Recently Ola G asked me, why I don’t use the library. That is a good question, since I actually do have a library card.
But let me start by telling you about my local library. I suspect many readers will be familiar with the location: Charing Cross Road. Yes, that’s the location for Helene Hanff’s popular 84, Charing Cross Road.
Charing Cross Road is a narrow, busy street, which in the old days was occupied by lots of independent book shops. These days, the independent book shops are mostly gone and 84 Charing Cross Road is now a McDonald’s. Perhaps, that’s an apt sign of the times.
The library is based south of 84 Charing Cross Road, close to Trafalgar Square. It’s a small library and most of the books are old, smelly and, if not exactly falling apart, then at least marked by many years of wear and tear. The whole library has a funny smell as well. Not just from the books, but also because of the many homeless people, who use the computers. I think it’s great, that homeless people have access to a computer, since many things are impossible without one. But one has to be pretty desperate to use the library computers. Had they been a couple of years older, you would have been able to insert a floppy disc!
A large part of the books are in Mandarin. Based close to Chinatown, I guess many of the users are Chinese.
Actually, I think, it’s quite charming and I also find it funny that Westminster, which probably is one of the wealthier boroughs in the UK, has one of the most shabby libraries (at least I hope it’s one of the most shabby libraries).
The reason I got a library card was to be able to download audiobooks. However, the audiobook selection is very limited, which is why I haven’t used it for a while. When Ola G reminded me, I checked it out again and did a search for every book on my wish list. The library didn’t have any of them on audio.
If browsing around with an open mind, it is perfectly possible to find a few good audiobooks, though. I also feel, I can be more experimental with library books. If I don’t like them, I haven’t wasted any money and can even return them unfinished.
So I will give the library another go. Are you using the library? How often can you find books from your TBR there? I know some readers have access to quite good libraries, so I will be interested to hear how much you are using it.
Below are some titles I found when browsing. Let me know if you have read any of these and will recommend them.
Your thoughts on your local library are very interesting, Stargazer, and totally not what I would expect from a library in central London! I use my local library a lot, partly to support library services. Looe Library is tiny. But I can order books from any of the Cornish libraries as I assume you can with the London branches. Pre covid I did enjoy browsing although I invariably came away with titles I’d never heard of which pushed those I planned to read even further down the list. But it was a great way to try new things and to choose more flippantly almost – sometimes it’s good to step away from recommendations and known favourites. Lockdown has seen Looe’s library remain open to reservations and I’m constantly impressed at what I can request. Recently I checked the catalogue for books that have been on my tbr for years and was amazed at how many of them I can get through the library.
(Definitely recommend The Bell Jar. I didn’t expect to like it and now I’d like to read it again.)
It was totally not what I had expected from a London library either. But when thinking about it, perhaps it makes sense. If you can afford to live in central London, you can afford to buy your own books as well. You are right, that I can use other London libraries as well. Not all of them, but the ones based in Westminster and Chelsea/Kensington. Not sure, if I can order books or whether I will actually have to go there to collect the books myself, though. The two boroughs have one e-library, so I can get my audiobooks from one place, which makes it easier.
That is a good point. Libraries might very well inspire you to pick up books, which you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise and move a bit outside of your comfort zone. It’s great that you are able to get many of your TBR books from the library. Hasn’t it opened up again after the lockdown yet?
I think, I’ve accepted to keep Audible as my main source for books, but the library will hopefully be a great supplement.
Thanks for letting me know about The Bell Jar, that could very well be one of my future reads.
Yes, I can go in and browse again now – in the last week or so. I’m resisting at the moment! 😄
Ah yes, I guess a good library is dangerous for your TBR as well! 😄
Oh what a surprise to read about a library in London that seems so far behind on everything. Maybe there’s a bigger one somewhere else in London? I also notice a difference between my local one in my hometown and the one in the city that I go to. The city library has also a vast English offer, but still the one is my hometown is quite modern and does more events!
It really was surprising for me as well, when I first visited the library. It’s a good question, whether my local library is a good indicator for the quality of other London libraries; to be honest I haven’t visited any of them. Since I mostly “read” audiobooks, that is the most relevant part for me.
It’s nice, that your city library has a good offering of English books. Do you mostly read in English these days? When I lived in Denmark, I also had access to some very good libraries, but back then, I didn’t read many books in English.
