apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I too have re-discovered the library! I am in love with Miami's Public Library System. I can have pretty much any book/DVD/CD delivered to whichever branch I happen to be closest to.

I like to use swaptree.com for trading - it's a wonderful, well organized system.

The other side of the coin is that the author and publisher don't get paid, which can lead to fewer books getting published overall, which will eventually lead to the further decline of civilization. I joke. (I hope!)

This the part where I admit that I'm a germaphobe and can't get past all those germs on library books, so a library card isn't in my future. I read a lot too, and would save a ton of money, but I just can't bring myself to do it. Is there a support group for that?

I love the library.

How many of the books you buy do you love enough to read them over and over? How many times can you convince your friends to help you move your books? How much cashflow would be freed up if you could read as many books as you want for free? Oh, and did you notice they let you borrow magazines too?

If your shelves are overflowing, your library will also accept donations of books in good condition.

jooly, somehow publishers have managed to survive and publish more books than ever despite (or perhaps, because of) libraries. I'm sorry you're squeamish about sharing materials, but you really should pay us a visit sometime. You can borrow books, music CDs, DVDs, and more from our library system. Buy only the items you know you'll want to read (or watch, etc) again and again, and you can borrow the rest from us.

I just wish it wasn't such a pain (translation: I wish I wasn't such a loser). I love the library, but I rarely drive and there isn't one in walking distance. Meanwhile there are 2 bookstores within block or 2 of my apartment. This leads to astronomical late fees--even after renewing them on line the maximum number of times. BOOOO.

But yes, yay libraries! Increasing my library patronage and decreasing my book buying is one of my goals for this summer/year. It was off to a great start, but I think I owe the library $20 in late fees now. *sigh*

The Salt Lake City library is one of the best, and I love using it as often as possible. Germs--well, I just wash my hands a lot! And I love going through the stacks & finding things I wouldn't have even known to look for.

I love the smell of library books and the crisp, crinkly sound the clear plastic dust cover makes. I also love the sweet, friendly librarians at my local branch. The only downside is that the hardbacks are too large to comfortably carry around in my purse all the time.

Libraries aren't just green because you re-use books. They're also green because they are one of the few public[ly funded] spaces where a community can gather to exchange ideas and simply hang out in a safe, positive environment that actually encourages intellectual curiosity. They are green because people who can't afford to buy books, rent videos, go to lectures, or have a computer at home to get online have access to an unlimited source of information, including experts on hand whose job it is to help find that information. For their free, community-based problem solving potential alone, libraries are green. And if smart, vocal people start using libraries more, they'll get more and better funding, which will help them to keep their collections in better, and hopefully germ-free, condition.

Most libraries allow you to put books on hold, and renew books that you have out, via their websites. So, whenever I hear about a book that sounds interesting, I just pop over to the website and reserve it.

i enjoy my local Glendale library. I also go to LA libray, i take the "Gold Line" from highland park.

I'm a huge library fan. Living in NYC, I have access to an awesome collection of books, movies, music, etc.

For Jooly and others I would point out that most major libraries now offer access to digital media--audiobooks, some music, and some movies. Not nearly as exhaustive as audible and iTunes, but pretty nice for the price (free). The one down side is that most of these systems are not Mac friendly, but I think they'll get there.

Nice SydneyBristow--2 greens in one! Thanks EmilyCatherine for your thoughtful insights! I'm glad you guys all get it and I'm not just a super nerd!

The books are going to be printed. If people (you) don't buy them, they will end up in landfills. And also publishing houses will go out of business and we will all be left with nothing to read except blogs.

Libraries are cheap, if you like that, and they rescue you from the "clutter" of book-owning, but I don't see how that makes them particularly green.

And I certainly hope no one here is *driving* to the library...

I'm all about the library. I made it a point to read more and watch less TV and the library is great for that and it doesn't break the bank at all. And you can get free CDs and rent videos or DVDs for as little as $1 a pop. Good stuff.

It really surprises me how many bloggers have been commenting lately on rediscovering libraries ... I think it's not only the green movement that's making this popular again, but that the recession is shrinking a lot of folk's discretionary spending. Or maybe that's just me. :-) I tend to spend a lot on magazines, as well as books ... I recently happily discovered that of the dozens of magazines I enjoy, at least 2/3 are available at the library!

Thanks for the link to swaptree.com ... Any more book swapping web site recommendations? It seems like there are a lot to choose from, but are some better than others?

Libraries are wonderful.

And let's face it, there are a lot of books in the world that ought to end up in landfills or, better yet, never printed at all. Those of you who are predicting the end of the printed word if we use libraries probably think mainstream music sucks today because mainstream recording labels are being bankrupted by piracy.

