#Support Your Local Library

[smallraindrops-blog]

Also another way to possibly support your library and you are in a position to do so, please check to see if your library has a program to donate money or become a volunteer ( they likely do. I know my library starts at five dollar for a whole year.)

If you shop at Kroger and use their store card ( not the credit card, the free one) your library might be an option and that would be another way to support them.

Lastly, just talk to the librarians. Most of them genuinely like being helpful. So let em help you help them.

(Note: I am not a librarian, these are just things I seen and done in my own community.)

"Don't use Libby because it costs libraries too much, pirate instead" is such a weird, anti-patron, anti-author take that somehow manages to also be anti-library, in my professional librarian-ass opinion.

It's well documented that pirating books negatively affects authors directly* in a way that pirating movies or TV shows doesn't affect actors or writers, so I will likely always be anti-book piracy unless there's absolutely, positively no other option (i.e. the book simply doesn't exist outside of online archives at all, or in a particular language).

Also, yeah, Libby and Hoopla licenses are really expensive, but libraries buy them SO THAT PATRONS CAN USE THEM. If you're gonna be pissed at anybody about this shitty state of affairs, be pissed at publishing companies and continue to use Libby or Hoopla at your library so we can continue to justify having it to our funding bodies.

One of the best ways to support your library having services you like is to USE THOSE SERVICES. Yes, even if they are expensive.

*Yes, this is a blog post, but it's a blog post filled with links to news articles. If you can click one link, you can click another.

[laughroditee]

"She's so beautiful! I bet she goes to the library."

- my 7 year old daughter

[thebibliosphere]

I've had a couple of messages over the last few days from folks saying things like, "Sorry, I can only afford to get your book through the library," and I need you to know I am gripping you by the shoulders, I am shaking you gently, and I am begging you stop apologizing for using library services.

After Amazon and Payhip, the quarterly checks I get from Overdrive/Libby are my biggest and most reliable source of income.

My readers have been nothing but feral in their quest to get Hunger Pangs into as many libraries as possible, and while library lending pays an exceptionally modest amount, if enough people do it (which many of you evidently are), those pennies add up.

I am guaranteed at least $20 a month in library lending royalties. That might not sound like much to some folks, but to me, that's my b12 supplements covered for the month. That's the thing I need to keep me alive paid for.

I will never resent anyone who uses libraries instead of buying books.

I'm a disabled author who lives month to month at the mercy of my medical expenses. Even though I have incredibly generous patrons and supporters, I know what it's like to not be able to afford things.

Use the library. Please.

Use it guilt-free. You're helping the library and the authors, probably more than you realize.

And if you're in the US and haven't signed up for a @queerliblib free library card yet, you should! it doesn't matter what state you're in, the Queer Liberation Library offers free access to their catalogue of queer media across the US.

And if you've got the means, maybe help them out with a little donation. They're only able to expand their collection via the support of their patrons, and the work they're doing is hugely important.

[fangtastic-vampyra]

buying books & reading books..two different hobbies.

[ellierenae]

ay kid, you like readin? then keep your eye on the birdie cause all you need for this card trick is a US address, a phone number, the date your folks popped you out, and a first and last name

you put those figures in this form right here

then theyre gonna give you a little somethin under the table, pro bono

take that card number and pin and bring it over to this site right over here

badabing badaBOOM you now got access to every ebook, audiobook, and magazine under the sun PLUS those ebooks can go straight to kindle. yeah. a real soft on your eyes type

now scram

and dont say i never did nothin for ya

[onebluebookworm]

We are all aware that libraries across the United States are under attack. Thanks to groups like Moms for Liberty and other outspoken “concerned citizens,” there has been actual legislative action at multiple levels of government to limit what libraries can do and provide to their communities. Even in the places where there hasn’t been that kind of action, those same concerned citizens have mounted acts of intimidation to instill fear and block access...In light of this, I’ve heard many iterations of the same question: how can we help? What do libraries and library staff need right now?

[mbrainspazart]

Thought I could handle a spooky little horror novel—did not expect 'em to come at me with the existential horrors of being a queer child of american evangelicals 😰

[astro-axolotl]

“And so am I”

I’ve loved night in the woods for years but was never happy with any of the fan art I made until now. Carved onto leather with a laser engraver at the local library for free! Support your libraries and take classes there folks! Make cool stuff and fight defunding!

