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

I borrow cookery books from there. I feel fazed looking at all the shelves of fiction.

Yeah I take the kids every third weekend. But I never get books for myself because I find nearly all books are printed so small and cramped now that I have to read on a kindle in large, spaced out type. (I’m only 40 but feel like I’m ancient when I come to read a book.)

I hang out in libraries a lot - often because I need somewhere to charge my phone 😂
(I do read while I am there).
I often wonder how many people don't use their local library because they think it's closed down but it actually hasn't.
On my local Facebook recently someone asked something about "the old library that's not a library anymore" - except it is. It's a mix of community hub and library (and very good) but this person had somehow got into their head the library part had closed down.
My mother in law (different town) was complaining that her local library had closed down. Again it hasn't. It temporarily closed due to a leaking roof. It was decided the building wasn't safe so it has been moved to an empty area of the art gallery (newly built but not in use yet) - the library and art gallery are the same building so it's barely moved.
But she was totally convinced it was closed down because "everyone said it had".
In my parents town - again on Facebook - someone asked where you could print some forms off. Someone suggested the library - someone else said "blimey we still have a library I thought it closed years ago". The town has TWO libraries 🙄
3 completely different parts of the country so not connected but people seem to think libraries are a thing of the past.
Odd. So odd.

Not real books. I use the online elements a lot - OED.com for example.the Library is a car ride away . But no parking available. Also the hours are inconvenient.

I'm housebound so couldn't even if there was one closer than ten miles away.
But I wouldn't use them any more anyway I don't think.

I love reading but hate clutter so replacing my hundreds of books with a kindle made sense space wise. Once I braved it of course. At first I was oh no my books my beautiful books, I can't, I love the smell and feel and look of them.

Then I was hmmm. Countless books in one little hand held device?
and access to countless books? Clearly I have died and gone to heaven.

Which is good because when I actually pop my clogs I'm def headed downstairs 🤣

No, I use Kindle to increase font. I struggle with small font in books due to vision issues.
It’s very unfortunate as I love the idea of library. We used it more when DD was smaller.

I visit my library frequently, although I have only done this the last 5 years since having children. I use it for myself, the children and we love the nursery rhyme groups.

I will be so sad if/when they no longer exist 😢

No I don't use it. I stopped using it many years years ago when then never had books for dd's school project work because all the schools were doing the same project at the same time.

I get my bookclub book online. Don't have time to go nowdays.

I sometimes went to the baby group when the kids were little, but I haven’t been for years. It just seems a faff, having to taken books backwards and forwards. Plus the choice isn’t very good and they smell funny.

@SisterMichaelsHabit please don't generalise about english libraries. I am in the east of England and my library is amazing. Great book selection, free reservations, rhyme time is brilliant, kids and teen reading groups, crafts..the staff are great too. Plus good online services..pressreader, libby and borrowbox. Its a brilliant resource

We used our old one much more. It was open5 as a week - with 2 evenings until 7pm, Saturday morning, and Sunday afternoon.

Much more accessible to working parents than 9-5 M-F, and 10-12 on Saturday.

I use the main libarey in my town

I am member of one it's book clubs read books i wouldn't normally read , so am bit more adventurous in that way nowadays,

Occasionally or sometimes you can watch a films in a side room in this libarey,

like one of the Halloween films with Jamie Lee Curtis actress and Casablanca classic Black and white film Humprehry Bogort and Ingrid Bergim,

the only thing i don't like is this idea of encouraging people to bring snacks and beverages, so they make a mess leaving crumbs or sickness all over computer's keyboards,
or
Just leave their empty snacks wrappings around for someone else to put in the bin,

I know it's obviously to encourage people who otherwise perhaps wouldn't enter into a libarey or only occasionally would

But come one.!

No longer. I used to when there was one walking distance from work and when I was on maternity leave. But the local one is only open Monday to Saturday mornings and I avoid town like the plague on a Saturday morning and work FT. I’d also have to take both DSs (DH works Saturdays) and pay to park. I do reread books (am currently reading DS2 books that have been read by me as a child and DS1) so don’t mind buying them.

