to wonder why my friend doesn't use the library?

[LissyGlitter]

My friend posted on a website we both go on, asking if anybody had any roald dahl books they could lend her for a few days as she needs to do a project for her schoolkids (she's a TA) and several people offered one each, so my friend will have to drive round all the local suburbs collecting the books, remember who lent which one, and return them all to the right people. I suggested she just nip to the local library, and she said it was "too much hassle". The mind boggles.

I am shocked at the amount of people who don't use their local library. Why on earth would you not use it? I am the least organised person EVER and I can manage to either return the books within a couple of weeks or nip online and renew them without any trouble, it's completely free, kids don't even have fines, you don't even have to return books to the same library they came from! I didn't even have to provide any ID when I recently joined my local library (I have recently moved house to another council area)

So, what is the excuse for not allowing your kids access to millions of free books? Or even for not allowing yourself them? I enjoy having a huge collection of books (we have just thinned out our collection for moving by about 50%, and still have enough to cover an entire wall of our front room, and we are pretty poor) but I don't want to keep every single thing I read, and there's a limit to the amount of money I want to spend on novels that I'm only likely to ever read once anyway.

The libraries are no longer scary places where a woman in a twinset and a severe bun shushes you, they are fun, friendly places, where your kids will be welcomed and the library assistants and librarians will help you find what you want. If you are not a member or you don't use your membership, go there today!

I think Amazon marketplace is excellent. You can get most mainstream paperbacks for £0.01 + £2.75 postage which is a bargain by most standards, and it's vaguely eco, and you can sell or pass on when done. I wishes I'd started buying them sooner. I really like hardbacks and there are quite a lot on the marketplace for less than a couple of quid, sometimes even 1p too, which is great.

(I know Amazon is "The Man" etc etc, but it's so much more convenient than charity shopping or the library for cheap books.)

Babbity people object to Amazon?

My local library is fab, especially considering the size. Although they seem to fine me a lot despite renewing online frequently. Open til 8pm 3 nights a week, too. And computers you can book by the hour (if you wait until 10 past there's usually a couple free so you can get the librarian to unreserve them for you).

there's no decent bookshop for miles, which is an incentive to use it!

FAQ - you don't need t hang around to fill in a comment card, they are handily available just to pick up and take home

This sort of thing astounds me, sorry podrick:
'Library has hours that are largely incompatible with my working hours.

Located in middle of town - 20 mins drive to get there, parking at £2 per hour.

I find libraries inconvenient, time consuming to get to and expensive to access in terms of petrol and parking costs.'

jeez, a library located in the middle of town, what were we thinking, we should have put it in an industrial estate next to Toys R Us!! I mean, don't you go into town to go shopping, what would the old dears say if we put the library on the ring road just so you could add it on to your daily commute
Do you moan that Boots, Marks and Sparks and WH Smith are in the high street too???

yes all libraries should be running Quest Seekers

Morloth Well, supposedly, after reading this sort of thing.

If you have a library card you will find that in many (if not most) local authorities you can link from your home computer into a useful reference library of dictionaries and encyclopedias. I am a librarian and have to admit that I don't use my local library as much as I should for book borrowing, but have used the library link to the OED and other reference works quite often.

they are handily available - right yes of course they are . They seem to have sod all "handily available" in my local library (like I said - when I can get up there - as if the lift is broken I can't do the stairs and the pushchair). I would almost certainly have to stand and wait in a queue that looks short but takes ages to go through, only to get a card to fill in which I doubt would make any difference at all to me (if it made a difference at all) - as I still wouldn't use it because of the first reason I listed.

I should imagine the old dears face the same issue as I do - broken lift=inaccessible. Not that I ever see many going in and the entrance is in quite a "prominent" place near the "market" (used loosely as there's virtually nothing there). I see more pensioners on the buses going to the next towns to do their shopping than I do on the local buses going into town to shop.

I did use it for a while several years back - but got fed up with ordering music scores from the County Library (as we have absolutely no music scores at all) only for numerous f*ck-ups meaning that they were delayed, sent to wrong library, and then finally a long battle after I took them back to prove that I had sent all the copies back - it swas the local library that had lost then before sending them back to the county library. It took several letters, phonecalls, trips in and out to sort that issue out.

Their children's section is tiny - and full of lots of "modern" drivel. And the whole place is just incredibly gloomy and uninspiring.

