I read a decent amount of books. I prefer physical copies, but I have gotten a few digital ones for my Kindle app on my phone. Don't really use the library.
"What we are is not as important as what we aren't"
I’ll get a book from the library from time to time, but I prefer to always have it available, and I like to fill my shelves. I mostly go to used book stores and sometimes will order one online if it‘s a recent issue or isn‘t at the used book stores.
I do both, been a library member since at least 1988, yet now I buy a lot of books - mostly history and reference and the occasional novel ( I am reading Gai Jin by James Clavell at the moment).
The libraries here are excellent. Your Auckland Library card is valid at any of the 40+ branch libraries in our district and there are 2 large ones near me. One is in a rich suburb and nice, but has a limited selection. The other is huge, but in a really bad ghetto area full of minorities known for their poverty and high crime levels. Often you find homeless and school waggers (Kids not being at school) in there. Yet I mostly go to that one. You know a library is ghetto, when it has a food drop off spotand they need a security guard and random teenagers of this minority group go in there and starting playing obscene rap music loud and drinking and the library staff are too scared to do anything about it. Many of the people in our ghetto libraries are illiterate and a recent crack down threw out 3 beggars who were pretending to read books upside down.
Do your libraries have the same problem, where they have gone from quiet places to read and study, to community drop in centres, with ultra liberal policies.
Hence whilst I have cut my library trips until school breaks out next week, also our new government is promising to crack down on crime and delinquency.
But you can get a book out anywhere in one and return it at any other branch - no cost and the lending period is 4 weeks and its automatically renewed for another 4, unless someone else wants to borrow it (Reserving).
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
The libraries here in Lucas County, Ohio are also very nice. There’s a massive selection of books at 20 locations. If your local library doesn’t have the book you need, you can request that it be delivered to said library from another location. They’ll also order a book for you to add to the library system if they don’t already have it. You can also of course drop your books off at any of the locations. All of our libraries have security and some form of children’s section with toys, picture books, etc. A couple even have an indoor playground! When I was in high school, you could go to the school library and request a book from one of the county libraries and return it back at school or at one of the libraries. It truly is a lovely system. Many of the locations also have a community centre attached or near for social services. A library in the south of the main city (Toledo), for example, has a joint meal service program with two of the local churches. The churches provide a free meal on weeknights and federal holidays for those in unfortunate economic situations, and the library for weekends. It’s really a great system that has built a wonderful sense of community and I often volunteer time to help out with the cooking. My nearest library has a food bank where people who can’t afford grocery store prices can use food stamps or regular currency to purchase groceries at a reduced cost. The library cards are quite cheap too: only US$10.00. All of the libraries I‘ve visited in here are super quiet, except for the community centre parts. They also all have each at least one room dedicated to studying and general quietness. Most of the time, the bookshelves areas are very quiet, aside from people walking or a quiet conversation. Security guards generally walk around in the libraries with higher crime or noise complaint rates and will escort anyone being too loud out, but it doesn’t happen too often from what I‘ve seen.
The libraries here in Lucas County, Ohio are also very nice. There’s a massive selection of books at 20 locations. If your local library doesn’t have the book you need, you can request that it be delivered to said library from another location. They’ll also order a book for you to add to the library system if they don’t already have it. You can also of course drop your books off at any of the locations. All of our libraries have security and some form of children’s section with toys, picture books, etc. A couple even have an indoor playground! When I was in high school, you could go to the school library and request a book from one of the county libraries and return it back at school or at one of the libraries. It truly is a lovely system. Many of the locations also have a community centre attached or near for social services. A library in the south of the main city (Toledo), for example, has a joint meal service program with two of the local churches. The churches provide a free meal on weeknights and federal holidays for those in unfortunate economic situations, and the library for weekends. It’s really a great system that has built a wonderful sense of community and I often volunteer time to help out with the cooking. My nearest library has a food bank where people who can’t afford grocery store prices can use food stamps or regular currency to purchase groceries at a reduced cost. The library cards are quite cheap too: only US$10.00. All of the libraries I‘ve visited in here are super quiet, except for the community centre parts. They also all have each at least one room dedicated to studying and general quietness. Most of the time, the bookshelves areas are very quiet, aside from people walking or a quiet conversation. Security guards generally walk around in the libraries with higher crime or noise complaint rates and will escort anyone being too loud out, but it doesn’t happen too often from what I‘ve seen.
Seems like a blessing to have so
Books are really a very essential resource for an individual
It can make a person go bonkers or even make him an angel
Numista Referee for Coins of Kingdom of Bahrain, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Republic of Tunisia & Kingdom of Morocco
🇧🇭🇸🇦🇹🇳🇲🇦
