April 20, 2020
National Library Week: April 19-25
Do you have a library card?
Do you have more than one library card?
Do you have fond childhood memories of bringing home a pile of books from the library?
As a child, did you participate in a summer reading program at the library?
Have you ever taken your child to storytime at the library?
Have you ever gone to the library to study or research or for some quiet time?
Do you belong to a book club at the library?
Do you consider yourself a heavy library user?
Is your library card one of the prized possessions in your wallet?
Are you using the library during social isolation?
What percentage of the books you’ve read this year are from the library?
Read Digitally During Social Isolation and National Library Week!
(scroll to the end to see some library-related book recs!)
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
Even though I’ve switched over to reading digitally, I consider myself a heavy library user. In fact, 55% of the thirty-one books I’ve read so far this year are from the library.
If your library is closed now or if you’re isolated at home due to COVID-19 lockdown conditions, this is the perfect time to consider borrowing ebooks from the library! If you visit your library’s website, it will most likely have an option for reading digital books. Your library’s website will likely have an app such as Libby or Overdrive that you can download. Then all you need to do is link your library card to the app and you can borrow digital books!
The BEST feature is that there are NO library fines because the book automatically disappears (is returned) on the due date. You can borrow print ebooks and audio ebooks.
If you do not have a library card and your library is closed, you might be able to apply for your library card online.
Using the Libby or Overdrive app, you can link up multiple library cards. I have two library cards linked, one for my local library and one for my county library.
In addition to the games on my iPad, my six-year-old grandson loves to open my Libby app and check out a children’s book to read!
A FAQ is what is the difference between Libby and Overdrive? My limited understanding is that they are basically the same and that Libby is an updated or newer version of Overdrive. Both work equally well and are synced with each other. I have both apps and I use them interchangeably. One feature of Overdrive that I like is that I’m able to request books for the library to purchase and I haven’t found that feature available on Libby. I like requesting a book for purchase because you are automatically put on the waiting list for that book and if the library purchases it, you will be near the top of the waiting list!
If you prefer not to read digitally, you can also go to your library website and check out all the resources that they have available for you!
Have I enticed you to use your library this week?
Libraries store the energy that fuels the imagination. They open up windows to the world and inspire us to explore, achieve, and contribute to improving our quality of life.
~Sidney Sheldon
If you have ideas about using the library or if you work at a library and can add to the conversation, please comment!
I have created a short list of books that feature library settings or librarians!
(the first two are my favorite librarian stories!)
Can you add suggestions?
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
5+ Stars. My Review Here. (the main character is a packhorse librarian)
The Librarian of Auschwitz by Antonio Iturbe
5 Stars. My Review Here. (a teenage girl assumes responsibility for the underground library of Auschwitz)
What You Wish For by Katherine Center
4 Stars. My Goodreads Review. (the main character is a school librarian)
The Library at the Edge of the World by Felicity Hates-McCoy
3 Stars. My Goodreads Review. (a save-the-library theme)
Lucy’s Little Village Book Club by Emma Davies
3 Stars. My Brief Goodreads review. (about a library-sponsored book club)
3 Stars (a wonderful librarian in this story)
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
(fictionalized account of the 1986 fire at the Los Angeles Public Library)
QOTD!
Do you have a library card?
Do you use Libby or Overdrive?
ICYMI
Lighter Reads During Stressful Times
Ten Signs That I’m a Book Lover
Happy Reading Book Buddies!
“Ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading.”
~Rainer Maria Rilke
“I love the world of words, where life and literature connect.”
~Denise J Hughes
“Reading good books ruins you for enjoying bad ones.”
~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
“I read because books are a form of transportation, of teaching, and of connection! Books take us to places we’ve never been, they teach us about our world, and they help us to understand human experience.”
~Madeleine Riley, Top Shelf Text
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***Blogs posts may contain affiliate links. This means that at no extra cost to you, I can earn a small percentage of your purchase price.
Unless explicitly stated that they are free, all books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library.
Book Cover and author photo are credited to Amazon or an author’s (or publisher’s) website.
© Readingladies.com
I do have a library card and I maxed it out on physical books a couple of days before my library closed. (Good thing fines have been suspended for the duration!) Our ebook app is Axis360. It’s easy to use and they’ve added quite a few books in the past few weeks, so the selection is even better than before. We even have some audio books, which is a new feature since shelter-in-place started.
Great to hear! Thanks for commenting!
resources, time, spring
Love the digital library!!
I have been a library member for years, to the point that I know my member number off by heart. Recently I changed my name and they offered me the chance to get a new card with a new name but that would have meant having to learn a new number.
That number is like an old friend now! Thanks for commenting!
Having worked in libraries for many years it goes without saying that I’m a huge fan. As for reading electronically, I do that anyway – whatever the time.
I wonder how this global pandemic will alter the face of public libraries and the services they provide going forward.
Our community was looking forward to our large brand new library and performing arts center opening this summer. So sad!
I still love the idea of a library. I want them to be there for everyone else but I haven’t used one myself for years. When my children were very young I found it difficult to get out of the house to return books and often found myself with library fines to pay. When I went back to work I started buying books again. It was simpler.
Fun post 🙂 I also have two cards linked to my Overdrive account. The majority of books read come from the library as well. The rest come from my book shelf, Netgalley, and the occasional publisher. A beautiful library was built in my town under ten years ago. Usually I stop in once a week simply to look and walk around, it has such a calming presence. Hopefully it will reopen soon.
I love the library! I prefer reading “real” books, but I’ve definitely been reading more digitally since my library closed. I just find out that my library is starting curbside checkout tomorrow. I’m so excited!
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Love the idea of curbside checkout!
Thanks for commenting!
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