I do read 90% in English these days. Also of my library books, only 1/3 is in Dutch because it isn’t available in English in the library or just because I want to read something in Dutch. I think I read so much in English because the historical books I love to read are just not translated in Dutch so no choice there 😃
That makes sense. I also think, it helps improving your vocabulary, when reading books in English, which can only be a good thing. I’ve never thought about, which books gets translated, but I guess you do have access to a much broader selection, when reading English books.
Wow your library sounds terrible what a crime! I know lots are underfunded and have closed down in the UK but as you say you’d think Westminster would have a proper functioning funded one! I’m very fortunate over here in Jersey as we have a fantastic library service with a good online app as well. I can definitely recommend The Family Upstairs to you as it’s a Lisa Jewell book and I’m a big fan! I think you might enjoy Educated as well, although, enjoy is probably not the right word, but the audiobook is read by Julia Whelan, who is amazing as a narrator.
It is not impressive at all, but of course I don’t really know, what libraries are like in other parts of the UK. Probably they vary a lot, but I am hoping most of them are better than mine.
It’s great that you have a good library service in Jersey, I seem to remember that I regularly see you talking about books from the library in your posts.
I will definitely give The Family Upstairs a go! I’ve heard so much about it already and if I can read it for free…. 😀 Glad you liked Educated a well, I will see if I can get to that one as well. To be honest, I don’t know how much turnover there is in the offering of audiobooks, I could imagine it does change on a regular basis.
“But one has to be pretty desperate to use the library computers.” I’m not sure what you mean by that, but maybe it’s different in the UK? In the library where I work in the US, many people who use our public computers are people who don’t own their own (because they can’t afford them or because they don’t have the need to regularly use one), or people who can’t afford to pay for internet service. And the vast majority of them are not houseless. Having computers for *anyone* to use is one of the things we find most important in our library.
It sounds like your library doesn’t have a great budget, and that’s sad. Is there a larger library anywhere near you who will issue you a library card online so you can use their ebook service?
It’s interesting what you say about owning own computers. I haven’t seen any statistics, but my guess would be that most people in the UK, even in very poor areas, own at least a phone, tablet or laptop. As long as you have any of these, you should be fine in London, since there is free wifi everywhere. A decade ago there were loads of internet cafes here in London, but they have all disappeared, so presumably there is no demand anymore.
In any case (and perhaps I should have explained that to people outside of UK): The central boroughs of London are kinda a world of their own and if you can afford to live there, you can most definitely afford computer and internet. Based on their general appearance and the stuff they carry around, at least some of the users of the library computers are homeless. Sry, if my comment sounded arrogant, that certainly wasn’t the intention.
Oh, I didn’t take it as arrogant at all, I was genuinely curious. Your explanation makes total sense! Thanks!
I live in the burbs, not far from Philadelphia. My town and other nearby towns have pretty good libraries. I like to browse their shelves, and usually find books that interest me.
That is nice. I used to live in Denmark, where I loved going to the library and I miss the more random approach to book selection, you can apply, when not having to buy the books.
Oh that’s quite interesting, I thought all libraries in the UK were quite similar… I went to the library as soon as I could read and also as a teenager I was a big fan of the library and I went from one to another when we moved when I was 12. I never stopped reading but I did stop going to the library. First because the ‘new books’ never seemed available and in general I didn’t find there were a lot of recent books. I think I gave it another chance a good 10, 15 years later when I started to read English books and didn’t know at first where I could get my fix. It wasn’t in the library, when I browsed they didn’t have any of the authors I knew and they didn’t have ebooks back then either. I only went to a book sale since but they only had a few shelves of English books so the offer will still be limited, so there’s no use going back. I wish libraries abroad were open for internationals so we could use Overdrive for listening to audiobooks, unfortunately that’s not possible.
I haven’t read any of the books you mention but I have Educated on my readlist (I started it once but it wasn’t the right time to read it) and I need to give Nicki’s fave author Lisa Jewell a go too some time.
From what I’ve seen on Booktube, parts of UK have really big, modern and very impressive libraries. So clearly, there are large regional differences. As a child, I also loved going to the library and could spend hours browsing the shelves. That was how I discovered Agatha Christie at a very young age. At some point, I stopped using the library like you, but much later than at 12 years old.