Your tax dollars pay for libraries, so use them! I reserve books online and go pick them up. Our library is in a beautiful old building, so it's a pleasure to walk down there. I also get recipe books from there and photocopy anything that sounds good. Hooray libraries!

Ya, the library is awesome. Unfortunately I have a $30 late fee so I haven't been back in a year. LOL.

I like owning and will continue to do so. I also re-read all my books which is why I buy them. Libraries put me on a schedule and its not always possible to finish without building late fees.

I love libraries and have had a library card at every address I've had in my adult life. In my last two apartments, however, there was no library within walking distance, so I've gotten out of the habit of borrowing books. It's time to return to it, for all sorts of reasons - environmental, de-cluttering, community-building. The books that are best suited to borrowing from libraries are non-fiction on subjects I'm only mildly interested in, how-to books for specific projects, and light fiction I am unlikely to re-read.

Now here's my caveat: an educated, intelligent person needs his or her own library of serious books. If you are never again going to read the books in your home, you're choosing the wrong books. The best books offer wisdom that changes with age - reading Eliot or Hardy or Emerson at 20 is not the same as reading them at 40. Books shape the intellectual life of a home. I am very glad that my parents took me to the library every weekend, but equally glad my brother had a large book collection in the house for me to plunder at will.

Robertson Davies, great man of letters, wrote that many people would come up to him at book signings and tell him that they loved his book, but (and this with great pride), they of course got ALL their books at the library. Davies: "That's lovely. And do you get all of your meals from soup kitchens?"

Between my two book-geek kids and myself, also a book geek, we usually have 30-50 books and/or movies borrowed from the library at any one time.

It's a great way to be green, of course, but as a perpetually-broke single mom it's great, cheap entertainment.

As someone who works in a private university library I say: check out a book and read it. I work in an architecture and fine arts library so practically every book that crosses my desk I want to check out but I can't. (TOO MANY!)

I always advise "readers" to get a job working in a library. Preferably, a university library. It's a great atmosphere to work in. The pay is good and there isn't a lot of stress. The biggest problem I have is: someone has a fine and doesn't want to pay it.

The following books are stacked next to my computer. I'm checking them out and taking them home today.

The houses of Greenwich Village / by Kevin D. Murphy ; photography by Paul Rocheleau. 2008

Cape Town, architecture & design / [Pascale Lauber, editor] 2007

Shanghai : the architecture of China's great urban center / Jay Pridmore. 2008

Chapters in the history of the arts and crafts movement. By Oscar Lovell Triggs. Chicago, Bohemia Guild of the Industrial Art League, 1902

I love the library and was fortunate to have learned to use it at an early age and have used the library for many things over the years but as an adult, it comes and goes on when I use it or not. I've kind of gotten out of the habit of really reading and used to read all the time.

But I've also been fortunate that both the Tacoma Public Library and later the Seattle Public library has had DVD's, CD's and the like available for years along with books. The Tacoma Public Library used to rent out albums before the advent of the CD, and you can rent movies on video tape, that is if they even still have them, however, DVD's are available.

And thanks to the library, I've discovered new artists and such and have tried new authors too.

But on the flip side, I do buy as well for both have their place, just as long as you don't over do w/ the media and it overflows into chaotic clutter. :-)

Just recently, I used the library in a research project I am still working on. I was searching for images of some old TV's I had growing up for a blog post I'm still working on, all the way from the very first TV in my bedroom as a kid to the latest purchase, a Samsung 32" LCD HDTV that came last week. I still have 2 TV's yet to find any images for and one I need to find a better shot of. The one I found was quite tiny and for some of the images came from the 'net, others from the old Photofact repair books for electronics, going way back to the 20's I believe.

Seattle is fortunate to have a new building that's wonderfully designed, but very unusual too.

oooh, ciddyguy, you're right, you have an incredible library, I've seen pictures!

I will buy an occasional book or movie, but I always have been a fan of using the library. I really don't understand having a $30 late fee - unless there's no max, or you took out too many things all at once. It can be kind of crazy once you're there to try and pick up as many books as you can carry.

My library loans books for 3 weeks and can be renewed up to 2 times for a total of 9 weeks. I am also on the lazy or slow-reading side, but I renew online just to avoid running by the library if it's inconvenient. Movies are for 1 week, twice renewed is 3 weeks. Sometimes someone is waiting for it, that's the only problem. The overdue fine is 10 cents per day. I can return materials to any library in the system. I can request materials available at one branch to pick up at a more convenient branch. I think the limit is $5.00 per item (possibly books only).

