Are Libraries still relevant?

I use mine every week and order about 6 books a month at 75p each. My mother used it for paper books,audible books, knitting group etc.

The reservations trolley is always full as is the library. Small library in s largish rural town. Opening hours have been cut.

There are plenty of public services I don't use. That doesn't mean I don't think they should be available for others.

I love my local library - I've used it regularly since I was about 7yo and still going strong at 33 and my DC absolutely love it too. The only thing I've noticed as regular library users is that my DC don't necessary understand the value of books as they have always been free for them to borrow. When we go to a book shop I have to explain the difference between the library and a shop where you buy the books. I've had them trying to stack them up in a shop like they do in the library!

The other thing is that it costs 90p to reserve a book now and seeing as that is almost the price of some Kindle books I think it's a bit steep. Also there are a few local charity shops that are selling books for 25p so I always check them first before reserving from the library.

I'll be honest - if you don't bother to use your library, you don't get to be upset when it closes. Can people really not see how their own actions will make this happen? Use the bloody thing!

I don't use my local library often. Partly due to the age of my kids I think, as we visited much more often when they were younger. It's also the convenience of buying books on my kindle.

That said, I would be very upset if my local library shut down. I think they are a hugely important community resource. It's not just that they allow people to access books who might not otherwise be able to do so but they provide a community hub, letting people to access services. I think I heard someone say on TV that libraries are one of the last public spaces people are allowed to occupy without the expectation of purchasing something.

I always borrow actual paper books. Ebooks and kindles leave me feeling some part of the reading 'experience' is missing!

Hoola I read physical books.

I think a lot of the arguments for ebooks over books don't really stand up when you think about libraries - don't have space to store books? Borrow them from the library. Ebooks are cheaper? Library books are free. Better type size? Libraries stock large print editions.

When I was on mat leave I was in our library several times a week - either at rhyme time sessions or just having some quiet time out of the house with my baby. Now he’s a toddler we go once a week (OH and I both work full time) and borrow books for us all.
Books save us from gazing at our phones constantly!
Our library is a community hub - there are always people in there but there could always be more.
If there’s a book I desperately want to read I can reserve it (if copies are all on loan or it’s elsewhere in the county) for 80p.
Our county also do very good online service and where I can download audiobooks for free.
I grew up going to libraries weekly devouring all the children’s, YA wnd finally adult books. I hope that I’ll be able to give my son the same opportunity.
So no, they’re not irrelevant.

Libraries are great. Its not just for books and computers. Many classes run there.

Libraries are absolutely brilliant. A safe, free community space for people of all ages. They're so important in allowing for human connection and in my local community they are very much frequented by all sorts.

Zadie Smith wrote a long piece on why libraries are important:

www.nybooks.com/daily/2012/06/02/north-west-london-blues/

I use my local public library on average 3 times a week. Mostly picking up and returning books/ reservations for me- mainly novels, but also self help, health, child development, cookery, history, biography. Then also for my DS aged 11 who is still just clinging on to a reading habit having started secondary school and getting loads more homework. He also gets a book to read for pleasure from his school library. Mostly non-fiction for him to help with homework projects- otherwise he wastes too much time trying to find age-appropriate info on the internet.

I read at least 10 books per month imagine how much that would cost me! I don’t know why more
People don’t use them. They’re free books!!

My local library has just reopened and I love how busy it is. People working, studying, reading, choosing books - it is a true community space.

My children use the library a lot - it is a fantastic resource for them and so much cheaper for me (and means DS can read as many Beast Quest books as he likes without it costing me anything!). And I am making a concerted effort to look at the library first if I want to read something - it costs me 50p to reserve a book which I think is really good value. And children's reservations are free.

I know for a fact that my library usage dropped off hugely once I started working (stopped entirely, in fact) and then picked up again when I had DC. It's slowly dropping off again but I need to keep it up. We all do. Creature summed up perfectly the benefit in the community of libraries but the bottom line is that if people don't use them and councils are cash-strapped, they'll go.

(And can I just say if you care about books but don't use the library then, whatever you do, don't buy your books from Amazon or the supermarket.)

When you’re reading your toddler three story books each night you bet your life libraries are relevant. I’m comfortably off, but if I’d had to pay cash for every story I read my DCs over the years I’d be broke. The other thing they’re good for is graphic novels. I like them, but I’m damned if I’ll spend a tenner on something I’ll have read in half an hour. (Some are worth it because they’re works of art, but others: not so much).

I use our library regularly. I love browsing and having a few minutes sit down in the peace and quiet to read a little and decide on a book to take home. I used to use the library to study and found I worked much better in a library environment. I have also used the library PC's. They are usually fully booked in our local library. Very popular.
I now take my children to the library once every 2/3 weeks to choose books.

Yes. I have 2 kindles and still prefer to go to the library and get hard backs.

Especially as books are expensive to buy new and it’s hard to get secondhand. Plus it’s less wasteful to use the library.

We use ours for story time, kids crafts and borrowing books it’s tiny but brilliant

Yes of course public libraries are relevant. This question is most often asked by people who really don’t understand the full range of services offered by libraries nowadays.
Lots of people use them for things other than book borrowing - computers, job clubs for example, with staff on hand to help those who are not computer literate.
They have a huge role to play in preventing isolation, most libraries run a range of groups such as rhyme times for parents and little ones, book clubs, knit and knitter, coffee mornings, local history groups.
Sometimes the longest chat an elderly person has all week is with the staff at the library. And I’ve known staff who will check up on regulars if they miss their usual visit to see if they are ok or need any help.

We use our library a lot. As well as getting books out, I leave older dc to study there with no distractions.
Our library is well maintained and there are always plenty of people in there.

I take my children to the library every week. They're preschoolers but once in school I think I'll take them on Saturday mornings still. They love a library trip! I get books for myself too when we go.

I love my local Library and pop in most Saturday mornings to get a book to read during the week. It costs 50p to reserve an item. I also download books and magazines free of charge using my Library membership which saves me a fortune.
My favourite charity shop is opposite the Library, they charge £1 for three paperbacks, and usually have a good selection of quite recent books, great for holidays.

Our library is partly volunteer run and the librarian only visits for several shifts a week. It came under threat of closure a few years ago but was saved, where several others were closed in the area.

We'd be lost without our little library. We home educate and rely hugely on their resources. It is used by quite a lot of the community - there's computers and quiet spaces to read and study, a museum of local history, and rhyme time sessions for babies and toddlers.

Yes of course but this has still (according to the librarian) contributed to a dramatic fall.

I always used to use it but now am at work full time and so find it easier when in town to buy from charity shops who do 3 for £1