Connie’s Library Soap Box

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I have become a very passionate library supporter.  In the county we live in 18% of children live in poverty, while the percentile ranges from 5-37% throughout the entire state.  Looking at Nebraska, you would never guess this.  We are a very midwestern, family centered city with a low crime rate. 

And this is why I am so pro-library.  It is such an important resource for impoverished families and children, and everyone alike!  The more I support the library by checking out books, attending book sales, and buying their used books, the more books the libraries will be able to buy!

The picture to the left here is my home library!  To explain a little bit about what my library offers, I can give you a quick run down.  I can’t guarantee that your library will have the same benefits, but I am pretty sure most are alike. 

My favorite service that my library offers is the interlibrary transit.  With this, I can put any book that I want on hold and it will be brought to THIS library if no one else has it checked out.  They will put it on a clearly marked row of shelves in the front marked “holds” with a slip in it that will only allow me to check it out unless I take it off hold.  This saves me the time of not only searching for the book in the library, but from driving around town!  And it only really takes about a day, two at the most but rarely.  You can sign up for email alerts when you book comes in, which is really nifty.  Other than placing any book on hold, you can also create private and view public lists on the library website under your account.  This means that my entire to-read list from goodreads is now also under my wish list on the library website.  So awesome!   The public lists is sort of like goodreads listopia, so it’s a great resource for finding new reads.  Oh and don’t let me forget, the library also has tons of ebooks to check out, that you can do from right at home! 

So, I really never can plan exactly what I am reading each month.  I have somewhat of an idea and can usually find a theme, but what I get at the library does have to be based on any holds I must wait for due to other people reading a certain book.  This could pose a problem for some people, but I don’t really mind.  With so much to read, I usually am fine waiting.  If, perhaps for a series with an epic cliffhanger, and I can’t wait for the next book then I will buy it.  I also will buy books sometimes if I really love them and would reread them.  This not only saves me tons of money, but will save my bookshelves from carrying books I hated anyways!

So I have decided that instead of monthly book hauls, I am going to do a book haul each time I get back from the library.  This is usually once a week or once every two weeks.  When school starts in the middle of August it will probably just go down to once a month.  I did go to the library a few days ago, so I will be posting a book haul about that shortly!

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