Why I Love the Library

The comic that started all this.

The internet is full of people who get mad over the silliest of things. The most mind-boggling one I’ve seen recently is someone complaining about libraries of all things. A librarian friend posted the cartoon to the right, and he just went off. He started with the typical “who needs a library card when we’ve got Google” nonsense. And it went south from there. Well Mr. Internet Troll, this is why I think libraries are awesome:

• I have a lot of hobbies: I have probably too many hobbies. And the library is able to help with almost all of them. I can leaf through books and find new projects. Or take a book home and find out if it’s helpful before I purchase it. Or find out if a hobby is for me to begin with. And I know that I can “find this stuff on the internet.” But really, the internet is full of other distractions and doesn’t work the best for me.
• Ebooks: Digital checkout is one of my favorite things. When I want to read something now, I can just go through my reading list and find something and have it immediately. It’s kind of amazing.
• Physical Content: And if I can’t get the ebook, I can get the paper book. Or rent a movie. Or check out an album. Seriously, so much content.
• 

  Seriously, $10 for all this.

  Sales: In addition to just checking out books, the library often hosts book sales. My library has a “friends of the library” store, where they sell books/CDs/movies throughout the year. Plus, the big book sales they hold a few times a year.

And those are just the services I use. There are ton of other services the library offers as well.

• Free speech advocacy
• Concerts
• Discussion Groups
• Research assistance
• Genealogy
• Classes
• Job Search Help
• Kids Programs
• Bridges the digital divide

All things you can do with a person who is trained to help you. Someone who is going to take the time to explain whatever you need, in terms you can understand. Seriously, the library is an amazing place. If you don’t know why it’s relevant, you need to visit your branch and see what you’re missing.