[2020] Voting for the 9th Mini Poll

[Edie]

Laura wrote: "Edie wrote: "Marie wrote: "The book published in the current year prompt is one I consistently hate, every year. I can't plan ahead for it, it's going to require me to get a new book instead of red..."

Good point. Nashville's library was named "Library of the Year" in 2017 so I may be spoiled.

[°~Amy~°]

Jody wrote: "I think it costs 80-90 CHF a year to join the big library system here in Zürich. Then on top of that it costs me around 7 CHF to catch the train in to get a book. 😐 I think they might be on Overdri..."

Just a little observation.... my library membership has lapsed at 2 different libraries but I can still get library books on overdrive from both. Just saying.

[Sara]

I'm feeling better about my tiny library now. I was accustomed to living in a large city and having almost unlimited access before. We tend to take free libraries for granted, which I will not do from here out.

[Sophie]

Our city (about 400000 people) recently invested into a brand new library. The building is stunning and was among 13 finalists in the world in terms of nicest buildings of 2015. It has a great book collection, but more than that, the building attracts community members from all walks of life. There are public lectures, information sessions about health, rooms for groups to meet, etc. They have a huge lego collection for kids to play, puppet shows, story time. One of the last videos/dvd stores that specialized in older and difficult to get movies went out of business and donated the collection to the library which now loans them out for free.

The building is designed to look like a stack of books with glass all around on all floors. There are couches and comfy chairs all over for people to lounge. It’s also become a tourist attraction!

Many people were worried that in these online days that people wouldn’t go, but it has truly become a gathering place. And people are picking books in the process!

[Jody]

°~Amy~° wrote: "Just a little observation.... my library membership has lapsed at 2 different libraries but I can still get library books on overdrive from both. Just saying."

It's possible I guess, but when it costs 7 CHF to get there to borrow it, and 7 CHF to get there to return it, it's not really worth it. The exchange rate is pretty much 1 for 1 at the moment, so that would be $14 USD just to borrow a book. I mean it's obviously not the library's problem & if you live centrally it's fantastic, but it's not practical.

[Sophie]

Don't they have ebooks you can borrow?

It's a shame Zurich's library isn't free, I managed to subscribe to Fribourg's and Lausanne's for free when getting back to Switzerland. I don't borrow paper books much, but for ebooks and audiobooks they're great. (And I'm still subscribe to Auckland's, but don't tell any one hahaha).

[Jody]

Yeah, I think they’re on Overdrive now, or at least something similar, but I think that happened a couple of years after my membership ran out. I just checked and you can get a cheaper annual fee if you just borrow digitally which isn’t too bad. I have other means of getting ebooks though. I think I’m just old school and like borrowing physical books. 😁

[Nadine in NY]

Sophie wrote: "Our city (about 400000 people) recently invested into a brand new library. The building is stunning and was among 13 finalists in the world in terms of nicest buildings of 2015. It has a great book..."

that sounds phenomenal!! can you share the website, I want to see this gorgeous building!

The USA is generally very backwards when it comes to social services as compared to much of the rest of the world, so I've been assuming that since we have FREE public libraries in the USA, that means that the entire WORLD has free public libraries, so I'm really shocked to learn that you have to PAY to join in some places!! I mean, yes, obviously, it's not "free," my taxes are supporting the library, and I live in NY which means my taxes are quite high compared to other parts of the US, but still...

[Sophie]

Nadine wrote: "Sophie wrote: "Our city (about 400000 people) recently invested into a brand new library. The building is stunning and was among 13 finalists in the world in terms of nicest buildings of 2015. It h..."

Hi Nadine,
Here’s a link to a news story about the library with pictures.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...

One of the big success stories of this library development project was that they consulted throughout the project with the public and many suggestions were incorporated into the design and function.

I bring this up because perhaps people with small libraries could encourage things like book drives for their libraries. I traveled into some rural towns last week while on vacation and noticed that some towns had mailboxes with books for people to leave/take. I don’t know the name of the program, but I’d heard about it before. Even our doctors’ and vet ‘ offices have a bookcase with books to leave and take.

[dalex]

Will the poll results still be posted tomorrow? Or will the delay in putting up the poll mean the results won't be available until Thursday? Just wondering. Thanks!