As I mentioned to Annelies, I didn’t read books in English before actually moving to England (except in school), so I don’t know if there was a good selection available in the library. Where do you find books in English? I guess, readers living in countries with English as the native language do have a huge advantage, when it comes to the selection available. I’ve never thought of that before. An international audiobook library sounds like a great idea!
I’ve come off to a good (second) start of using the library. Agatha Christie’s Five Little Pigs and Jane Harper’s The Lost Man were both solid five star reads. Will definitely give Lisa Jewell a go as well.
Agatha Christie was also one of my early discoveries! You do find a small selection of English books in bookstores (and I know one English bookstore in the capital of our country) but I think you have more luck ordering online on Amazon, Bookdepository, or our big online store Bol.com. I so wish we could find English books in our supermarkets too (we do have 5-10 Dutch books but that’s it, books are too expensive here I think to buy a lot), I get jealous when I see those 2 for 8 or 10£!
I read one of Jane Harper’s books but I didn’t really like the ending so I was reluctant to give her another go. If you love it so much I might have to reconsider this though.
I guess you can download ebooks in English as well? Or do you prefer physical copies. Yeah, I remember when I lived in Denmark, books were a lot more expensive than they are here in the UK. So unfair!!
Oh really, I thought The Lost Man had a very appropriate ending, which suited the book perfectly and induced some optimism in the lives of the characters, which they could definitely need. Anyway, I will post a review soon’ish, so perhaps that will give you a better idea, whether it is for you.
I do read ebooks but the same applies here, the library doesn’t have the most recent ones, they don’t know the books everyone is talking about in the UK. I see the same at bookstores, I was at Waterstones Brussels asking about the new Steve Cavanagh novel (The Devil’s Advocate) and its release was another 3 days so they didn’t have it yet but it was also clear they never heard of it when I asked about it. I don’t mind reading older books but it’s nice to be able to have a recent one when I’m interested in one and not have to wait ages.
I already look forward to your review of The Lost Man!
I see. That is tricky. I guess, I really am lucky, living in the UK, where books are cheap and new releases (in English) are available. It’s only after I started blogging, I’ve started reading new releases, so in the past that wasn’t an important criteria for me.
Public libraries can really vary! All kinds of buildings with different levels of staff expertise and different stock and services depending on the local area. I know what you mean about homeless people in the library, I used to be a librarian and it can be really awkward especially when people are sleeping in the library! I haven’t visited my library in person since before the pandemic but it’s mostly closed off for renovation now so I haven’t been yet. However, the online service, via an app called Borrowbox, is very good and they have lots of recently published books on there to borrow.
Yes, I suppose so. I haven’t been to other public libraries in the UK, but I’ve seen some very impressive ones on Booktube. Oh, you have been a librarian? Must be lovely to be surrounded by books all day. Did it make you want to read more books or did it discourage your reading, because you had enough of books at work? It’s nice you can use an online app, when you can’t actually visit the library. I don’t mind about the limited range of physical books at my library, but I wished they had more audiobooks.
I have to say that although I like working with books, being a librarian is usually more about people – often asking you for bus timetables, where the toilets are, how to use the photocopier, etc, and trying to manage anti-social behaviour. I think that working in a bookshop would be a better job for someone who wants to be surrounded by books and asked questions mostly about books 🙂
Bus timetables?! Really? Haha, not quite how I imagined the job of a librarian. Perhaps not as much fun as I thought. You might be right that a bookshop would be a better option.
I’ve tended to use my local library as an alternative office – a change of environment from being stuck at home all day and thus also ensuring I get out and have a bit of a walk, even though it is only 10 minutes or so away. Also internet connection is reliable – and free!
However, if I do require a specific book that is not on the shelves, the obliging staff will usually order a copy from other sources.
And a couple of years ago the staff showed interest in one of my books and copies were ordered in that are now available to borrowers.
Sadly, like so much else, it has to struggle on with ever-reducing funds; the inevitable cutbacks to services that are already under-resourced.
Makes sense to use the library as an office. I guess it’s more quiet compared to a coffee shop or other places you might sit and work. How wonderful, that the library made one of your books available to readers.
Yeah, I could imagine it’s more difficult to get funding for libraries these days. I also think, it’s important for libraries to follow the times, otherwise they will disappear completely. They need to focus on ebooks and audiobooks and perhaps do events in the library to provide experiences for the library users.
