Do you use your local library much?

[Cloud44]

Ive recently discovered our local library and I’ve popped in a few times to borrow books but I wondered if anyone else spends more time in their local library than just popping in? I’ve seen a few people in there relaxing and reading books but I don’t know if I’d feel a bit uncomfortable sat there by myself reading for an hour or so?!

No it’s small and fairly noisy as you need to go through it to get to the pool, so lots of coming and going

Yes , go about twice a month.
The DC have library cards too.
I reserve books online that I like the look of from my online book club.
Its great for topical books for the kids school topics like Egypt , Knights etc too .
Its in a beautiful old spacious building.
Its a real asset to the town.

I do and always have. It was a bit of an escape for me from home when I was a child/teenager.

I've been to our local library this morning where they were having a wellness day. Speakers and displays of books on health and wellbeing. It was absolutely buzzing with people - with their kids, using the PCs, drinking coffee, choosing books and reading.

Our library is open 6 days a week and also you can sign up for something called extended opening which means you can go in even when it's closed. You have to do a 10 minute H&S training and then you get a pass. It's brilliant. My second home.

Yes, at least once a week; it’s a busy urban library within walking distance so we often go as a family at the weekend to get new books for the kids. Sometimes if I’m WFH and need a change of scenery I go and work from there. Love our library and it’s so nice to see how well used it is.

I love ours and we all regularly use it. It makes me sad when I hear people say they just buy books from Amazon to be delivered, libraries need to be used and supported.

Nope. These are the opening hours of our library..

They closed our lovely local one down a few years ago. There are ones in each of the towns we are sandwiched between but I would have to pay for parking to go there so rarely bother these days.

We use ours. Walk the kids up, read/browse the kids books, take out my book club book, then stop at the bakery on the way home. Lovely morning.

I get e-books from mine all the time. I'm retired and a big reader, so it saves me a fortune.

Saves me loads of money .... order books they don't have in. Rarely sit and read in their but occasionally read the Saturday papers if dc are mooching about in there.

I couldn't afford to buy the number of books I read.

When I go with my dcs we can spend a couple of hours reading books and sometimes there are toys too. But we don't go as often as I'd like, they have extracurriculars every day after school and weekends are busy with parties, swimming and exhibitions and theatres shows. And it's not far but it's not near anywhere we might go so we wouldn't pop in on the way home.

Used to go every few weeks when my children were younger. Oura used to rent DVDs for a couple of weeks at a time.... brilliant in the holidays. Use our local one for printing stuff

@Decafflatteplease don't they all have an app? The app I use covers all the libraries in the county, then I can narrow it down to my town, and then a specific library.

I go a lot, I always have quite a few books out at a time, I also borrow DVDs sometimes when I can't find a specific film on any of the streaming services we use. My library also loans out other items like board games and sports equipment - right now I've got Carcassonne big box. There's not a lot of English books, I've exhausted them all already, but I order from other libraries and they get delivered there. There's usually some kind of art exhibition going on which I like to look at too.

If I'm in town and I've got time to kill before an appointment or meeting and the library is open I'll go hang out in there. In the next town the library isn't open as often but you can get in outside of opening hours by scanning your library card which is nice (especially if you need the loo!)

At least twice a week

I used to use it more but I got quite frustrated with the hopeless librarian. She’s sooooo slow at doing anything. I have to repeat myself over and over. I’ve asked her for assistance using their computers and she couldn’t help. I asked her to order books in for my children and she said she had but I never heard anything back. I’m a polite person and I wouldn’t be rude so I avoid dealing with her and go elsewhere.

Ours is great. I take my toddler at least a couple of times a month. They have toys and a reading and colouring area. Sometimes you can have a tea and biscuit. They always give her a sticker when we leave. It's really small and we've borrowed most of the kids books, so that's a downside.

Just rejoined mine and I can borrow up to 30 books 😲 use the other libraries in the borough and order from them. I will have to go through my 'books to buy/read' pile and se what the library can do for me. Plus it's a nice quiet undistracting place to work and read.

Ours does too, it’s been broken for the last 3 months but they’ve fixed it this week. It’s a huge relief for me, because the website is horrible! Mine and the DC’s accounts are linked on the app, but I have to faff logging in and out to each account on the website.

I have a Goodreads account which I log all the books I fancy reading. I use my library by checking their stock online first and reserving the ones I want to read next. I'd say I go into the library 1/2 times a week to collect or return books.

I never go in just to browse, as that's not the way I like to find new books, and I never go in and sit and read in there. However every time I do go in, there are always people sat reading. So it's not an odd thing to do, I just prefer to read in the bath or on bed (and pur local library doesn't have either of these).

Yes, since discovering my city's new library a few weeks ago. It's great!

I know a lot of people who use them because they can't afford to heat their homes. Theres tea, coffee and biscuits, newspapers, free computer access. There's a few activities like knit and natter. And always someone to chat to. It's basically the only community hub where there's no expectation to spend money, or be a (paid) member.
We go twice a week and meet school friends there so do end up spending an hour or so each time.

Not at all now. I used to take DC in the summer holiday for the reading challenge. Before they were school age we'd go to the odd craft session or group.

I think libraries are great but their opening hours don't fit with my working hours so I can't use it. We buy most books from charity shops now so it hasn't curtailed our reading

I have 3 library's all near me, 2 less than a mile and 3rd about 2.5 miles away. All off them are shut for minimal 3 days and none open for more than 4 hours at a time. I only go in their to get my food waste bags. At one of them theirs a group for elderly people and a parent and child group, so hallway always full of mobility aids or buggys, and it's very loud in their, the other library is next to a homeless place and do a lot to help the homeless and help people who struggle with filling out forms. All excellent services but not ideal if you want to browse sections. The third I believe is a really good library. I do support these library's as I believe what they bring to the community is fantastic. Wish they were open a bit more to be honest