#support libraries

[witch-house-in-winter]

Libraries are the best.

[skatesfullofsunshine]

Putting books on hold at the library has the same thrill of ordering books online, but with the added benefit of not losing any money over titles I might not enjoy.

10/10 would recommend.

[racc1408]

The garden of the librarie in my city <3.

[fruitdragon]

I got a summer job in the library!

I love the library! Sharing knowledge, helping kids read!

Information and access to resources you might not otherwise have!

So many books! And the public library system is my favorite!

[laddersofsweetmisery]

I don't see enough people mourning over the slow death of physical media. And I don't just mean TV shows, video games, or movies--which don't even get me started about how we don't really 'own' anything anymore. It includes notes, journals, and letters to one another...so much of our history is lost when we lose a password, a website goes down, a file/hardware is corrupted, or a platform disappears. History that doesn't seem important until you no longer have access to it. Physical media does a lot for memory recall. How many memories will we lose because we don't have something tangible to tie it back to? Something to hold in our hands and stir up those memories we thought were once lost? Sometimes I wonder what the difference between burning a book and losing access to physical media is when someone can pull the plug and remove your access so easily.

[the-atlasofstars]

i already hit my monthly limit for hoopla and i’m maxed out on loans on libby. oops 😅

[lesbxdyke]

I would like to again big up libraries as safe spaces for people of all types!

I had a psychotic episode in my local library while I was in there working and had convinced myself that I was in a bubble dimension and if I left the library I would die, and that being what had happened to the librarian because I hadn't seen them in an hour (it's a small, local library. You can see the librarians desk from where I sit to work)

Now obviously they weren't dead, they were just in the little office that I couldn't see into.

I'm also lucky enough to be a very self aware psychotic, so I reached out to my support network to make sure I got home safely. But none of them could actually get me OUT of the library and I was still absolutely certain that if I stepped off the carpet and onto the tile, I would die.

So I got up, I made my way to the desk, I found the librarian and I said "I need your help. I'm having a psychotic episode and this is what I currently believe. Could you please come out from behind your desk and stand on the tiles so I can see it won't kill me?"

And they did. They didn't shame me, or laugh, or tell me it wasn't real. They said "Yeah, that must be scary." And thanked me when I admitted I'd thought them dead and been really upset about that because I liked them.

And then stood there on the tile, while I stood on the carpet, for ten minutes while I chatted shit and tried to build up my courage to step on the tile, just in case. Including telling me that if this happened again and I needed to call someone, to disregard the usual 'don't call people in the library' rule and just do so after I promised I was going to be calling my husband the second I was on the tile so he could safely walk me home.

(& so no one worries: my husband got me home safe, and a friend came to check on me a little while later and brought me food and I'm fully Cognizant and out of it now)

I cannot imagine another place where I could approach someone and say that and not get the police or an ambulance called on me. Neither of which I needed or would have been helpful.

I cannot imagine another place where a member of staff would stand somewhere for ten minutes to make sure I felt safe enough leaving.

I cannot imagine another place where I would not only be explicitly welcomed back, but be told "If this happens again here, disregard our normal rules to take care of yourself."

I cannot imagine another place on this earth that I would feel safe enough returning to, 3 days later, after an episode like that.

Libraries are a fucking Godssend and should be protected at all costs!

[greg-the-dinosaur]

HEY!!! friendly reminder to not buy books!! don’t buy books! literally just go to your library!! they have like everything and if they don’t have a book you want, you can ask and 9 times out of 10 they’ll buy it for you! plus it is free!

[nostalgicore]

Public library ❤️

[ramblingsandwritings]

I despise AI and most algorithms and now even Google is awful and infiltrated enough it cannot thoroughly answer my strange wondering

BUT

There Is An Alternative

I LEARNED SEVERAL LARGE LIBRARIES HAVE TEXT/CALL LINES YOU CAN CONTACT WITH YOUR WEIRD QUESTIONS

AND PEOPLE ANSWER THEM WITH THOUGHTFUL RESEARCH BASED RESPONSES

It’s honestly life changing

Fuck google, go ask your librarian if you want reliable answers to the 3 am questions

[capitalismsbiggesthater]

Yk why I love the public library? Many reasons but especially bc the access they give me to books with Libby???? Has unlocked my childhood “consume all literature” reading phase again. I’m going through books like WATER. No more doom scrolling through socials I’m just reading my silly lil lesbian pirate books and my anti-colonial science fantasy novels. I’ve gotten through more of my nonfiction theory tbr in the last month than I have this YEAR. I love libby and I love the library.

[booksinmythorax]

Some of my library's most successful adult programs so far basically boil down to "come do things you could be doing at home, but in a Place with Other People".

Right now it's silent reading parties and writing clubs - what other kinds of stuff fits into this category?

[um-hi-im-new]

I fucking love the library, you mean I can just take this home!??? For FREE!!?? In this economy???

[batuuan-artist]

When I check out 8 books at once

[sunmoonyandstars]

booktokers could be doing so much good for public libraries by promoting them to their followers but instead they promote overconsuming books like crazy and having to own every book you read...sigh

support your local library! or even libraries in surrounding towns/cities! I love to go to libraries I haven't been to before and explore!

[rainbowofcrazy]

ATTN LIBBY USERS

If anyone is interested in digital manga/Japanese books, the Japan Foundation offers their digital library via Libby for anyone in North America!

US: https://www.jflalc.org/libby Canada: https://tr.jpf.go.jp/library/collection-and-services/

It may take a few days to receive your email. I got mine within 24 hours.

Spread the world and happy reading!