So I’m the only one who thinks this library sounds like a paradise to visit? How strange.
Well, I suppose it’s great for antropology studies of subcultures within cultures, or for idea about how to organise a library in a one-bed apartment. It also has a rather unique ambience, when you walk through the door, it’s like traveling to a different world! 😉
I was a regular patron of the library for years and years, carting home arms full of books every few days, reading the one or two that appealed and heading back for another arm load. I stopped going when I got my e-reader. Much easier to download samples, discard those that aren’t up to snuff and buying the ones I really want. i know I could save a lot of money using the library. On the other hand, I like the convenience of the e-reader and, as an author myself, I feel good knowing that a high percentage of the price of the e-book is going to the authors.
Yes, I also changed my reading habits completely, when I got my e-reader and I rarely read physical books anymore. However, most libraries probably have ebooks as well? I only use the libraries for audiobooks. Sometimes, I miss the old days, when I browsed around in a good library. Browsing the audiobook library and getting a good overview over what is available, is a bit more difficult in the e-library.
You know all about the Auckland system already so I won’t be puring salt in the wound any longer ;). I think you may be right, though, that central London may be well off enough to have a mediocre library because people all buy their books. Hopefully the library system gathers some kind of statistics regarding the use of libraries and the number and frequency of visits from the patrons, and adjusts their distribution accordingly. Or it’s just very old, underfunded and inefficient ;).
I am quite envious of your library system in Auckland. I am sure though, that my little library isn’t representative for the general standard in the UK. On booktube, I’ve seen some very large and modern libraries in other parts of the country. I love the concept of a library, but I also think it’s important they develop over time and offer ebooks, audiobooks and interesting events in the library. Otherwise, they will eventually die out.
I encourage you to let your local representatives know. Libraries are eager to hear what the public’s needs are. I know the situation may be different in England vs here in the U.S. but I’m sure they are open to suggestions. You are reader, Stargazer, and I’m sure they want to hear from you.
That is not a bad idea at all, strangely it didn’t occur to me. I think / hope the reason the library isn’t very good, is that people in the area are not to fussed about it. However, it’s still a good idea to provide the feedback, maybe they will explain to me, why it doesn’t get higher priority. 😀
I love our local library and use it constantly. It’s a great source of new books – any books – and helps me by allowing me to make choices outside my comfort zone with no penalty. By using it, I support it, and help it to justify its being funded – it’s an important community resource. I also volunteer there. Yes, it shouldn’t have to depend on volunteers, but … that’s the New Normal.
Good to hear, you are happy about your local library and even do volunteer work there. I think getting regular readers outside their comfort zone might be one of the positive things about a library. Also, for people who are not book bloggers or very immersed in the literary world, libraries offer a good way of discover the bookish world and get some ideas of where to start.
Lived in London for over twenty years. Watching the slow disintegration of the public libraries here has been brutal. They are ridiculously underfunded and are usually housed in buildings that look like they would fail a safety inspection. When I was a kid the library was a treasure cove now it’s better to research and order books online. The only good libraries left in this city are at universities and a few which require a costly membership to gain entry.
Ah, that is very interesting. I’ve only had a library card for the last 3 years, so I haven’t been following the development. I don’t know if my local library would fail a safety inspection (I hope not) but it certainly looks like no refurbishment has been made for the last century or so…. I discovered the library of Birkbeck College, when I took some classes there some years ago, and that was quite amazing, with many of the books being so old or rare, that you were not allowed to bring them home, but could just read them in the library. But yeah, rather sad about the public libraries.
I can’t believe your library is on Charing Cross Road, so many people love 84 Charing Cross Road. You’re right about it being a sign of the times that the building now houses a McDonalds.
I’m a regular library user and am very lucky as my local council have five branches I can use with a sixth on the way (I live in an area of Melbourne that is growing very quickly). They are all in large, modern buildings with no smelly books!
I can always find books I want to read and have been impressed by how much money the council allocate to library services. I often see elderly people in my nearest branch reading the papers and I think they probably use it as an extension of their own living space, one where they don’t have to pay for the heating/cooling etc. After school tutors use various areas to tutor their students. Not so many homeless people out my way, I think that like most cities there are more around the CBD.
The computers get a lot of use particularly by people who I’m guessing are recent arrivals to Australia (I’m basing this on people’s appearances and languages used). The computers seem to be more modern than yours, no floppy discs in sight!