A couple years ago, I moved back to Boston and returned 3 books I had kept because I thought the fine would be tremendous and actually feared prosecution if I returned them in the mail. Because I hadn't lost them, I was fined $15.00 total for 9 years overdue. My local librarian laughed even harder when I said I still had my original card. I actually haven't gotten rid of any library cards I've ever held. A lot of libraries have an amnesty week (or some period of time) once or twice a year.

My library also has a kick-ass DVD department. I haven't thought of a movie or TV series yet that they couldn't get for me. Why does this concept of using the library surprise people? I just hate having to move books, I really hated having to move those 3 overdue books too, 6 times*; they were a little oversized, not to mention how heavy they were on my conscience. Books can take up a lot of room. The only thing they're good for moving or storing is they're flat and rectangular. "No wasted space," just all that paper in between the ink.

I will buy a book if I know I really want it, just like anything. It's a consideration to myself in the future and the present. There should be free libraries for things other than books. I'd really never, ever, in a million years, either, get to see as many movies if I had to rent them or buy them. I go see what they have on the shelf. Maybe I never heard of it, that's even better. I'm not going to "browse" into an obscure movie at Blockbuster or Best Buy, and they won't be free, either. Libraries are great if you don't know exactly what you want, and you want to try something there's a chance you won't even like. I watch some movies over and over again, and there's no reason you can't enjoy books you'd read again just because they're at the library and not your home.

*Although I intended to return the books before I left Boston, I actually intended to stay and pay the fine when I got work. I left rather suddenly due to a fire. (I don't know how to link to my post, but it's a little past half the page down).

As for criticizing for driving to the library, they're not always within walking distance! I live in a major city now, but I didn't always! A warning though, driving means carrying- more books than you can carry walking may mean a combination of reading too fast, taking everything you think you might want because you don't know what you'll feel like reading in the next couple weeks, and/or you're still so against whatever "inconvenience" the library places over you than a bookstore that you want to make sure you have enough to last you a couple months or in case you get locked in a bank vault during a nuclear bomb strike or end up lost at sea on some deserted island.

Hooray for libraries!! I'm a librarian myself and it makes me so happy when people talk about how great libraries are. Yeah the books can sometimes get pretty gross, the patrons might be smelly and mean, the computers occasionally stop working, but we provide early literacy programs! a space for teens to hang out and do their thing without being evicted! tons and tons and tons of information! Oh, and about those fines - just think about how much you've saved by using the library and those fines go towards helping your library get new books, fund new programs ...

(Just because the librarian in me always wants to give book recommendations: read Free For All:Oddballs, Geeks and Gangstas in the Public Library.)

I use the Santa Monica Public Library and borrowing books is not the only green thing. The building itself is green. The Santa Monica Main Library received a Gold LEED rating!

I love the Santa Monica Public Library. I go every week when I am running errands in the neighborhood walking to each part of my errand.

Their building is beautiful and I love their chairs especially in the teen section where there is an army of Eames bent wood chairs in red. Love that!

I also love how convenient they make the whole process. I'm part of a book club so as soon as I get the name of the newest book club selection, I make my request to have it held for me. I get an email sent to me when the book is available and I stop in on my next weekly visit to the area. I also get an emailed reminder for when my book is due back (3 days before) so I have the option of renewing at that time so I won't incur late fees. I've been a bit lame about it so I have incurred some late fees, but they have been under 5 bucks to date. I see it as my donation to a good cause.

I started using the library more when I did the 8 week cure and realized that there were a lot of books that I read, but don't love and want/need to keep. The small collection of books I kept I read them over and over and over.

I'm excited to see so many libraries in the L.A. area getting make overs or renovations in the past 5-8 years. It's good to see the money go into a well used and enjoyed public service.

Monica! i too love the crinkly sound of the covers when cracking open a library book and the smell of the pages! i don't know why that's so nostalgic for me!

Cassis, the library isn't going to stop books from selling and make publishing houses close. Don't be so pessimistic, libraries are an amazing resource, and more people should take advantage of them. Not to mention, there are plenty of people who would love to, but can't afford to buy every book they desire. They're a huge benefit to their community.

Maybe they aren't a huge impact to your life, but they are for many people.

I love libraries. And I love being green. And I love checking books out of libraries. But I agree with Cassis because also love supporting writers and publishing by buying their books. And I do know that numerous academic libraries have lowered their book-buying policies and some have even stopped buying books. I'm in a profession in which publishing a book is necessary for advancement. So I'm actually pretty worried about the imperiled publishing industry because for books in my field, libraries are the main source of revenue, and yes they *are* cutting back.

I think buying books is sort of a waste. Sure there are some great books out there that you might want to own and you will read them or use them as a resource time and time again. But a great majority of books people will read once and it will sit on the shelf forever never to be read again. So I am always at the library.