I use the app to borrow electronic books and sometimes use it for kids books, but I'm too busy/disorganised to give my own books back in time, so I don't borrow actual books for myself.

I don't read books.

We live in a market town and have a library here but can't remember the last time I went in. We're not readers here

When we were in Strabane, I used it all the time (and Derry library).
Now we're in a similar-sized town to Strabane in SE England and I've been to 3 libraries around here (the one in my town, the one in the bigger neighbouring towns either side).

In my current town in England, the children's section is appalling, with literally 2 baskets of picture/board books (all jumbled up) and that's it. Most of them have pages torn out or flaps torn off the lift the flaps books so the kids don't get to hear the whole story and I have to try and guess the next part of the story or cover where the flap is with my hand and get them to lift that instead, which is rubbish. None of the staff seem to know basic book repair.

The woman doing Rhyme Time has the charisma of a dead frog and shouldn't be doing it because she rushes through the books and doesn't know any of the rhymes or actions and after 18 months really should have Googled it by now as she's being paid to do it. And the opening hours are silly too. It's just not a nice place to take a baby/toddler/preschooler so I stopped going about 9 months ago.

I tried the libraries in the other towns nearby and their children's sections aren't much better so it's not worth the petrol/paying for parking to do this. It's a real shame because as a child visiting relatives, the library in one of these towns was the best library I ever went to. Since then, they've totally redesigned it with fewer bookshelves and less variety in books. I don't even have a library card here, there's no point as there's never anyone on the desk to sign you up anyway, they're always standing chatting in the back room and ignoring anyone at the desk.

Just one of those things NI was doing much better than England. I used to work in a library and I can't believe how bad it is, it really gets me down as we used to go three times a week in NI and they were just outstanding.

Our local library is now run by volunteers a couple of days a week and doesn't have access to the county library's books. People who need to use a computer to access benefits etc have to go to the council offices.
It's a disgrace.

Yes. It's brilliant and my first choice over buying books. If you don't know what you want It's so much easier to browse the shelves than online. If they haven't got what you want they can order it from another branch, the British Library or buy it in. Fabulous service.

I was a librarian when working and although I never worked in public libraries I feel solidarity They are truly something the UK does well.

Aha we’ve both said the same about ADHD

I use the Libby app for ebooks and audiobooks oks, and I use the printing services in the library building, but I don't borrow books because I have ADHD and ended up spending a fortune on fines and getting into financial difficulties when I forgot to return books on time. They've stopped issuing fines now, but the fear from physical library books is too ingrained now, so I just find the borrowing process incredibly stressful. With Libby, the books are returned automatically.

Not any more.

our local library is in a school & you feel like you're in a school library!! Everything is old & tatty. It's small, not a lot of stock of adult books& what is there is old, 3x as thick as it started out in life & I don't like the though of how many people have handled them & licked their fingers to turn pages & folded down the pages, they're a grim sorry sight.

plus there's all the hassle of (remembering) & taking the books back.

id far rather just buy them in the charity shop a few doors down where they're often new or only read once or twice. Cheap & no need to return them if I don't want to.

I don't know who would miss ours if it just reverted to the school library.

i used to love going to the library as a child.

but things have changed in 40 years,

I borrow ebooks extensively from my local library and am utterly grateful for that, it's amazing.

I don't go in person because it'd be a special trip into the city, to an area that I wouldn't otherwise go to. Books are heavy to cart around (I read quickly so I always borrow the max). Since having varifocals I am more comfortable reading ebooks since I can adjust the font.

Back when I was young (school, teenager and well into my 20s) then a weekly trip to the library was essential.

We have a great library, I use it twice a week. They have lots of new, bestselling books- occasionally I browse in the Waterstones in town and then walk to the library 5 minutes away and they have the same books on display -for free. I read 90% of my books from the library.
we also use their app to read free magazines.

No, our local library has got rid of all non-fiction, which is the only thing I read. Also the kids like newer books (the comic type books, “bunny versus monkey” and the library doesn’t have those either)