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

[Ulysees]

We're lucky enough to have a good library in our village. It's open Thursday to Saturday.

I use it pretty regularly. Order books online usually.

I rang today as a book I want isn't available and the librarian said she'll request the library buy it in. It's the Julia Child book My life in France. So there won't just be me borrowing it.

I do buy books too. I just think it's a shame more don't use their library. They'll be gone one day.

I love my local library. Free books, access to books in other libraries, free WiFi. Loads of online courses. Ebooks and films (also free.) I can just go and sit there and not buy anything and the staff are lovely too.

Yes, a lot.

I order books too and often many copies are booked out, so would say must be being used a lot in my county.

One of my book clubs borrows our books from the city library.

With many smaller libraries being used, it is a case of use it or lose it which would be such a shame.

I use mine for books for the kids but not myself. I have always preferred to buy books for myself (physical books and ebooks).

My 'local' library is in another country. I live on the border between England and Wales. Its a five mile car journey, £5 to park in town and it's not open late in the week anymore. It can't compete with what's available online TBH.

I use the library close to work as I can pop in easily at lunchtime. If there wasn't one near the office I'd struggle as my local one doesn't open in the evening or much on the weekend.
I think the reduction in opening times does affect those who work and stops libraries being as accessible.
I hardly ever buy books though except second hand. There's not many I would want to read again and again and to me it seems a waste of money when I have such a good library to use.

Yes I use my local library frequently, it's actually one of my favourite places.
There's a really lovely tiktoker librarian from the US he's so worth a follow:
www.tiktok.com/@mychal3ts?_t=8izykGFKayu&_r=1

I use Borrowbox which is through my library if that counts?

I buy so many books that I just don’t need to use tne library. I don’t mean I specifically go onto Amazon or the like to search for a book but those charity bookcases in supermarkets, random charity shops I end up in once in a blue moon and receive them as gifts so I have more books than I can read.

Also ADHD means I struggle to get them back in time and I think my library still charges fines.

I don't use my local library because the staff are unpleasant.

I use the one in my parents' town instead. Smaller, but so much nicer.

No because its only open 9-2 Monday to Friday.

DDs use their school libraries.

I would love to use ours more but it’s only open Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and we work those days. The online ordering system is clunky and takes ages and then you can only collect on days they are open so again we can’t get there. I think it’s a conspiracy by the council to make it so awkward people don’t use it and they can justify closing it down.

Yes, loads. They’re a great resource and I would hate for them to close. I’m lucky though that I’m on the edge of a large town so my nearest library is pretty big - not sure I would use it so much if it was just a small village one. My only complaint really is that they charge £1.20 for reservations - still (usually) cheaper than buying the book but I know it’s free in other areas.

I live in a city and my local library is 10 mins walk from my house, I'm very lucky. The staffed hours have been massively reduced in recent years but they have a system of 'extended access' where you can use your library card and PIN to access the library between 8am and 6pm. I was dubious about the safety aspect of this to start with but it seems to be working well.

I browse the shelves but don't often find something that suits, tend to order on the online catalogue instead. Sometimes I go there to do a bit of work on my laptop.

I do but mainly digital services.

Audio books for insomnia nights and long commutes. Also tons of food magazines, through the Libby app via library membership.

We live not far from the university DH graduated from so he has a card for the university library. We use that a lot.

Bit unfair on our village library but it's not really in a position to compete with a mega-library.

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)

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.

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.

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 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.

Aha we’ve both said the same about ADHD

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.

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.

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.

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

I don't read books.

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.