My library also host author’s talks, various clubs, art competitions, reading sessions for parents and children and much more. They are a home away from home for so many people and interests, a real centre for the community.
I do think, that it’s sad that all the charming and quirky independent bookshops are gone (well, there are still a few left, but it may be a matter of time…) from Charing Cross Road. On the other hand, I can’t complain about this, since I am one of the many readers, who have moved to ebooks and audiobooks and rarely visit a bookshop these days.
It sounds like you’ve got an excellent library and it also sounds like people are using it properly, I know Melbourne is a relatively large city, but I think the library as a centre for the community is an excellent use for a library and I love the idea of author’s talks and other events. I guess in central London it might be difficult for a library to compete. There is so much entertainment and culture available. Also, there isn’t really a community as such in London. It’s filled with students, tourists and people who come here to work for a couple of years and then they go back to wherever they came from. So perhaps there isn’t enough demand for libraries here. Anyway, I am quite envious of your library, it does sound great!
I was horrified when I first moved to Melbourne around 15 years ago and discovered that the suburb I lived in didn’t have a bookshop. The population has grown since then and there are now two or three, but they aren’t independents and they are well-outnumbered by the local libraries.
I’ve visited the libraries in the Melbourne CBD and they are nothing like my suburban libraries which were purpose-built to be able to host events and be a community centre. The Victorian State Library is very formal and grand with a bookshop and a museum/art collection. The Melbourne CBD is a growth area for a permanent population but what you say about there being a lot of competition from entertainment venues for your central London library is probably true for Melbourne too.
This is such a happy topic, so glad you thought to do this post. I’ve enjoyed reading all of the other comments, too.
I guess 15 years ago, it would have been unusual not to have any bookshops in the area. It will be interesting what the future will look like in 15 years or so. I wonder if libraries and bookshops are still around…
It would be so interesting to have access to library and book sales data. I bet you could do some interesting studies of the population. Do people in big cities read less, because of all the other entertainment? Do they read the same, but buy their own books? Which cohorts in the population use libraries the most? Etc, etc.
Glad you enjoyed the post. I have really enjoyed reading all the comments as well. I guess it shows one of the amazing aspects of blogging. You throw something out there and people from across the globe will tell you their views and how it works in their local area. 😀
I do use the library on occasion. Mine has a good selection of ebooks and so I always head there first before I break down and buy a book.
That is good to hear. I also prefer to use the e-library. Not just because it’s my preferred reading form, but also because it’s easier. Pure laziness! 😀
Lol. 🙌
so sad. And I am aware I’m so fortunate to be living in the US, where public libraries are free and awesome. My city has only 44,000 inhabitants, but we have the most amazing library. And in the US, there’s such a think as interlibrary loan: if your library doesn’t have a book, you can get it for free from another library, as long as it is in the same State. Not sure if interlibrary loan is actually free in every State, but it is in Illinois where I live.
I was horrified when visiting a public library in a large city in France a few years ago. Plus it was paying, and close to no streaming available. Here I can stream, ebooks, audiobooks, movies, TV shows, graphic novels, magazines, and music
You really are lucky with your library system even living in a relatively small city. On the other hand, I think a library may have a more important role in smaller cities, whereas in central London there is so much entertainment and culture, so we almost drown in it. I would hope that the state of the library in different locations reflect how much demand there is, but of course that may not always be the full story. In the future, I think streaming will be an important function of the library, since all of us seem to move towards online entertainment. So hopefully, the libraries will follow that development as well.
Lady Tessa: Interesting that you live in Melbourne – my home for many years – but do not mention that glorious, wonderful State Library on Swanston Street. Such a lively, much-used. well-supported hub of reading and learning; plus that glorious, soaring great Reading Room. My local library in those days was the one in Richmond, which is always busy and used across the generations. Notably it has a wide range of books in languages other than English as testimony to the polyglot nature of the community. And so many ancillary activities going on there.
I read “Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi” some time last year and I would definitely recommend. It’s such a big eye opener and an interesting read if you ask me
Thanks, that is good to know. I absolutely adored Transcendent Kingdom, so if Homegoing can live up to that, it’s definitely worth to look into.