[Peter]

https://littlefreelibrary.org/

This might be the program you mentioned with the "take a book/leave a book" concept. You can definitely make your own, but you can order a kit from that website and register it on their map too. It's an international movement to try and get books to people. It's a really cool idea. There are a few in my neighbourhood and once my son gets a little bit older we are planning on building one.

[°~Amy~°]

Jody wrote: "°~Amy~° wrote: "Just a little observation.... my library membership has lapsed at 2 different libraries but I can still get library books on overdrive from both. Just saying."

It's possible I gues..."

I'm sorry, the overdrive system is for ebooks, not physical books so no driving or travelling required (if your library has overdrive)

[°~Amy~°]

Peter wrote: "https://littlefreelibrary.org/

This might be the program you mentioned with the "take a book/leave a book" concept. You can definitely make your own, but you can order a kit from that website and ..."

I love the little free library program. It's completely separate from the public library system. I have a stack of books by my front door that the used book store won't buy back (for various reasons) so they will be going to one of the many Little Free Libraries I pass in my travels. I have really wanted to put one up here in my town, but I haven't gotten up the nerve to talk to anyone about that yet. If I could put it on my front lawn I certainly would!

[Jody]

°~Amy~° wrote: "I'm sorry, the overdrive system is for ebooks, not physical books so no driving or travelling required (if your library has overdrive)"

Oh! I was on the app, which has a tendency to leave out words - this time it left out Overdrive lol ... kind of an important one in this sentence!

[Nadine in NY]

YES WHY DOES THE APP DROP WORDS?????? It’s SO annoying! And sometimes it’s super confusing.

I thought it was just me for some reason, glad to know it’s more of a universal problem.

[Katie]

dalex wrote: "Will the poll results still be posted tomorrow? Or will the delay in putting up the poll mean the results won't be available until Thursday? Just wondering. Thanks!"

Results will still be posted tomorrow on 8/14.

[Jody]

The word dropping is SO annoying!!

[Nicole]

Katie wrote: "dalex wrote: "Will the poll results still be posted tomorrow? Or will the delay in putting up the poll mean the results won't be available until Thursday? Just wondering. Thanks!"

Results will sti..."

Hooray!!! I can't wait to see what wins this time. I loved so many of the options that I didn't even get to vote for everything I wanted, so I'll probably (hopefully) be happy however it ends up. :)

[Rachelnyc]

Wow, very interesting to hear about the different library systems. It makes me very appreciative of having the NYPL despite the sometimes ridiculously long waits for popular books.

I read mostly ebooks and I didn't realize I could manage the holds until I saw the option on the Libby app and that was life changing! So much less stressful when inevitable 5 books come available at the same time.

[Rachelnyc]

I got in under the wire again voting on the last day this week. I think this is the first time I used all of my votes as upvotes.

There were definitely a few prompts I don't want but there were exactly 8 that I liked so I figured that was a sign. I don't usually love music prompts but I really like both of the ones nominated this week so I'm hopeful one or both make the list!

[Perri]

Sophie wrote: "Nadine wrote: "Sophie wrote: "Our city (about 400000 people) recently invested into a brand new library. The building is stunning and was among 13 finalists in the world in terms of nicest building..."

Sophie, that library is STUNNING. Something the community can take well placed pride in helping develop.

Nadine, like you, I thought everyone in the US had access to free libraries, so was shocked to learn that is not the case. I thought it was a given like education. I do think most places have open access to computers -at least I've never been denied as a guest.

I've heard some people argue that libraries are outdated and that makes my blood run cold

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Library funding is contentious right now in my area. It seems to be the only local government entity running at a surplus, so our local officials are talking about moving funds from their surplus to use on other projects like drainage and roads (which are badly needed). The library board has responded by announcing a new location opening up, being funded by their surplus 😂

It makes me so angry to see all of the people online talking about how the libraries are being wasteful with their money, opening a new branch in a rural location and discussing how the government should shut down locations because "no one uses the library anymore".

Excuse me, Mr. Ignorant, but just because YOU can't run a budget without a deficit and just because you OBVIOUSLY don't use the library doesn't mean you get to punish those of us that do. Southern Louisiana, folks.

