Are Libraries still relevant?

[Hoolahoophop]

I've just completed a questionnaire for my local library service who are considering shutting some of the smaller libraries in my area.

I was wondering how many keen readers still visit the library.

I go a couple of times a month to select kids books with my DC.

I read for about half an hour a day while breastfeeding my youngest to sleep. I can't hold a book so use my kobo. I buy my kobo books because borrowing ebooks from my library, putting them on the PC, click and drag, plugging in my kobo, clicking and dragging some more feels so inconvenient and costs so much time I'd rather just buy a book for a few £ direct from my kobo using Wi-Fi.

So as an adult the library no longer works for me. Just wondering how other readers feel.

Looking at my stack of books, yes, I still use the library regularly. Including its out of print/rare book ordering service. Currently reading the third in a trilogy that would cost me £8 on kindle.
Got three books that are OOP.

Of course they're still relevant! Just because you don't access them doesn't mean thousands of others don't.

Consider those people who don't have a few quid a week to throw away on books, or who can't afford an e-reader. How would they access books without a library? Even charity shops charge a fair whack for a paperback now. There's clear class divide implications from taking reading and books away from those with less and when people argue that libraries aren't needed it always strikes me as an 'I'm okay Jack' kind of attitude that the more fortunate can fall back on.

Plus, a library is more than a room full of books; it's a quiet place for kids to do homework if they've not got the space at home, for parents with babies and toddlers to go to classes and rhyme time so they don't feel as isolated, for people who need internet access to find work but any afford it at home, and countless other things.

It's pretty reductive to think that just because you don't need it, others don't either.

Apparently I'm quite passionate about the need for libraries this morning

I use the library regularly. I read a lot and my budget would not stretch to buying everything I want. I usually request them online and then collect from my local branch.

I also like the fact that the library is one of the few public places where you can spend time and meet other people without spending any money.

yes, and in my London borough they are opening new libraries, not closing them. The libraries are always pretty busy - both kids and adult sections.

I read the whole of Bernard Cornwell's Last Kingdom series from the library, that would have cost me at least £100 to buy physical books (I don't use an e-reader).

Now we're both working full time I don't get to the library as much as I did when I was part time, when I went a couple of times a week.

But then I was out for dinner with friends recently and one woman was just 'books are only a fiver, why not just buy them!' which I though just shows how much money some people have.

Mine charges 80p for reserving books now which has meant fewer use the service. I just use charity shops or buy on kindle to read on my phone

I take my DS(2) once a week to pick out new books. It is on a weekday and we usually get there minutes after it opens and it is always so busy. This is a big library though- our more local but smaller one is usually a lot more quiet. Once I get through the massive pile of books I have yet to read at home, I'm determined to start borrowing from the library for myself.

I’ve just started going back to our local library as my DD expressed an interest in some non-fiction books. We’ve been every weekend for the past month now.

DD loves it, she’ll sit and choose her books, the librarians are always helpful and happy to answer her questions.

We live in a poor area of the NE. There’s a table with newspapers on that always has a couple of people reading them. If libraries close then it’s the people like that who miss out, not those who can buy cheap kindle books. A walk into town, a read of the paper and a bit of a chat can really break the loneliness of being alone.

They really are and I'd be so sad if my local one shut. However I use it for my daughter. We went to rattle and rhyme sessions there and she loves To go and choose a book. I have lovely memories of going there to pick books every Saturday morning. However I have a kindle and I read that often that it is more convenient and less time consuming to just download. Especially at 10pm at night. But I'd be really sad if they closed and my daughter didn't get that lovely feeling that I used to of picking a good book and snuggling up to read it

Gypsy but that's just for reserving, not borrowing? And I think you'd be lucky to find a charity shop charging 80p for books.

Libraries are the source of love of literature, knowledge and discovery. You don’t have to have spare money to enjoy these things and children can begin their journey into these things through the wide selection available for free. It will be a sad day when they are not available.

agreed. It's ludicrous to say that you'd be really sad if your library closed and a second later say you don't because it's inconvenient.

Libraries gave us power!

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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 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.)

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 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!!

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.