#libraries are awesome

[meeedeee]

Ditch big corporations for good! Learn how to boycott long-term with smart swaps, local alternatives, and survival tips to keep your values and wallet intact.

https://www.rfr.bz/f750858

10 WAYS TO BOYCOTT for the long term

First Step

First, look at your bank statements, receipts, cabinets, and think about what you really could do without.

Rural Families

Rural areas have been systematically stripped of local businesses and alternatives, which is exactly the problem. That's by design. And it's not going to change unless we start tackling the policies and power structures that put us here in the first place.

It Takes Planning

Meal planning can be a game-changer for boycotts because it helps people avoid impulse purchases and reliance on big corporations.

Use Your Library

Disney, Amazon Prime, and Netflix are all corporate giants. Use Public libraries (for movies & books), local theaters, indie streaming services.

Coffee

There are many small batch coffee roasters to choose from online. And, if your community does not offer independent coffee shops-all the more reason to boycott the big guys

Banks

Big banks are tied to corporate greed, fossil fuels, and shady practices. Use a local bank or credit union.

Sneaky Greenwashing Brands

Some brands pretend to be sustainable but still engage in fast fashion practices Madewell, J Crew, Anthropoligie Urban Outfitters; avoid H&M, Shein, Temu

Groceries

Grocery shopping is one of the hardest things to boycott because the big food conglomerates own almost everything. But with some planning, you can cut them out as much as possible.

Online Resources

Use websites like Freecycle or "Buy Nothing" groups to get rid of what you don't need, and find what you do need.

The Long Haul

Sticking to a long-term boycott isn't just about skipping Starbucks for a few weeks-it's about retraining how we think about consumption.

[turtlesandfrogs]

You know what's great if you want to read a book but can't afford to buy it?

A library. And not just public libraries. Colleges, universities, tribes, and other entities have libraries too, and will have different books than public libraries. You don't have to be a member to just walk in and read (at least the ones I've been to). Public libraries can also sometimes get books from other libraries through intralibrary loans. So even if your local library doesn't have a book, it may be able to get it for you.

If you see me recommending a book, 95% of the time, I found it at a library. If I find it's a good book and one I want to come back to over and over, and it's affordable, then and only then will I buy it.

[lemonberry-syrup]

Witchy Book Reviews: A thread

Becoming Dangerous: Witchy Femmes, Queer Conjurers, and Magical Rebels

4/5 stars, would recommend and would probably read again.

It's a collection of essays from people of all sorts of walks of life. At the end of each essay, I wrote a 1-2 sentence summary of what I learned from it, and one of them had some really helpful information I jotted down too. This could be just because I like to hear about what other people learn through their crafts, but I think it was very neat to see so many different perspectives. Even if there were a number of essays I had to power through for apothisexual (sex repulsed) reasons

[hornedchick]

My library card has been renewed! I have access to e-books and audiobooks again! Yaaay!

[raspberryconverse]

He says that like it's not something that happens at least once a week 😆

[cynicalclassicist]

As someone who works in a library, I love it!

Not that I'd wear it, but feel free to do so!

good shirt from the market today

[bicheesewhiz]

I fucking love my local libraries

[silly-lil-scribbles]

just got suggested a video of someone “reading only books from the library” like posed as some sort of challenge? as if this was weird thing to do? and kind of want to bash my head into a wall

[fictionadventurer]

I love libraries.

I'm browsing the WWI shelves (as you do) and notice a very old book about the war. I glance at the first pages that talk about how one day the war will be over and we'll look at this place and not see any signs of the battlefield.

Then it hits me. And I check the publishing date.

This book was printed before the war's end. Not written. Printed. The physical object was created in 1918, while the war in question was raging and the end was as yet uncertain.

Now I'm standing on the other side of the apocalypse, with this physical link to that era in my hands. I'm living proof that the war did end and life did go on and we can all look at the end of the world as a long-ago memory.

Reading old books is cool enough, connecting our minds and hearts through the ideas of people who lived long ago, but there's something extra profound about holding a copy of the book that comes from the time that it was written. It's a physical link between the past and the present connecting me to those long-ago people. A piece of the past come into the future that gives me the chance to almost take the hand of some long-ago reader, to hold something they could have held, connecting not just mentally but physically to their era, a moment of connection across more than a century.

Excuse me while I go weep.

[catwouthats]

No but seriously ask someone to watch your stuff

And put stickers on your expensive stuff

I was lucky my library has cameras because someone tried to steal my headphones. My library is very crowded and everyone respects each other’s personal space there (but apparently not always), so I left them unattended and charging…

now I put stickers on all my personal things so people are less prone to steal them. (Harder to resell)

[inartchive]

[queerliblib]

Vote 4 Queer Liberation Library!

We’re participating in @projectforawesome this year! Vote for us so we can be considered for a grant 🩷🌈📚

there are so many incredible charities & nonprofits participating this year — check them out and give them some love! <3

[penny-riled]

My county library has hundreds of magazines available on Libby, on a wild range of topics, in dozens of languages. Just scrolling through the list they have the Paris Review, Cook's Illustrated, a one-shot about emo, Vogue France, the Tatler Macau. (This is in a small rural county in Central Kentucky. Go Jessamine County Public Library!)

As far as crafts and sewing magazines go, even if they're in a language you don't know, as long as you have some basic knowledge on the topic, you can pretty much figure it out. The format of craft and sewing instructions is largely the same everywhere, and you can always run the text through a translator. Admittedly this doesn't always work on technical or jargon terms, but you can usually muddle through.

As a former librarian I'm actually required to remind you that many libraries that subscribe to Libby are opted into a program that lets you subscribe and access magazines for free with no wait

And that this is actually a really fun, low cost way to not only access news and larger cultural magazines, but also to get free patterns for many different crafts that you can screenshot if need be and that lower the financial barriers to entry for trying new things

From my experience working in both academic and public libraries, many libraries are use it or lose it funding-- I have to say this because a lot of patrons feel guilty for how much they use the library and how often they're using it funny enough, but the worst thing you can do for libraries is not try out new features and not use what's already given to you as much as possible.

The numbers that come as a result of your patronage are how most libraries justify their continued existence in times of financial hardship, which sucks but, go check out some magazines on Libby!

[allthisandtea]

It's National Library Week in the US, and I encourage you to show your appreciation to a library worker in whatever manner you feel is best suited. 😘

[umblrspectrum]

wanna see me disappear for several months

wanna see me do it again

[fesweetpea]

Let's talk about my hometown library:

1. Maker space: 3d printer, VR..... pretty much free

2. You can check out a CO2 meter. You know, check out the ventilation status of your workplace.

3. You can check out park passes to visit provincial parks and not pay an entrance fee.

4. We abolished late fines after evidence showed they were harmful and not resulting in real revenue.

5. ...should I keep going?

Libraries are most definitely a reflection of the priorities of a community. They're currently being asked to do WAY MORE than funding permits them to do

Destroy the myth that libraries are no longer relevant. If you use your library, please reblog.