Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly discussion post where bloggers discuss a wide range of topics from books and blogging to life in general.
Today’s question is – Do you prefer to visit libraries in person or check out online?
I used to go to the library All The Time. We have a great library system here. When I first moved here I was at the main library at least weekly. I absolutely despise the way the library is organized there but I could get just about everything I ever wanted. If they didn’t have it, they could get it by interlibrary loan.
As I got more and more involved in online book communities my library use shifted. Instead of going in and browsing for whatever caught my eye, I’d know what books I wanted. I would reserve them on the library’s app and have them delivered to a library branch that was convenient to stop at after work. I’d just go to the desk to pick them up.
Now I rarely even do that. I’m almost 100% ebooks and audiobooks. I browse the Libby app and have books delivered to me without even getting up. If I don’t know what I want, I can spend lots of time browsing the lists of books. If a book I want is available only in paper form I have to think for a bit about how much I really want to read it. Is it worth the inconvenience of having to read it in paper? If it is I’ll still go pick it up at a library branch but I’ll be slightly pouty about it.
So, I’d say I’m still a massive library user but I almost never set foot in one now. I don’t know that last time I went just to browse.
I am not familiar with Libby at all. I have so many unread physical and e-books in my personal library that visiting the public library isn’t high on my need to do list. I definitely used the library a lot as a child and well into my adulthood, but I rarely go now. Sometimes I think my daughter and I should start up weekly visits again. So many things these days have gone the way of online versus in person. I take full advantage of some of them. I can definitely see the convenience of accessing books that way.
Here’s my response: https://www.literaryfeline.com/2023/09/where-is-your-bookmark-quick-peek-into.html
I am just discovering Hoopla and Libby for borrowing books. I like them.