[Peter]

The thing about libraries is that they are about so much more than just books. The books are great, but really only a small part of the services provided by the libraries in my area. I started using the library to read the books I wanted because when I joined this group, the number of books I read increased and it wasn't feasible to continue buying them all.

Aside from the books though, the libraries in my area provide meeting spaces, movie rentals, game and toy rentals, computer access, computer training, classes (such as parenting, health, yoga and a variety of others), music nights, concerts, movie nights and televised sports events, and a ton of other community initiatives with lots of other businesses and organizations. Personally we've used our library to host a baby shower (cheaper and more space than anywhere else we could find) and we bring our son to the free weekly infant/child playgroups. I love the services that the library provides.

I agree with Perri, they are most definitely not outdated.

[Nadine in NY]

My library has so much, but you only know about it if you go there! I guess to keep costs down, they do not send out mass mailings. Along with books & ebooks, they loan out music, movies, games, DS players, ukuleles, radon detectors, hand puppets, state park passes, binoculars, bongoes, star charts, Samsung Galaxy tablet, Roku, GPS, video cameras, and more that I don’t even know about. They have toys, puzzles, story time and craft days and special lectures and free movie showings (complete with popcorn), a notary public and a passport application service. You can use their conference rooms, WiFi, computers, photo scanners (and a slide scanner), 3D printers, and some branches have woodworking and sewing equipment.

[Lizzy]

At our library during the summer months when kids are not in school, there is also a free lunch program several days a week. this is to help those families whose kids normally would get free lunch at school.
This is in addition to all sorts of wonderful programs similar to the ones Nadine mentioned.
My favorite is still the kids reading to dogs program!

[Sara]

WOW, Sophie, that is impressive. The kind of place I would love to hang out at if it were near me.

Our little library offers a huge variety of services as well, and in a small community the word gets passed pretty easily. When my grandchildren were small, I took them to the library every Saturday, and sometimes more often in the summer. There were always a lot of things to capture their attention. Only one of them ended up being a reader, though, and she gets precious little time to do so now with the job and family demands.

[Peter]

That's so cool that the library loans out state park passes! I don't know if my library offers that (I'm in Ontario so provincial parks for me) but I'm going to look into that and see if they do that. I think that is such a fantastic idea!

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Our library gives out free passes to our local museums as well, and all of the students in the public schools can use their school ID as a library card, which makes access much easier if they don't have a parent who can sign them up for a card.

Ugh. I just love libraries so much.

[Chinook]

Peter wrote: "That's so cool that the library loans out state park passes! I don't know if my library offers that (I'm in Ontario so provincial parks for me) but I'm going to look into that and see if they do th..."

I know our local library has passes for a regional museum that you can borrow and use for free entry. I’m not sure if they do provincial parks, though.

In Colorado you could borrow a pass for state parks and it was a lot of fun - it came in a backpack with lots of park info, local flora and fauna info and some binoculars. It was really cool.

[Chinook]

It looks like we can get family passes for Credit Valley Conservation and Toronto Region Conservation sites. We may do that the last week of August if one is available!

[Maria Cristina]

“The word dropping is SO annoying.”

Me: Why? Dropping is not a bad word!

[°~Amy~°]

Maria Cristina wrote: "“The word dropping is SO annoying.”

Me: Why? Dropping is not a bad word!"

Too funny

Also, thank you to everyone who pointed out that word dropping was an issue on the app. I never use the app anymore because of all the issues it had in the past. I sometimes wonder if it's gotten better and now I know, it hasn't! I found a very easy way to view the full desktop site on my phone (using the Chrome browser) and I am super happy with that!

[Jody]

In Peter’s post above it totally changed the meaning of his comment! In the app it shows him saying libraries are “most outdated”, and I’m pretty sure he said “most definitely not outdated”. I mean how hard is it to show all of the words?


Also lol ... I guess the word itself isn’t annoying. 😂

[Lizzy]

Another has anyone noticed. At times i go into the website - not the app - when I'm on my Ipad, and the 4 main categories at the top of the page _ Home, My books, Browse, Community - do not appear.
Has anyone else had that happen , and do you know a fix for it?

if I'm on a regular computer(at work) this does not happen.

[Sophie]

It does disappear after a while if you're reading something on the page. Just hover your mouse on the top of the page or scroll up and they will show.