I love my public library

Earlier this year I wrote about how I’d started using my local public library (actually libraries I’m a member of the Albury library across the border in NSW as well), not just as places to work, but as places to (gasp!) borrow books from.

And, after a slightly erratic start, it’s been a pretty frictionless experience, almost like using one of the online retailers,

I usually just use the library’s website to search for books I’m interested in reading, put a hold request in, and wait for the book to appear for collection.

In fact the worst problem has been when some miscreant damaged the library’s out of hours return chute, meaning I couldn’t drop my books off one Sunday afternoon.

As I’ve still got around a dozen books in my ‘to read’ pile from various online purchases, having to wait for a hold item to come in hasn’t been a problem so far.

Doubtless there’ll come a time when I actually go and browse the shelves, but not yet, and since our local library is a relatively small country branch, which doesn’t have the on shelf holdings of larger urban branches the ability to put in hold requests for books held elsewhere in the Libraries Victoria consortium is invaluable.

So, it was interesting to see that today’s Guardian brought an article about how due to the cost of living crisis, people were falling back in love with their local libraries.

It’s also interesting that the article mentioned libraries as workspaces.

This is something I’ve found invaluable, ever since I retired, be it for a winter afternoon researching Madeleine Smith from a desk in Albury library while J was at an art class at MAMA, or indeed using the local library at Chiltern as a bolt hole when working on the documentation project, or even, in one case using Yarrawonga public library’s wifi from the next door physio.

So yes, I’m in love with public libraries. A facility which is essentially free, where no one asks questions, and where you are free to do your thing within reason. In fact, when I went into a public library to use the wifi – something I’ve done quite often when I needed to write up some notes – I always used to tell the desk person what I was doing, out of politeness more than anything. After all I wasn’t a library member or a local rate payer.

After a few times I realised that I didn’t really need to do this, the library staff were happy that someone was using their facilities, and even on a couple of occasions spontaneously provided advice on what printing or reference facilities they had, which was nice.

So, public libraries are most definitely a public good.

When I hear about some of the more dystopian things happening to public libraries overseas, I get angry because libraries are an incredibly valuable resource and should be defended.

Between the ages of ten and eighteen I was an avid reader and made extensive use of my local public library, and it was probably my local public library that helped round out my education with history books and nineteenth century novels for background reading. And even when I stopped bing a regular library user, I still felt they were a valuable resource, because I remembered just how useful I found them in the days when I was a poor student.

And even though the world has changed, as have my requirements, I still find them an incredibly valuable and welcoming resource.