Thanks Babbity, looks like they are not breaking any laws - so I shall continue with my online ways.

yes me too. I love Amazon

okay obviuosly you really do hate your local library

what I meant was at ours they are right by the entrance, you just pick one up, like you would a leaflet, no queueing involved

or you could email!
sorry your experiences have been so crap, but by complaining you might see things change

or you could join a user group where members of the community suggest changes

we have one of those but no body can be bothered to go because no one gives a shit

ach - I'll just keep letting DS1 and 2 work their way through the boxes and boxes of books (and buying a few more along the way ). DS3 is doing a good job of eating all the cardboard ones

I love anywhere with books,libraries,bookshops,charity shops,friends' bookshelves.I buy my grandchildren books whenever I see one someone will like and they love getting them in the post-but I am chary of lending books unless I don't mind not getting them back.

I love reading but don't use the library anymore as now I have kids I have lost my marbles and ALWAYS forget to return them on time. The fines are usually almost as much as if I had bought them on ebay. So I just stick to ebay and amazon for second hand books

I've just got to add something here.

I am a library services assistant in Leicestershire. There are 57 libraries in Leics county and more in Leicester City itself.

1. My library has new books delivered every week.
2. We have multiple copies of best-sellers as soon as they hit the shops.
3. We have many broadband computers for the public to use for free.
4. There are many facilities on the computers that can be accessed such as this which includes free access to Ancestry for people interested in family history.
5. We have weekly Wriggly Reader sessions for the under 5's with songs and stories.
6. We have dvd's to borrow and also cd's, the cd's are £1 for a week. (Cheaper than downloading an album)
7. Daily newspapers to read.
8. Regular Silver Surfer sessions for older people wanting to learn how to use computers and also regular taster sessions for other age groups.
9. This years childrens Summer reading challenge is Quest Seekers, and is always popular.

10. On-line renewals, reservations and the ability to search our library catalogue from your home. 11. Many activities for children during the school holidays. 12. We renew books up to 9 times (27 weeks/6 months) and people can ring us to renew, so they don't even have to make the effort to come down if they don't want to.

Phew

libraties do vary don't they? One back home was fab.

girlandboy our local libraries are as you describe. We have several within a few miles but I think we are very lucky indeed.

My dds are quite well known and greeted by name. In fact recently one of the lovely librarians rang me at home "hello mrs onepiece it't the library. Do you think you might have left your pushchair outside!?" - yes, I had. fab customer service. At Christmas etc they have a massive supervised craft table, saves me a bomb in home made cards.

However,from other comments on here it sounds like many people don't have such excellent libraries.

I live in the former Avon area and I can order books on line from any library in the whole area and in Somerset. If I order for the children it's free and for me it's about 50p. It's an amazing, amazing service.

We have a travelling library which comes for a whole day every week. It parks about 150m from my front door and my ordered books come on it! And there are no fines on the mobile library. Even better. It is very heavily used, especially at 3.30pm.

I love, love, love the library service. It's a marvel.

ThingOne we were from Somerset (Bridgwater before anyone thinks we're posh LOL ) and I have to say Somerset libraries were fantastic

I expect the one here is as well, just there is nowhere big enough for it to go (conservation area, you can't build a washing ine without 30 peoples say so)

onepiece it certainly sounds like it.

It sounds like it's time for people to badger their local council and demand that more money is put into their local libraries. They are wonderful resources if the money is put into it. Start by putting comments in the comments boxes. We have one, and if there is a negative comment then it is addressed very quickly and tried to be put right.

Go one everyone with a naff library. Stand up for your rights. This is what you pay your taxes for.

I'm sure there's the odd posh person in Bridgwater, parrettharlot .

Anyway, I'm nicking all your good books.

Tis OK, I moved to Wales

There are posh poeple in Bridgwater but they hide in the edges pretending they live in esclusive villages (my Sister's DH) and only shop in taunton

Are you Weston way then? We go there in the carnivals

Is there a correlation between libraries and posh/not so posh areas?

We live in a fairly "un posh" area but the library facilities are absolutely excellent.

Libraries are fab.I would not be able to quench my thirst for crappy crime thrillers weithout them

Great for dcs.do lots of story activities.

Can get dvds/audiobooks for minimal cost

Internet access etc.

Dunno what I would without mine