I love the library system we have here in Toronto, and after reading your post I’m reminded of how grateful I am for it. With at least 20 library branches in a 5 km radius of my house, there are plenty of options. There is a mammoth selection of audiobooks and we have a hold system that delivers books from branch to branch, so it really couldn’t be any better. And I must say that without it, I wouldn’t be able to read near as much as I do, because I wouldn’t be able to afford it. Admittedly, I’m shocked that London should have such a lackluster library in one of its wealthy neighbourhoods, but maybe the wealthy would rather just buy their books. Thanks for sharing!
20 library branches within a 5km radius!! That sounds very impressive. I am also envious of your large selection of audiobooks, I would love to have access to that. Books are so valuable and educational, so they should be available to everyone. And people who are not that keen on books, may be encouraged, if they can get access for free. But as you say, people around here should be able to afford to buy their own books, so perhaps it is of less importance. Still, I love the idea of a library and would love to have a good one around here.
Yes, we are very lucky indeed. Some politicians try to cut down services, but the people always rally against the changes and we’ve been able to maintain it so far. We have many services for newly arrived immigrants, language lessons, tutoring; they are a hub of each neighbourhood they’re in. Fingers crossed things still look the same after covid has run its course. That’s a shame that there aren’t more available to you. 😕
It’s good that people actively show, that libraries are important for them. Otherwise, I could imagine, politicians would see it as an “easy” way to cut some costs, because it isn’t typically one of the hot topics during an election campaign. Oh yes, services for immigrants and language lessons sound like a great and important use for the libraries as well.
I live just outside of Washington, D.C. and in this area we have library reciprocity. Basically, if you get a library card at any library in the city, or the adjacent Maryland or Virginia suburbs, then you automatically qualify to get any other library card in the area. I am not sure how many people take advantage of that (you should have seen the look on the librarian’s face when I stopped in to get a card from a library 50 miles from my house!), but over the years, I’ve collected 13 library cards, and I use them for about 50% of my reading. Kindle Unlimited fills in 45% and that leaves 5% that I break down and buy. It amazes me how the borrowing patters differ from library to library, even within the same basic area. I can have a book with a months-long wait at my primary library, and have multiple copies in stock within just a few miles. It’s crazy.
Oh that sounds like a great system. I can also get access to other libraries in the borough, but we are talking within maybe 2 miles radius – certainly not 50 miles! Yes, I am sure borrowing patterns differ a lot from library to library. As I said to Rose in another comment, you could probably do some interesting analyses of cohorts of the population, if you had access to these data. It’s great that you can cover most of your reading with library books and Kindle unlimited. I don’t think that would be possible for me, but I will try to look into the free options a bit more. Thanks for stopping by and contributing the discussion. It’s so fascinating to hear how libraries work in other parts of the world! 😀
I’m a little biased because I work in local public libraries, so of course I love using the library! I understand that it can be frustrating though if you can’t find a book you want. My library is part of a big book sharing network across the South West so if we don’t have a book in stock we can usually order a copy in from somewhere that does, which I think is a brilliant idea. By the way, I’ve listened to Educated on audiobook and it’s such a shocking and inspiring story, I’d definitely recommend! 📚❤️ X
Oh, I didn’t know you were working in public libraries. Like you, I am definitely a supporter of public libraries. Books are so important, both for educational and recreational purposes. And everyone should have access to them. But apparently some libraries are better than others… 😉 Good to hear about Educated, I will definitely try to pick that up on audio!
Oh yes, I do know the state of Central London libraries. I can only say from my own experience, of course, but the ones which are more or less decent and have a wider range of books are located in the City. Some of the others I visited and was a member, such as the one in Holborn, left me with a desire to never return. I found some pretty shabby and unwelcoming places. For example, I don’t know the current state of a Library at Theobalds Road, Holborn, but at one point in the past, I felt very uncomfortable being there surrounded by homeless people practically sleeping in corridors or tucked away behind shelves. The staff there never could locate any books for me and I simply gave my card away at some point.
It sounds like you have made quite a bit of an effort to look into the different London libraries. That is quite useful. I haven’t been to the Holborn library, but it sounds – if possible – even worse than the Charing Cross branch. At least, I’ve never seen any people sleeping in the corridors. I might look into the libraries in the City to see what they are like. But in any case, I will primarily be using the e-library as opposed to the physical library. Thanks for your input!
I’m cheering you on as you give your local library another shot!
