I picked up yet another magazine recently with one of those "How to cut back and still live well" articles featured. These kinds of pieces are pretty generic and repetitive, but often missing a critical bullet point. One said to get with friends and neighbors and develop a DVD lending library. Another said to trade books through online swap sites instead of buying them.
In this one - finally - someone mentioned libraries. It was last on the list (probably behind sell your body (ok, plasma) and consign your collection of Manolos), but at least it was there.
Duh!
What is a library for if not for free access? I am amazed at how many people in debt or unable to afford some basic needs still manage to buy a Kindle, iPod or other somesuch device enabling them to do little more than buy more stuff. Obviously, Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos are geniuses. Why else would someone pay for the opportunity to pay again?
Unfortunately, libraries seem to be in the position of proving that customers believe the higher the price the more an item is worth. They provide excellent selections with a variety beyond any corporate entity and do so for FREE. In most states you can borrow an item from any library in the county or state for maybe the cost of postage. A new audio book on Amazon might be $25. At the library? $2.50 and some patience.
As a library patron, you can check out magazines, read newspapers, listen to audio books, watch DVDs (or movies or TV shows), get online, borrow video games and attend interesting events. In sum, libraries = free stuff. What's not to love?
[Disclaimer: I am not a Luddite. I love technology and all the myriad ways it can deliver fun things to our hand held devices. What I don't like are proprietary ones that suck you into a cycle of purchasing from them and them only.]
In this one - finally - someone mentioned libraries. It was last on the list (probably behind sell your body (ok, plasma) and consign your collection of Manolos), but at least it was there.
Duh!
What is a library for if not for free access? I am amazed at how many people in debt or unable to afford some basic needs still manage to buy a Kindle, iPod or other somesuch device enabling them to do little more than buy more stuff. Obviously, Steve Jobs and Jeff Bezos are geniuses. Why else would someone pay for the opportunity to pay again?
Unfortunately, libraries seem to be in the position of proving that customers believe the higher the price the more an item is worth. They provide excellent selections with a variety beyond any corporate entity and do so for FREE. In most states you can borrow an item from any library in the county or state for maybe the cost of postage. A new audio book on Amazon might be $25. At the library? $2.50 and some patience.
As a library patron, you can check out magazines, read newspapers, listen to audio books, watch DVDs (or movies or TV shows), get online, borrow video games and attend interesting events. In sum, libraries = free stuff. What's not to love?
[Disclaimer: I am not a Luddite. I love technology and all the myriad ways it can deliver fun things to our hand held devices. What I don't like are proprietary ones that suck you into a cycle of purchasing from them and them only.]
2 comments:
Oh Cory, you wouldn't believe the sad state of the library system in Illinois. There is no library in my town. Which is cool, there are other libraries around. Harvard is the nearest town in Illinois with a very nice library. We live in the Harvard school district. We cannot get a library card from Harvard unless we want to pay $150/year. Only residents within the city limits can get a free library card. Illinois has no library-share system for those of us without a library in our town. And even if Capron had a library, because we don't live in the village limits, we can't get a card without paying.
I can get a card for the Walworth, WI library (as a non-resident) for $50/year, and it's good at all the libraries within that county. Caitlin and I go to storytime in Walworth, and when she's a little older we'll get a card there.
I don't understand why Illinois can't fix this system. We're going to have to send our kids to the (crappy) Harvard schools, but they will not be able to take advantage of the library. It makes me furious.
Which really has nothing to do with your point, but you pulled my Angry Library trigger. My apologies.
Meaghan
Goodness! I had no idea things were that bad. How awful. I feel for you!!
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