Do you use your local library? If not why not?

No, sorry.

It smells dreadful as it shares a public space with a medical centre; a cloying mix of disinfectant, illness & the general public. It's a real shame as the concept of a local hub is great. Can't figure out why the medicinal small is s strong, my GP surgery certainly doesn't smell like that.

I don’t use it for myself as I prefer my Kindle and the charity shops near where I live are amazing (most adult books 20p -30p)
I don’t really await new releases - I just pick up books that look interesting or by an author I’m familiar with.

I buy most children’s books for my dcs from charity shops as they are literally 10-20p per book, most look new and like they’ve never even been read!

We still go to the library though (once a month) as they have a lovely kids area with bean bags etc. Dd loves going, we probably spend a good 45 mins there, then we go to the cafe afterwards. It’s our monthly ritual😄

Yes, for audiobooks mostly. Glad to see that it has expanded its services to free wifi, computer access, 'warm room' hot drinks etc but it is a fairly large urban library. I saw one in a smaller town where the library was in the leisure centre. Perhaps that's one of the ways forward for local services, expertise in the core hours, but extended opening through joining up with other services.

Used it pre covid for the children . Just started using it now to get books for myself to read,for reasons of cost and sustainability . It’s open far less than it used to be though .

I admit that I no longer use our library . Used it all the time when DS was smaller and more recently I visited every couple of weeks for books for myself, alternating with new paperbacks from Asda or the cheap ones from the Works. I stopped when everything closed in lockdown and started using the kindle which DH had bought years before and I had sworn I would never use. Signed up to Kindle Unlimited - and it's just so easy. Finish one book - I can order a new one to read immediately, and when I travel there is just the one item to take, and can even access on my phone .

I guess that you have a valid point though regarding the 'use it or lose it' and perhaps I ought to pop in some time .

No never.
Used to a lot when the kids were little as it was a free day out!
No reason to go there now really.

@Ratfinkstinkypink have you talked to the librarian. They might be able to get books in for your little boy (a bigger branch might have them).

I use it but by the borrow box app as I tend to listen to audiobooks a lot.

No sadly because there is very little in the library that my little one would be able to borrow and enjoy, he is blind and needs really sensory books so we end up buying most of our books. It is also a small library and not really wheelchair friendly and certainly not set up in a way that he could explore what is on offer.

I use one London borough's library service for audiobooks, as it seems to have a particularly good selection. I am also a member of Westminster where I work and that is just awesome. More or less any book I want is available somewhere in the borough, and it's usually at the library by the office within 72 hours. Only very recently published books have a waiting list. I'm absolutely delighted by it and am so cross I only joined recently when it's been there all along.

@Ulysees I think we are lucky it was built when it as. As the council has just gone bankrupt!

We have a rand new library in the city centre. I happened to pass by it yesterday. And was surprised to see it was busy. So I went it. It was brilliant. Comfy chairs to sit and read, a nice cafe. I renewed my membership and took some books out and reserved another that I was going to download on my kindle. I'll be a regular visitor now.

I used to use the library a lot, but not any more.
This is because:
a) my (very) local one is really small with very limited opening hours that I can't get to on a workday, and actually has a very limited choice of books
b) I also can't get to the bigger one that is about 30 mins walk away on a workday, but I could go at the weekend. However I can't manage the walk back with a bag of books because of my back problems, and the local traffic restrictions have made driving conditions appalling. They have also built on the library car park so you can't park easily anymore. There is no bus route there. I might start using it again when I retire and can go at less busy times, or go more often but take out fewer books in one go.
c) a lot of the books I would have borrowed, I don't anymore because you can get all the info on the internet - eg "how to .." make/paint/sew/plant/cook.

Meanwhile, I occasionally use Borrowbox ( although it's not much fun trying to browse on there) or download onto Kindle when I see something cheap/free, and share books with friends.

I used to use the larger town centre library when I worked part time and it was 5 mins walk away from the children’s school. Also if I wanted to reserve a book from another branch then I could use DD’s child ticket to reserve it for free. It opens 8.30am - 6pm in the week and until 4pm on Saturdays.

now I work full time and I only go that town every few months my local small branch library only opens until 5pm and I don’t usually get home until around 5.30pm. Plus it only has a very small stock.

I love my local library it’s open 4 days a week and when I did the school run I walked past it so very convenient too.

more importantly though the staff that work there are so helpful and welcoming and they have introduced this new app so if I see a book in a shop that I fancy reading but don’t want to buy or not entirely sure I’d like you can scan the barcode and order it from the library. I’ve read books that I probably never would have and if I’m not enjoying a book from the library I won’t finish it as I didn’t buy it.

They have tea and coffee and I love nothing better than going on a Tuesday morning and sitting and reading my book with a cup of tea in such a warm, welcoming and peaceful environment.

They have lots of groups for all ages and do a lot for the local community. I did a couple of free courses there last year which helped me apply for a job which I got too.

I would like to - we used to go every Saturday when I was a child - but I don't. Now that Amazon is available I buy second hand books several times a week (usually for my son - to be read aloud, to read himself, or for projects - but sometimes for me) and this is far more convenient than having to physically take him into the expensive/busy town centre or the next village, and then having the multiple commitments of reading exactly those books next, finishing them by a deadline, (not losing them mixed up with all our books) and being already committed to another in-person trip to take them back on a weekend day.

Shout out to the Forum in Norwich, where the main library is housed. Provides lots of other services as well - Citizen's Advice, council etc. Lots of choice and easy to reserve books. The problem with the villages is that, if the libraries are still open, they're open at strange hours, and I always miss them. Also, this time of year, the charity shops are good for books, as people are getting rid of unwanted Christmas presents !

I'm not in the UK, but yes, I use our local library often. However it is closed until next Monday, when it will re-open in a shiny new building. Looking forward to exploring it next week - even though I will have to walk an extra block to get there! It's open seven days a week, and will be open longer on weekend days than it was previously.

@Mazuslongtoenail I'm the same as I have early onset cataracts(waiting on op) . Our local library have a good selection on the Borrowbox app that you can download on a tablet or smart phone or maybe an IPhone (I don't know about IPhones), so I increase the size of print with that.Also they have an online catalogue of large print and audio books that you can search with the apps. I have managed to get quite a few of the newish ones to read this way. Not had to wait long to read them. Also they will look outside your County for a book on Borrowbox for you in you request it !

Yes, I use it. They don't always have what I want, though, especially recent releases, so I sometimes make a request at my local library but access the same title elsewhere in the meantime. They're brilliant, though, for older books!

Yes I do. They are fab. I get large print books, e books and audio books ! Love our local library - the staff are so helpful!

Yes I do - some branches have been chopped so I try to visit weekly.

At the moment, yes, but only because I now work close to my nearest one and have a late start once a week, so it's easy to go up ten minutes early and pop in. Over the last 20 years, since I've lived here, I've mainly not used it though. It's 20 miles away and I've only recently got my licence, so it's been too hard to get to. Even when I lived within walking distance for a few months I rarely went as its opening hours were so difficult.

There have been periods when I've used other ones, the large one 40 miles away when I went weekly to the gym next door, and the mobile one when studying and it stopped outside the college.

It was mainly due to my dd that I rediscovered them. A need for a clean loo led me to the large one on a day out and she had a lovely time there, looking at books and playing hide and seek. We've been back since, and to the small one, and she's welcome with open arms at both. Plus, since Covid, late fines have been abolished, so even when I couldn't easily get to one I knew I was fine to borrow.