "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt", Edmund Morris
- "Forever Peace", Joe Haldeman
- "The Emporor of Ocean Park", Stephen Carter
When we moved closer to downtown and the main branch, we started going to the library again, a habit we'd abandoned when we moved to CA because the branch library in our neighborhood was so depressing. Previously we'd been buying all our grownup reading on Amazon/at Barnes & Noble - an expensive habit, but the crusty old library wouldn't have semi-current books on Abraham Lincoln or bread machine cookery or programming history, would they? They do, they do!
Which, of course, is all the more reason to support the local library in these budget-troubled times :-) I'm sending off a box of newish stuff to the public library I grew up in in Michigan (tiny standalone libraries like that in areas with little community support are going to feel the crunch the most).
I was also impressed with Books on Tape, which I am way too cheap to buy. But for free, it might improve my commute. I have a list of books in my head, which I should have read in high school, but somehow never got through. Books on tape might be the solution. We used to rent them from a truck stop on the way to wisconsin. The cool thing was they provided a stamped envelope, so all you had to do was toss it in a mail box when you were done. It was perfect for truckers and pre-dated netflix by 5-10 years at least.