[tailsfromthecrypt]

Support your local library. support a library that isn't local. support your niblings local library. support your grandparents local library. support libraries

they've got fucking everything. Books? Of course. Computer/internet access? Yes. Resources for LGBTQIA+? Most do. Activities to keep young children busy? Almost always. A place for teens to volunteer that'll help with college apps? Duh.

Most libraries have activities and events for more than just kids and teens. One library near me just did a tattoo fundraiser to raise money for the library, they also have a craft goods exchange coming up. Another library I know of gets wedding dress donations so brides can come pick out a dress for their special day at no cost! They can keep it or redonate it, alter it or get rid of it, completely up to them once they walk out with it

In conclusion, support libraries.

[nascenterror]

So if you're not using your library's online resources you should definitely start.

I recently activated my Kanopy account with my library card and woah are there some gems on here. Today I watched Ikiru a pretty good(lol) Japanese film from 1952 and it was a joy to watch snowed in with my daily green tea.

[booksinmythorax]

Some of my library's most successful adult programs so far basically boil down to "come do things you could be doing at home, but in a Place with Other People".

Right now it's silent reading parties and writing clubs - what other kinds of stuff fits into this category?

[fanzines]

Beautiful Support Your Local Library illustration and print by artist @liberaljane (buy it on her site). Here are three ways to get started, which she recommends: 1) Get a library card (it’s free and usually just requires proof of residency!) 2) Attend your local library’s events and programming. 3) Advocate for increased support and funding. Someone on the original tweet also recommended donating books and materials, which you no longer use - always worth asking your local librarians what sort of things they need for the library. My suggestion: 4) Start a zine club at your local library, where you can share and / or read zines with others, or even make zines with others. Zine clubs are an awesome way to meet people, make friends and explore more zines. And, if you're lucky, your library may have a zine library or zine collection. If not, speak to your local librarians about setting one up! ✨

[ijustkindalikebooks]

“I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.” ― Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

[strongbookthoughts]

Notes on Knitting Brioche by Nancy Marchant

Welp, I think I just found the limits of my knitting knowledge, because I'm pretty sure this book actually teaches witchcraft. Actually, no, I had a witchcraft phase. This is perceiving the 7th dimension and making it dance a jig. Dunno how helpful this one will be, but let's give it a go.

Okay, so brioche knitting is kind of a double layered ribbed knit technique that is stunningly beautiful. It can be done in just one color, but I gotta say I adore looking at at the multicolor ones, like on the cover of the book. And it's a great technique to have in your knitting arsenal if you live in a cold climate. Which I do not.

I'm pretty sure that if you're comfortable with color stranded knitting and lace, you'll have a reasonably easy time following the directions in the book. However, I'm literally hoping to learn the first technique this year, and have to look up my increases and decreases every time they come up, so let's just say that I am not a lace master.

I swearsies the pictures in this book are super clear. The author teaches you how to work every needed stitch in a single color, and then the next chapter reviews every single stitch for the double color techniques. It is detailed. It's just that I'm like a middle schooler trying to read a graduate level textbook right now.

There's an entire section on stitch patterns you can do with the basic stitches.

The patterns are fairly basic once you know the brioche techniques. Most of the tops go up to 50+ inches. The few that don't are designed to not meet over the bust. There are masculine AND feminine designs. I'm shocked. This book was published in 2009.

So... in a few years, if I manage to practice my knitting enough, I might hunt this down again. Or might not. I really do live in a warm climate. Now that I understand how thick this stitch pattern is, I'm overheating from just looking at it.

[teawithhazel]

Your Local Library Can Be A Great Source of Witchy Books

I never expected it either, but my little local library has witchcraft, paganism, and other spiritual books in its' collection. In fact, that is how I first read Kelden's 'The Crooked Path.'

If you want to be more secretive, check to see if you can get a card for e-books. Apps like Libby can help you keep track of books you've read, how far you've progressed in them, and you can request your library to get books that aren't currently available.

It's free, it supports your local library, and if you don't like the book you're reading you are out nothing.

One downside is, is that there is going to some wait time involved. Popular books will have a lot of people in line to rent them.

[the-wayward-prince]

Today, a patron at work came up to me to check out a book and was embarrassed to be a grown man reading young adult fiction. I can tell you as a librarian, we do NOT care what you check out; we're glad you're supporting libraries. And ANYONE who shames you for your interests is not worth hanging around. You never grow out of consuming media that speaks to you or that brings you joy