As far as the germ aspect, there are germs everywhere. Just think of how many people have handled money. That dollar bill could've been in someones g-string before you received it.

San Diego library:
http://www.sandiego.gov/public-library/

You can reserve books online and have them sent to which ever branch you want. For the cure, I checked out the AT book. Whenever I hear of a book I might be interested in, I reserve it and it is usually waiting for me next trip to the library. Best system ever!

I live in VA but have also just rediscovered my local library system. The only downside is that they don't always have new publications readily available, but the benefits really outweigh the drawbacks. If there's a title you're interested in you can log into their website and have it held for you, have it transferred from a futher away branch to your local branch, and even renew for an extra week.

I went back to college last year and fell in love with the library all over again! So much information and it's instantly yours [for a short period of time].

The Chicago Public Library is phenomenal! You can even get fishing gear on loan!

http://www.chipublib.org/eventsprog/programs/nature_conn.php

Libraries and Archives are not only wonderful for all the reasons listed above. But also because they ensure that people have free access to information that can expand an appreciation for sustainability, science, governmental accountability, civil rights, design and on and on and on.

As far as the germy thing goes, if you find a library book that is damaged with food then alert the librarians. Libraries employ preservation specialists for common issues such as these.

Mr. Dangerous is right, if you like libraries, then you might want to consider working in one. Keep in mind though, librarians are educated professionals whose numbers are increasing. Before you apply for a librarian job, first get a Masters in Library Science. Otherwise, try Borders.

I love the library. I love to read. And I love free books!

SanDiegoAT, I agree - the San Diego County library system is the best!

Laure, aren't we all too old to worry about being nerds for going to the library? But thanks for this post!

If you don't have a degree in library science to work in a library, there's always volunteering.

Yes, libraries are wonderful. The Boston Public Library is just phenomenal. Since we have access to several university libraries as well, we check out most of our books. One thing though--DVDs are quite fragile and I've stopped checking them out. Most of the time they skip or won't run. Almost impossible to borrow a decent DVD unless it's new. Several university libraries have stopped lending them out and now students/faculty can only watch them on site. Used to think this was horrible, but until people learn that DVDs are not indestructible but in fact the opposite, I'm beginning to agree with a no-lending DVD policy. Same goes for CDs.

Patronizing libraries is very important for their survival. Public funding (that is, whether or not your state government allocates funds for libraries) is based on patronage figures. At the moment, many government officials feel that libraries are an outdated concept and are reducing or eliminating funding. They're forcing libraries to secure more private funding and many can't manage it and are closing down. Higher patronage shows that libraries are valid and most states fund per patron.

Using the library isn't only green and doesn't only keep your home free of clutter, but it also helps ensure that a public facility remains there for people who really need it stays afloat. For most of the posters here, it is a choice. For some, it's a necessity as they can't buy books just any time and need it for internet access.

I don't work for a library, but my sister is a research librarian so I know about the problems. Patronize them as much as possible and please pay your late fees. Also, remember that you can often renew a book by phone if it's about to go past the lending date and that you can get all sorts of materials that your local library doesn't have in stock through inter-library loan.

I should have added that the whole "your tax dollars pay for libraries so use them" thing is only half true. Most libraries have to supplement with private contributions. Some of them have to secure 50% of their budget through private funding. Most people are literally spending less than a dollar a year to support their local library in terms of tax dollars. Keep that in mind when the library has sales or asks for donations.

jooly- i am a germaphobe as well and as soon as I finish or take a break from reading books from the library I look for the hand sanitizer or wash my hands. And get a clorox wipe to wipe the cover. I know, I'm OCD. And most importantly remember not to rub my eyes! lol

I get upset sometimes when the local library doesn't have the book I want but because people are so use to buying their own copies everything I usually have on my list to get is never checked out! :)

Sadly, tho when I'm going to school in NYC they wouldn't let me get a library card without paying a fee because I am an out of stater even though I'm there for 9 months out of the entire year! :(

How much was the fee? I used to work in Manhattan and I didn't have to pay a fee for a library card... maybe because my residence was within the state? Is it weird to like libraries so much you go get a card in the city where you work?

K T G: I don't really recall the price they gave me I just remember it was over $100. I just use the library at the college I go to but it isn't that big and they don't have a lot of fiction books. Its mainly Art books since I go to an arts college.

i love the library! i use it b/c i'm too cheap. haha if i have to buy a book b/c i can't find it at the library, i sell it on ebay once i'm done or donate it to the library. also, check out your library's site, many have electronic libraries. you can rent ebooks & mp3s of books on tape that sort of self destruct after so long.