Loving the library

Boy, have libraries changed since I was a kid.  Flippy and I recently decided to become more frequent patrons of our local libraries, because we’re avid readers, but can rarely afford to purchase books.  I thought getting my library card was a good (if somewhat unexciting) prospect, until I found out that the Las Vegas Public Library system has a super-cool, totally advanced website with features that I never expected.  I can log in to my account from my home computer, search, checkout, and download both audio book files and video files, for example.  I’ve already listened to some Andrew Weil about meditation, and watched a video about tai chi.  Most of the files are available in two formats, so you can use them on your desktop/laptop, or download them to a portable device, like an iPod.  I can checkout up to 30 audio/video titles at one time, or something crazy like that… I think the files automatically know to stop working at the end of their checkout period, but I’ll eventually figure that out.

The absolutely best part of the library website, for me, is that I can search the entire catalog, select books I want to read, and have the library staff pull them and set them aside for me.  I then receive an email when my books are ready to pick up.  So, if I’m pressed for time, it’s a quick trip to choose my titles in advance and know they’ll be waiting for me in a tidy bundle.  Online reservations are also helpful because if a title isn’t available at my closest branch, I can have it brought in for me from another branch.  It’s a great way to access some obscure titles which tend to be stored at the main Las Vegas library, one which is about 20 miles away from our house and not at all convenient.

When I first discovered this great new toy, I went through my Amazon wishlist and reserved a bunch of books I’d wanted to buy (saved myself a bundle).  Then, I started to get smarter about it… I’d read the new book reviews in Entertainment Weekly or The Wall Street Journal, and if a book sounded interesting, I’d run to my computer and put a hold on it at the library.  I love it!  I’ve been reading voraciously, and I’m accessing all sorts of great new titles, like Mark Bostridge’s biography of Florence Nightingale, and Katherine Neville’s long-awaited sequel to “The Eight”.  In the past two weeks I’ve read books about travelling in China, reptile smuggling, working in a hospital emergency room, working in a veterinary emergency room, working as a stripper, and having a lesbian mother.  I read the classic “East of Eden” for the very first time.  I’ve also read about the sport of fencing, about medical meditation, tai chi, qigong, and even farm animal dermatology.  I’m totally enamoured of our library system, and I suppose I should enjoy it while I can, because I’m sure I’m in a minority of Las Vegas residents.  We had a bond item on the ballot in an election about four years ago (back before the economy totally tanked), and Las Vegans voted against building a new library in the area of town where Flippy and I live.  We finally got one approved anyway, but to open ours, another one in the city is closing so we can have their books.  It’s sad.

Nevertheless, I shall enjoy our public library while it’s available.  I love perusing the rack of new non-fiction releases (my particular favourite category), and I’m excited about also reading some more classics, books like Little Women, Vanity Fair, and Catcher in the Rye.  It’s so exciting, and I haven’t even had any papercuts yet—it’s a fun and SAFE hobby.

It’s 8am, I’ve been up all night working, and I want to try to read a bit of the book Flippy gave me yesterday before I doze off (for the record, the book is “Bay of Spirits” by Farley Mowat).  I’ll come back later today and edit this entry with proper book titles and links, in case you too want to know how the smuggling trade sneaks endangered turtles into the United States, or the meaning of the term, “riposte”.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 11/17 at 10:05 AM

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  1. Another good place to find reviews is Library Journal either in print or at http://www.libraryjournal.com/ I like to use the Pre-Pub Alerts to be able to reserve things early (many libraries catalog items before they are actually available and this allows you to get on the reserve list early and avoid a long wait for popular items).

    We also use the library a lot to reserve DVDs instead of renting them.

    Free is good!

    Posted by Riley & Tiki's Mom  on  11/17  at  03:57 PM

  2. I wish I were a member of YOUR library!  I can theoretically renew books online, except I always forget my password.  I do love the library, though.  I’ve been on a reading kick lately, and it’s such a cheap hobby - except for my overdue fines.  What’s the book about being a stripper?  I would definitely read that. :-)  The last best library book I read was “Learning How To Snap” - Kirk Read’s memoir about growing up gay in the south, in the 80s.

    Posted by Nancy  on  11/22  at  03:22 PM

  3. Nancy, the “stripper” book is “Candy Girl”, by Diablo Cody.  She writes well and is entertaining, although the book never really explains her psychological motivations for wanting to work in the sex industry (she just acts like it’s perfectly normal, and really, it’s not the most mainstream kind of job).

    Thanks for the Library Journal recommendation, RTM!  I’ll check it out as soon as I’m through with my current stack of checked out books.  I just finished “Faberge’s Eggs” by Tony Faber, and am halfway through Katherine Neville’s new book, “The Fire”.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  12/04  at  12:59 AM

  4. Isn’t the library great?  I am so totally addicted to ordering my books on-line.  Of course, I max out on the number of books I can have, forget I have half of them, or keep videos longer than 3 days, then have humongously outrageous library fines. Yeah, they love me at my library.

    Posted by holly  on  12/08  at  04:38 PM
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