I do love libraries.
There is just something about shelves and shelves of books (and more books!), free for the choosing and free of charge that fills my heart with joy. (JOY!)
Libraries are community-building, keepers of culture at the most local level. They promote access for ALL to technology and knowledge. And lots of them are just chock full of good stuff to read. Studies even show that spending more time in libraries makes you smarter! (Makes sense, right?) Recent talk here about second-hand bookstores has me thinking… Are libraries also environmental?
Libraries, are, in fact based on a model of sharing. When we buy a book, we are “consuming.” When we check out a book from the library, we are pulling from a shared resource–we are “borrowing.” It is, in fact, a model of the concept of reuse. We share a resource, we “borrow” from it. How revolutionary–if we could see our world in terms “use” instead of “consuming.”
Now, think about how this model might could transform the old maxim of reduce, reuse, and recycle. And how technology can take this idea of sharing, borrowing, and reusing even further…
And then, green girls, please go to your local library, and revel in the goodness.
December 23rd, 2006 at 11:44 am
Plus, you can get lots of good books about being green from a library. If they haven’t got what you want, you can try and reserve it from another library.
Library book sales are also great for getting good value books, each area has different criteria for discarding and selling books. If you’re worried that there seem to be lots of fairly good condition books in the sale it’s probably because your library service is so well funded and well organised that they have loads of great books in good condition that can stay on the shelves.
(So says the former public librarian!)
December 27th, 2006 at 6:15 pm
I’m wishing for a good library in my area. The problem is our local libraries aren’t too well-funded, taken cared of, or well-stocked, and even if they have books, they’re usually old and battered, or are just full of children’s outdated textbooks. The best thing I can do is go to a bookshop and do my reading there. I’m also a regular visitor at a bookshop that aims to make reading cheaper and accessible in my country!
December 27th, 2006 at 8:45 pm
Hmm. You guys have me thinking about what makes a good library “good.” And how we can make libraries better!
And about how we can support and build libraries in different parts of the world.
How CAN we make reading–knowledge, information, stories–cheaper and more accessible every where?
December 30th, 2006 at 11:08 pm
I was just thinking about this - due to the fact that I live in a small apartment and have no room for all of my books! And I thought, why do I need these books? What point are they after I read them? So I’m donating them to my public library. And I’ve got some good ones
Hopefully, my library will be well stocked enough to keep me away from Barnes and Nobles.