Why I Love My Library

I absolutely love my library. I am actually now a member of two libraries. Two libraries mean twice the possibilities!

It’s free – all of these things I can do at my library are free.
You can borrow books, audio books, CDs, DVDs, magazines, newspapers
Online Catalogue – from here I can place a hold on an item, renew the items I have already checked out & suspended items I have on hold.
Access to other library catalogues – if there is a book I am after and my group of libraries doesn’t have it, they can borrow it from another library. I just treat it as a normal library book, pick it up from my local library then return it before it’s due
Branches – there are six libraries that are a part of the same group, all within the local council
Apps – There is a smartphone app to access your account, another one that allows you to borrow e-audiobooks & e-books, another one to stream music from your device, another one to read e-magazines & another one to read newspapers online
Hours – my library has great open hours. It is open until 6 pm for 4 out 6 days which is great since I work 9 am to 5 pm
Activities – there are a wide variety of activities from trivia nights to school holiday programs. Unfortunately, I haven’t actually been to any of the events. They are mostly aimed at people under the age of 10. The ones that do interest me are during the day on a weekday, while I am at work.

A whole new world

As a result of all these great services, I have not purchased or been gifted a book since approximately 2010. (The Hunger Games trilogy). The audiobooks have introduced me to a few genres & authors that I would never have picked up at the library. I absolutely loved Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden & Fetish by Tara Moss, now I have “read” (listened to) all the books that belong to each series.

If you were to look at my library account today you would see that I have
2 books checked out
8 magazines checked out
19 books on hold (all suspended)
1 e-audiobook checked out
1 e-book checked out

The most recent news update of the website revealed that for every dollar spent on public library services in […] there is a $8.03 return on investment. I couldn’t agree more, the time I spent to obtain my first library card is well worth the knowledge & entertainment I have gained.