Ancient & Medieval Historical Fiction discussion
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Your Local Libraries
It's so awesome that I'm jealous to no end.:)
My wife and me love our library here in Ramsey County, Minnesota. They have a pretty good selection and have a really quick turn around for inter-library requests. What we both really love is the county's used book system. We donate all of our books instead of selling, because all of the proceeds go back to help fund a lot of the children's reading programs.
That's one of the reasons I like my local used book store. They donate to local reading programs and I always think that's important. I am always jealous of library systems with quick inter-library turnarounds. Mine take 8 -12 weeks to get, it would be faster to go get them myself!!
Holy cow! It usually takes about three days at the most to get a book. There is definitely a lot of support here for the local libraries. Our system started up their digital loaner sites not too long ago. It's kinda nice to be able to get digital books through the Kindle, using adobe programs, and now they just signed a loaner contract with 3M.
The loaner magazines through Zinio have been a nice addition to my library. I haven't actually tried out their digital books yet but the audiobooks are so easy to use.I love finding out about other library systems so I want to ask how big an area or from how many libraries you can get your ILL's (Inter-Library Loans) from??
We've talked about some other US systems and they can be limited to counties or only 3 or 4 libraries.
I should qualify the interlibrary here. There are 239 libraries that are part of the ILL system. 24 of those are in my local library system and those I can order books from and send books to, like they are a single entity. My ILL's come from the other 215 libraries in the province.
So when I order from the 24 in my system I can get them within the week unless they are already out. It's the ones from everywhere else that take so bloody long!
What's nice about The state of Minnesota is that we can register our library card with every county throughout the state. We primarily use our county which has 8 locations, but we also use Hennepin County which has 41 locations, and Anoka County which has 13 . It's super nice that we can utilize all of the locations, so we rarely have to buy books since one of those three counties will probably have it. My wife and me live in the Twin Cities in Minnesota so they have a large amount of branch libraries just to cover the enormous size of the area.
Man...I definitely need to move to The Land Of Lakes.
It sounds like you have a really good system in Minnesota. Registering your card with every county must be nice too. I'd have to go to each city to do that with mine. It's great having such a large selection to pick from. I've been finding that the older books are coming from some of the smaller libraries, I assume a smaller budget means they keep what they've got until it falls apart, and the 'not released in North America' books come from the biggest libraries. So I like have the large cross section of systems and cities to get books from.
Talking about turning old buildings into libraries, this year I visited some cousins in Portalegre (capital city of an interior, rural and generally low populated district), in Portugal. And when I was about to organise my tourist round of the historical city centre, they strongly suggested visiting the library.Tourism to a library? Weird, but being fond of libraries I went for it.
They rehabilitated an old convent! The interior structure of the building was maintained so that there isn't one or two wide areas, but several rooms, each housing a 'department' (videos, music, general reference, etc.) and even an art exhibition room. Imagine the thick stone walls mostly whitewashed and, above the bookcases lining the walls, improvised art galleries with works donated by artists who had previously showcased their art at the library. Imagine a librarian walking you through the 'local fund', where the oldest and most precious works are kept and explaining to you the attention they shower academics researching at the library (when I was about to leave, she said that if I ever needed one of their books, to just make a phone call and they'd be on my case). And one long room for young readers, with an area for very young readers, sporting cushions and a mini-slide, enclosed with a little fence (where two little girls were playing at librarians, taking off the books from a shelf so they could then organise them back into their places).
But the most precious detail of all: the cloister is open to the public. There is a small table with a very old CD player and some CDs which is switched on by the library users themselves (when they want to), as well as a pile of books. And you can sit under the cool shade (Portalegre is a very hot town in summer) listening to the birds on the lawn in the centre of the cloister with a cool breeze for company.
Despite the need for painting in some areas and the vanishing subsidies from the state (our libraries are mostly public, state-funded), this was the nicest, most comfortable and relaxing library I've ever seen.
I'll see if I can post a photo of the cloister...
OK, I've had a hard time finding photos of the Library-convent on the Internet. This page is of tourism in general, but if you look for the third row of pictures, the last one will show the cloister on a day of activities for children. The caption says "Biblioteca Municipal - claustro".http://arquiteturaportuguesa.blogspot.pt/2013/05/Portalegre-roteiro-arquitetura.html
Sorry, it was the best I could do... ;_; Portuguese are unfortunately shy when it comes to showcasing their little treasures.
Sara wrote: "Talking about turning old buildings into libraries, this year I visited some cousins in Portalegre (capital city of an interior, rural and generally low populated district), in Portugal. And when I..."Please share the pictures. I am drooling... :)
Sara wrote: "OK, I've had a hard time finding photos of the Library-convent on the Internet. This page is of tourism in general, but if you look for the third row of pictures, the last one will show the cloiste..."A lot of old buildings. Amazing!
That library sounds wonderful Sara. I love old convents and to be able to go sit in one for free and read books sounds like heaven. :)
Rhode Island is a one-state, one-card system. Your library card is good at any of the 49 public libraries statewide. We have universal return and a single catalog as well as all-state access to e-Zone. I believe our ILL system moves well over a million items around the state annually. Of course you could also drive anywhere in the state, border-to-border in under 90 min (the long way....45 min or less side -to-side. ) Small is good.