The library closest to me has developed a reputation for being a major hangout place for people who are homeless, inebriated, dangerous (that is to say, there have been a few stabbings at my local branch).
Now don’t get me wrong – I think everyone should be welcomed at the library so long as they follow a few basic rules. I’m not trying to play gatekeeper or anything like that, and I’m glad that people who don’t have many other options can hang out in a dry, safe place where they can access social services and other important things.
But I’ve had a few unpleasant experiences at my library that have made me reticent to go there as often as I would have otherwise gone. This is especially true at night or during bad weather when things can get rowdier, so to speak.
Anyway, I’d love to read an update on your library if you ever decide to write one.
Stabbings at the library! That doesn’t sound nice at all and it’s very far away from what I imagine a library should be like. I wouldn’t visit my library, if I felt unsafe, but that has never been the case, even if many different kind of people hang out there. As you say, they need to follow some basic rules and people should be kicked out if they are too rowdy. After all, behaviour like that will prevent people, who are genuinely interested in the books from using the library, which kind of defeats the purpose. But maybe the police can’t be bothered with stuff like this. I have noticed that my library has a security guard though.
Perhaps I will write another library post in the future. It has been really interesting to hear about other people’s experiences with their local library in different parts of the world. Thanks for stopping by and contributing to the discussion!
A smelly library would be off-putting to me too, I imagine it smells like dogs do when they’ve been out in the rain and their coats haven’t yet dried.
I suspect your library system is using BorrowBox as the service provider for audio and ebooks. Most of them seem to be going over to that company. It’s great if you want the big name bestsellers (as long as you don’t mind waiting 6 months to get it) or crime fiction but for other stuff it’s not great.
To be honest, I don’t know if they use BorrowBox, but in any case they have a very limited offering. Even most of the bestsellers are not available, most of the books are really old (hence lower author fee). But still it’s a free offering and I do see it as a valid supplement to buying audiobooks, which tend to be very expensive. I doubt, I will become a frequent visitor to the physical library, though.
Oh I remember using that little Westminster library to do research when I was living and working in London, it was always a hive of activity.
The first two on your list Homegoing and Freshwater I thought were outstanding reads (my reviews linked in case you’re interested). I am particularly fond of fiction originating from within other cultures and these are two of the best of recent contemporary offerings, in my humble opinion.
It’s interesting to see how audiobooks are really growing in popularity, I notice also on Netgalley a lot more audiobooks on offer. I haven’t made that transition yet, but fascinated watching it evolve.
Ah that is so funny, that you have been using the same library as well! I hope to get to Homegoing and Freshwater, both of which I’ve heard good things about (I really enjoyed your reviews which were thoughtful and gave me a good idea of the books). Also, they are some of the better ones amongst my library’s audiobook offering. I think the popularity of audiobooks relate to the fact that 1) we are all superbusy and don’t have time to sit down and read and 2) we want to be entertained all the time. I use audiobooks on my commute, when I’m grocery shopping, doing house chores, exercise, etc. I’ve started to read a lot more after I discovered audiobooks.
I did try once while driving, but I found it too distracting, partly because my commute is once of my pleasures, it changes every day and is usually on scenic roads throughout the southern Luberon area of Provence, and it’s a kind of contemplative preparation leading up to seeing the client, so reading or listening to something that is far from my reality isn’t at all ideal. I think it’s great though that audio is getting people to read more. Excellent.
I can understand, audiobooks don’t work whilst driving and by the sounds of it, the scenery provides much better entertainment anyway. My commute is by train (underground) hence nothing to see. Partially, I also think it’s a matter of habit to get used to audiobooks, although some readers seem to take to them more easily.
I used to use our local library frequently when younger and that gave me access to books I would never have tried or seen in bookshops. As an adult I tended not to use them but during Covid the libraries were open and available when the bookshops weren’t. One particular thing I rather like is that I can obtain the latest hardbook book, rather than waiting to buy the paperback, and once again I am exploring other subjects that I probably would never have tried from a bookshop. One such is Obama memoirs, haven’t read a biography for 30 years!
Oh really! I thought that in many places, the libraries closed down as well during Covid. I 100% agree, that the library allows you to be more open and experimental with the books you try. If you don’t like them, no harm done, you can just return them and haven’t “wasted” any money. I loved the Michelle Obama memoir, but haven’t read Barack Obama’s yet. Will get to it at some point.