#Libraries

[lakecountylibrary]

We don’t have a uniform, why do you ask?

Inspired by our friends at Rapid City Public Library (link goes to TikTok). Music only - sound not needed.

[Video Description: A librarian with glasses wearing a polo shirt and shelving books answers an unheard question from someone offscreen. His words are inaudible but the caption reads "The librarian wearing the cardigan and glasses will be able to help you." Video cuts to an information desk where four librarians wearing cardigans and glasses are working. They all turn and wave as four more librarians wearing cardigans and glasses pop out from behind the desk and wave. The librarian from the beginning walks on screen and puts on his own cardigan. And waves.]

Music credit: George Street Shuffle Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

[alanfromrochester]

thinking of the PATT-J part of my my library's audiobook shelves, you aren't wrong

James Patterson books are an invasive species humans brought into library shelf environments because we wanted fast-reproducing, easily-digestible food. But at the time, we didn't know as much about their natural airport environment, which has very few available nutrients. This environment greatly favours the genericalist species like Patterson, so there's very little bibliodiversity compared to the more specialized library or bookstore environment. This means that each species in an airport has an enormously expanded niche compared to just about anywhere else books can thrive - in their natural habitat, Patterson books may be one of only 3 or 4 species competing for available nutrients. In these low-density, low-nutrient environments, Patterson books occupy vast swathes of territory without bothering other species. This history makes it extremely easy for them to outcompete the more specialized inhabitants of the library shelf, who have often been carefully selected to fill ultraspecific subgenre niches.

Left unweeded, Patterson books will expand their territory over multiple book bays, crowding out or even straight-up eliminating space for competitors and sending contributor-author runners out to other shelves. Contained to a single, planned set of shelves and kept strictly pruned, Patterson books can contribute to a healthy ecosystem. But many curators don't know or don't care to do the planning and maintenance, leading to the nightmare of overcrowding and loss of circulation.

[allsortsoffuckedup]

Hey hey, as a librarian, can I just say don’t pace yourself at the library. I get a lot of customers saying “oh I shouldn’t get too many books out at once” but like you should!!!! Max out your card, take everything we have on a subject you’re interested in, make a book fort in your home. We love that shit! It doesn’t matter if you read them or not; just take them for an adventure and bring them back whenever they’re due!

For public libraries, one of the ways we secure funding year to year is lending. Governments don’t want to fund more books if they’re not being used and the way we measure use is by issues. Regardless of whether you read it or not, whether you have it for a day or a month, if you issue it to your library card, we get the stats! It makes the library look good!

Help your local library; get books out even if you know you can’t read them all!

[without-ado]

sunlight and green (x)

[sunderwight]

One of the great things about public libraries isn't even that the books are free (though that is a great thing about them no doubt) but also the free book storage.

I don't need to own a copy of that book. My library has it. Yeah I might need to wait if someone else takes it out the same time I want it, but relatively few books are required on short notice, especially with stuff like fiction. In the meanwhile I don't have to find a place for that book or that book or that book or etc in my house. I don't have to go buy more bookshelves. I don't have to haul this fuckton of heavy books around every time I move or rearrange the furniture. I only have to own a book if I actually do need it on short notice a lot for something (in which case, a digital copy is probably more convenient anyway) or if I really really love it so much that it's worth having it in my space.

But for the most part the books live at the library, together with each other, and I can just go there any time I want one. Those are my bookshelves! Also everyone else's in the community. But still, mine too!

[dirtyrobber70]

You can also get Kanopy- a free streaming app, and Libby- a free ebook and audiobook app!

[bookaddict24-7]

"I like that library books have secret lives. All those hands that have held them. All those eyes that have read them."

―Same Sun Here by Neela Vaswani

[catchymemes]

[librarian-by-day]

We also don't judge the books you check out. It's part of our training and ethics. We don't know why you're checking out a book, and we don't ask. Not our business.

Most US libraries also wipe your account history once you check an item in. So no one -- specifically the government-- can learn what you've read.

Your library is here for fun fiction, sure. But it is also here for access, privacy, and freedom of information.

physically go to your local library at least once. seriously.

look around. find a random book with a cover that catches your attention. read the description. read the first page. if you like the sounds of it, borrow it and take it home to read. borrow a handful of books even.

if a book loses your interest, drop it. if a book grips onto you, ride that wave.

i've struggled to read recreationally for years despite having read so much as a kid. a lot of us are frozen by the seemingly infinite choices. even when we buy books to take home, we don't read them because which book is worth reading first? we don't have to decide, we have it right here in our bookshelves, we have an eternity of never deciding.

in this past month, i have read five books, most of them i've never heard of when i spotted their cover at the library. most of them, i've ended up loving. the due date of library books maintains the ability to read a book so i can return them to the library and leave the library with more books. an even better incentive than borrowing ebooks, because i actually have to leave the house and not be a hermit.

so if you used to enjoy reading but struggle with it now, ignore the book recs you hear. go to the library, come across a book that piques your interest, and read one page after another until you either lose interest or finish the book.

then it's onto the next one.

[wednesdaysfullofwoe]

[little-reading-doc]

British Museum Reading Room was opened so we took a little look 👀 :)

[ao3cassandraic]

Cosign every single FUCKING word of this.

You want more library? So do we librarians.

WE NEED YOU TO STAND THE FUCK UP FOR LIBRARIES.

This is the DREAM.

[u-mspcoll]

"Peace, Freedom, Equality

Students Against Social Injustice - SASI"

Pinback Buttons, Labadie Collection LBC.1477

[oliviawhen]

It was national library workers day yesterday! Thank you for your work!! 📚

[aliteratepenguin]

PSA TO ALL READERS while wandering around a mall today I was ensnared by a powerful force that bade me enter a place called Barnes & Noble. in a daze I wandered the displays and was compelled to even pick up several books that this force attempted to foist upon me at great personal cost to myself. it was only through great strength of will that I was able to fight off this befouling force by withdrawing my cellular device from my pocket and logging into my library account to place requests for the same books at no cost that i was able to escape without grievous harm. truly it's crazy out there, stay safe and remember that libraries are always there to provide aid as you fight against such forces of darkness