Sara wrote: "OK, I've had a hard time finding photos of the Library-convent on the Internet. This page is of tourism in general, but if you look for the third row of pictures, the last one will show the cloiste..."Beautiful old buildings. Interesting that some of the architecture of the more modern buildings is very Russian in style.
I'm glad some of the US states have such good systems. R.I. certainly is small...45 minutes across state? That's my commute! :)
Sara wrote: "OK, I've had a hard time finding photos of the Library-convent on the Internet. This page is of tourism in general, but if you look for the third row of pictures, the last one will show the cloiste..."
That's awesome Sara! I need to visit Portugal for sure.
That's awesome Sara! I need to visit Portugal for sure.
Phair wrote: "Rhode Island is a one-state, one-card system. Your library card is good at any of the 49 public libraries statewide. We have universal return and a single catalog as well as all-state access to e-Z..."
Ah man...I'm so jealous now:) I wish my state libraries were like that.
Ah man...I'm so jealous now:) I wish my state libraries were like that.
Having a system like that makes things so easy and so less restrictive towards what is available to read. Definitely goes to show what can happen when people become active and support their local libraries. :)
The library sounds absolutely amazing Sara! So jealous to hear about something that wonderful.
Derek wrote: "That's awesome Sara! I need to visit Portugal for sure. "I agree!!
Terri wrote: "Interesting that some of the architecture of the more modern buildings is very Russian in style. "Is it? My knowledge about Russian architecture basically begins and ends at their luxurious subway stations, so I'll have to check out modern Russian architecture now and get myself a bit up to date. :)
Tell me more about these luxurious subway stations..
Holy crap!!!! That just blew my mind.
Terri wrote: "Holy crap!!!! That just blew my mind."My too. Love the carridge with the seats only on one side, so you can look at the artwork hanging on the otherside.
I hate public transport, but if the stations looked like that I'd be tempted.
I never go public transportation at home but I love it when we're on vacation. I really wanted to go to Russia before....now I'm trying to decide how to convince my sister this should be the next trip. :)
Show her those pictures of the stations. :) It may help.
:) thats for yous posh folk, you wanna try the Transsiberian railway! Now thats style
Oh for crying out loud, now I wanna do that too!! You can take the train from Moscow to Vladivostock, that would be an epic trip.
:) you can also hook-up in Berlin or from St petersburg i think too, as for stops you jus hop-on-hop-off, have a looksee & then on yer way again & whilst yer out in the east it's only a short trip by hoss-n-cart to the great Wall!
You can get from London to China or Japan via the Trans Siberian. And through Mongolia. That would be an epic trip, maybe I can afford this in about 3 years........
Maybe anyone wanting to travel in Siberia needs read this.
The Road Gets Better from HereOne of my FAVOURITE two travel books. Aussie author. He travels on motorbike from Magadan to Istanbul.
Hard book to get without buying it and it isn't cheap.
It is Indie and does have a lot of typos. But the book is an awesome travel log.
You can look inside it on Amazon.
Greetings from Quincy MA! We have a fantastic library here, they offer digital books and magazines, inter-library loans and a ton of community programs. The library was originally built in the late 1800's, so it has a very old and classic feel to it. Love it so much I made it my GR profile pic!
Hudson wrote: "Greetings from Quincy MA! We have a fantastic library here, they offer digital books and magazines, inter-library loans and a ton of community programs. The library was originally built in the late..."Gorgeous!
Hi Hudson. My wife and I set up our first home in Quincy 20 Years ago. Didn't get to use the library, as I was in graduate school. I am excited about digital loans here in SC, though I haven't taken advantage of it yet.
I tried digital loans when my library first started doing them. I soon realised though that I don't like to read digital. I did still download the occasional audio book for my husband though.
Perhaps the local libraries in Australia could benefit from this as wellhttp://www.theage.com.au/technology/s...
Alternatively, Terri, you could start a 'mobile' book service by getting a hold of your own drone, you could even work from home ;)
Some of these libraries I've seen photos of before, but most I had not.https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...
I don't have FB and the page worked for me, so I hope it works for everyone. :)
It worked for me. Those are some awesome looking libraries. Thanks Darcy.
Oh my, what beautiful places. I'd make a complete fool of myself tripping over my jaw.
I love the George Peabody library. I love how it's stuffed with 4 stories of books and is still beautiful. Sometimes I look at those other libraries and wonder why they haven't found room for more books. There is obviously space... :)
Darcy wrote: "Perhaps the local libraries in Australia could benefit from this as wellhttp://www.theage.com.au/technology/s...
Alterna..."
Goodness. That would be fun. I would quite enjoy driving drones around the countryside from my control tower. :)
I am surprised they are allowed in cities. Wouldn't they pose a security risk? :/
I wondered that myself. I can't even imagine the commotion from an accidental technical difficulty that drops the books on some poor walker's head. Or it veers toward the sea and knocks off a tile from the Opera House. ;)
Or some baddie commandeers one, loads it with explosives and flies it into a crowd or building where there are a lot of people. Such is the way of the world now. :[
Get ready to drool.......9 Hotel Libraries (And Library Hotels)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10...
Okay I'd visit the Gladstone quite happily. Visited my local this past week. Nothing dramatic there, but it was probably a good first step.
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Awesome!