The library is one of those perks that I think a lot of us take for granted. As a child, I often saw the library in a negative light. Associated more with school and school work (book reports, science projects, research, etc.) than entertainment.
I was never much of a book worm. Sure there were a few books I encountered and enjoyed reading, but most were comics or graphic novels. None of this I associated with a library. A library held books for research and knowledge. Books with endless text and little to no pictures. A library was… well, boring.
Add to that the fact that I’ve previously been kicked out from my local library (complete with escort service to the exit) and mocked by the librarians on two separate occassions, and you’ll understand my reluctance to return.
This was until last week. I started reading a book. An ebook that I downloaded online. I was really getting into the book, but there was one little problem. Ebooks, although wonderfully portable and easy to aquire, need to be read on some kind of digital reader. Seeing as I don’t have a kindle or ebook reader of any kind, my choices left were my computer and my phone. I was reading from both for a day or two when I discovered something terrible…
The constant backlighting on my phone and on my LCD monitor was hurting my eyes over time. I began to get seriously bad headaches and my eyes started to water every time I looked at any kind of screen. Maybe it’s just an issue with me, but I thought this was how ebooks were meant to be used?
Either way, I clearly needed to read from an actual book. Print was the solution. So what was my first course of action? Check the price at Chapters.ca! $20 sounded reasonable I guess. I have no idea what the going rate for books are. But the more I thought about it, the more I said, why do I want to spend money on a book that I’ll just toss away afterwards? I’m not the type to re-read a story I’ve already read.
What other options do I have?
That’s when I remembered the place I swore I would never return to. The local library. I really wanted to see how the story unfolded, so I had no other options. A quick search online revealed that my local branch had the book available for loan. So off I went, the desire to finish the story I started, giving me the focus needed to return.
When I walked in, it wasn’t as archaic as I had remembered it. The original checkouts were gone, replaced by one long desk and several self-checkout kiosks. lined up agains the wall. I liked the change. It was more open and inviting. As I walked further in, I saw several computers. Mostly for surfing the internet. I finally came across the computers that searched through the library’s extensive catalogue. They were no longer the dumb terminals with the monochrome monitors. Instead it was a regular computer with the cataloge website already opened. I searched again for the book I needed, but I got the same results as I did when I searched online. No dewey decimal here. It didn’t apply to the book I wanted.
I had no idea how to find my book.
No Conan in THIS library!
I decided to talk to one of the librarians. She was helpful. I felt so stupid tho. I had no idea how anything worked anymore. She showed me where the book would be and how to find it. Then she got me set up with a new library card and explained how the self-checkout worked. I was amazed at the use of technology! RFID chips embedded into each book cover identify which book it is.
No scanning of barcodes is needed. You simply place up to five items stacked on top of eachother on the kiosk counter. Then you scan in your library card and all the items on the kiosk counter are auto-magically placed on your card! The machine prints out a receipt with the due dates for you to take. It’s that simple!
Plus, the library has more than just books! They have movies and music too! Sure you probably won’t find any new releases, but you’ll find tons of classics and you’d be surprised what’s considered classic now. Or maybe it’s just me being endlessly surprised. All I know is, I’m heading back to the library today to pick up another book and reaquaint myself with this wonderful cost free perk!
Tell me what you think of your local library and if you have any crazy stories to share! If you have none, maybe it’s time to visit your local branch and experience it again for the first time… kind of like how I did 
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