How often do you visit the library?

How often do you visit the library?

For me, the closest one is this dinky little building that you have to request books for because their selection is crap. The nearest one after that is across a state border and we have to pay a fee to get and update the library card there. Since it is so far away, though, we don't go often enough to make it a worthwhile expense. I much prefer owning my own books anyway.

Every day of my life, but that's my library.

The public library, it's been a while; but I have fond memories going to the library growing up and even a books on wheels program where a converted truck served as a mobile library for the public schools.

Pretty much every day as my job requires it. I love books. The look, feel, smell and sound of them. Am determined they won't die out!

Every day, but mostly because I do schoolwork there. The main library at my university has plenty of study rooms and has different floors for various levels of sound and interaction, which is why I love going there.

Very rarely. The libraries in my area are terrible and I don't trust the public with how the people in my area are. I don't want to know what has touched those books.
I'd rather build my own library slowly.

When we were having a book fair in my town, a librarian came through my register, back when I worked at a grocery store, and she shamed me for preferring to buy my books rather than renting at the library. She brought up some relative of hers that had died and had tons of books in her house that she and the other family had a hard time getting rid of after this person died. And I'm like, "You're right. Why stop at books? I shouldn't buy any of my own personal shit because it'll just become a burden to everyone when I'm dead." I get the point she was making, especially since it sounded like this relative was a hoarder who bought books impulsively but I'd always much rather have close at hand books that I've read, in order to reread something important or as a reference. How inconvenient having to visit the library every time I needed to just glance at a particular part of a book or description of something that I liked. If anything, I should have told her, that her little spiel wasn't actually a good advertisement for the library but for the Kindle/Nook.

That one experience aside, I do try to support libraries since not everyone can afford their own personal library and I think they're a lovely resource to bring books to people who wouldn't normally have access to them otherwise.

The library in my area is very much the same as the one you described. It's tiny, has next to nothing in terms of selection thus you constantly have to request the transfer of books from the next large metropolitan area library which can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks...and most of the books along with what dvds, audio books, and so on they carry have often seen their share of hard use. People in my area tend to treat things rather harshly. Whether its a book or a car, phone, doesn't matter they seem to think very little of the object even if they own it.

I readily understand these objects are meant to be used on a daily basis but that DOES NOT excuse people from properly taking care of them. At least in my personal opinion. Perhaps it was merely the way I was brought up plus I moved from another state where the mindset was a different verses what I am readily seeing before me now.

Needless to say, given the people around here I don't exactly fancy bringing something from the library back to my house. You never know WHAT has touched it let alone WHAT could be in it. Just the thought of where these things COULD have been, even if they weren't...gives me the willies. No thanks. I know the internet is obviously not the most reliable source for materials when you are attempting to do things such as school work or big time projects but honestly I will stick to the internet for all but my most required 100% fact needs. Honestly I would rather walk into an actual book store, with brand new books, grab the one I need to research something from, sit down and write down what I need out of it then put it back. I have done this countless times in the past when I have been unable to actually afford buying the book.

And yes the kindle is certainly a marvelous device to store books on so you don't have hundreds of them taking up space in your house or storage unity but on the same note it still does have its flaws. Such as running out of power and there being no available place to charge it or if the touch screen decides to go on it...it drops and breaks if you don't have a good protective case....water damage...etc. Aside from water damage books can withstand being dropped a couple of times and they certainly don't run out of power. So long as you have some kind of light to see by you can read them any time or anywhere.

So, to answer the original question....I don't bother going to the public library unless I am left with absolutely no other choice. I avoid it as much as possible.

Never. I manage a bookstore and trust me, that's books enough for me.

From time to time I walk into one just to check the place out. I deal with books all the time. In fact, I read books at a level most people never have to deal with. Since January 2014 I am on book 377. I read new non-fiction books most of the time. When you are into the book publishing, you have to stay on top of your game.

But, a note to people in general. If you are going to move to a new place. Check out their public libraries gives you an idea of the willingness of the community to have an educated community. It is not the most important factor to move to a new place. But, understand the local customs of reading does give you an idea what the local population feels is right and just.

bad girl said:

But, a note to people in general. If you are going to move to a new place. Check out their public libraries gives you an idea of the willingness of the community to have an educated community. It is not the most important factor to move to a new place. But, understand the local customs of reading does give you an idea what the local population feels is right and just.

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This is actually a very acute aspect to take notice of! And I certainly agree with you on this notation.

Honestly it certainly speaks volumes as to the current area where I live....granted it's not without its charm but there is a reason it's referred to as a 'back-water back end of now where, hick infested town'. At least this is what I have come to find as the outsider's general over view of the area without actually taking the time to look past the skin. Sadly I find myself hard pressed to say much in defense...lot of people around here didn't even complete high school and that goes for many generations not just one or two. Not saying the area is a slum but it's hardy farm country for sure. Most individuals seeing little need to step outside their comfort zones and advance into something else. Farms and land, even the small businesses are passed from generation to generation and so forth. I certainly understand having some sense of security in the world, something to fall back on, especially today...but it's still disheartening to see people's lack of enthusiasm for advancing themselves.

On a quick side note just to provide as an example of the area; at a retail job in the area I had a customer make a rather rude remark during check out, albeit I know he was meaning it as a 'funny' or dryly sarcastic statement but it was still on the offensive side in my personal opinion. This customer had given me a larger bill to pay for his purchase instead of exact change. I did the math in my head and told him I could give him back change in full bills and minimal coins if he had a particular amount of smaller change. I don't recall the exact amounts now but he looked straight at me as I continued to spout off how I could give him the change owed in yet another fashion.

His eyes were wide open and I swear if his eyebrows went any higher they were going to migrate into his hairline. He stared at me for a moment after I stopped talking and said "Well, look at that! A local girl who can count of all things!" Of course I had no authority to tell him he was being disrespectful and honestly I shouldn't let these types of things get to me...but it drove a painstaking point home about the area in which I lived...point being most people were rather under-educated. I immediately began counting out his change to him and replied with a simple statement of "I am not originally from the area." He didn't say anything further after that.

Situations such as this are what make me cringe these days, feeling very ashamed to live where I do as now I am readily finding myself stereotyped and thrown in with what is commonly associated with the town more than I ever did in the past. Too many people seem fit to assume everyone who lives here are nothing more than a bunch of idiots. :/

If there was ever a due point for evidence on this...it's certainly the lack of decent libraries within a several mile driving radius...you have to go 15 miles out before you hit the first LARGE library...even further before you encounter several libraries in the same township...

Every week I go to the library to study, catch up on readings and just generally hurt my brain with university work. Worth it, it's such a necessary pain because I'm not very strong at mathematics. With that being said, my university has these "pods" that you can sleep in - I kind of wish that they had more and that it wasn't in such an awkward and horrible place (bright lighting, near the group study area so people talk too much).

Basically never. I would rather buy books online and sell them if I don't want to keep them. The choice is so much bigger.

Pretty often, but that's because I'm cheap and try to avoid buying my books for class! I actually don't have a library card for the public library here in my college town, but I use the library a lot for fun when I'm home in summers.