#public libraries

[rainy-oregon-girl]

This movie and this scene are why I work at a library.

THE MUMMY 1999 | dir. Stephen Sommers

[intothestacks]

Adult role models are so important

I once recognized that a student of mine in Grade 3 had depression.

What really confirmed it for me was when they said "Sometimes I want to cry but I don't know why". So I responded with "I had that feeling a lot when I was a kid too. When I felt like that I'd tell my mom the reason was that I was missing her dog, even though the dog died when I was still a very small baby and didn't actually remember her."

The way that kiddo's eyes lit up at finding a grownup who understood was a look I'll never forget.

From then on, whenever she was feeling down she'd make a point to stop by the school library to talk to me about it. I'd listen and offer advice such as "Why don't you come up with a special codeword you can use with a grownup you trust that means you're sad but don't know why and need some cheering up? Kinda like when I'd tell my mom I missed her dog when I felt sad. Then you can let your grownup know what that special codeword means and they can help you.".

She decided her codeword would be "I miss my auntie" and implemented the idea. I think it really helped her.

She also started using the codeword with me, which was really cute and an honour to be treated as a trusted grownup.

[lakecountylibrary]

LIBRARY WRAPPED

You checked out... probably some stuff? Thanks for doing that :)

Used our wifi maybe? For something?

Look we actually don't know what genres you read or how many times you renewed Gender Queer.

We don't want to know.

Our gift to you is privacy.

Take it.

Be free.

[booksinmythorax]

"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.

[toss-a-coin-to-your-stan-account]

I love you PBS I love you NPR I love you public libraries I love you wikipedia I love you project gutenberg I love you librivox I love you libby I love you hoopla I love you openlibrary I love you internet archive I love you resources that make information free and accessible to the public

[nando161mando]

oops! it seems i tripped and dropped several million free books, papers, and other resources

https://annas-archive.org

https://sci-hub.se

https://z-lib.is

https://libgen.is

https://libgen.rs

https://www.pdfdrive.com

https://library.memoryoftheworld.org

https://monoskop.org/Monoskop

https://libcom.org

https://libretexts.org

http://classics.mit.edu

https://librivox.org

https://standardebooks.org

https://www.gutenberg.org

https://core.ac.uk

[skatesfullofsunshine]

Putting books on hold at the library has the same thrill of ordering books online, but with the added benefit of not losing any money over titles I might not enjoy.

10/10 would recommend.

[thebrainofmae]

My last post on this didn’t get a ton of traction so I’m trying again. The latest budget proposal for NYC includes a $58.3 million cut to public libraries.

Previous cuts forced NYC public libraries to close on Sundays, and this further round of cuts would likely force libraries to end weekend service entirely. Additionally, it would mean further cuts to programming and the indefinite delay of reopening libraries that have been closed for renovation, which would leave entire neighborhoods without a library.

There is a preliminary budget hearing on May 21, and until then libraries are asking people to sign a letter here to urge the mayor’s office and city council to reverse the cuts.

I know things are terrible in a lot of ways right now and people probably feel overwhelmed and burnt out, but signing this letter (or reblogging this post) is a small, quick, concrete way to make a difference.

[splitting-infinities]

Did you know you can check out video games from the library? Did you know that you can check out dvds of shows that were released on streaming? Did you know that if the a library doesn’t have what you ask for, they’ll arrange to have it checked out from another library and brought to you at your library?? Did you know you can get all of this for free???

GET A LIBRARY CARD!!! FEAST ON FREE JOY

[lesbxdyke]

I would like to again big up libraries as safe spaces for people of all types!

I had a psychotic episode in my local library while I was in there working and had convinced myself that I was in a bubble dimension and if I left the library I would die, and that being what had happened to the librarian because I hadn't seen them in an hour (it's a small, local library. You can see the librarians desk from where I sit to work)

Now obviously they weren't dead, they were just in the little office that I couldn't see into.

I'm also lucky enough to be a very self aware psychotic, so I reached out to my support network to make sure I got home safely. But none of them could actually get me OUT of the library and I was still absolutely certain that if I stepped off the carpet and onto the tile, I would die.

So I got up, I made my way to the desk, I found the librarian and I said "I need your help. I'm having a psychotic episode and this is what I currently believe. Could you please come out from behind your desk and stand on the tiles so I can see it won't kill me?"

And they did. They didn't shame me, or laugh, or tell me it wasn't real. They said "Yeah, that must be scary." And thanked me when I admitted I'd thought them dead and been really upset about that because I liked them.

And then stood there on the tile, while I stood on the carpet, for ten minutes while I chatted shit and tried to build up my courage to step on the tile, just in case. Including telling me that if this happened again and I needed to call someone, to disregard the usual 'don't call people in the library' rule and just do so after I promised I was going to be calling my husband the second I was on the tile so he could safely walk me home.

(& so no one worries: my husband got me home safe, and a friend came to check on me a little while later and brought me food and I'm fully Cognizant and out of it now)

I cannot imagine another place where I could approach someone and say that and not get the police or an ambulance called on me. Neither of which I needed or would have been helpful.

I cannot imagine another place where a member of staff would stand somewhere for ten minutes to make sure I felt safe enough leaving.

I cannot imagine another place where I would not only be explicitly welcomed back, but be told "If this happens again here, disregard our normal rules to take care of yourself."

I cannot imagine another place on this earth that I would feel safe enough returning to, 3 days later, after an episode like that.

Libraries are a fucking Godssend and should be protected at all costs!

[greencreeker]

Seattle Public Library is doing this awesome program called Books Unbanned that allows teens and young adults (ages 13-26) access to their collection of e-books and e-audiobooks from anywhere in the USA. All you need to do is fill out a simple form and you get their Books Unbanned card. Please share this information far and wide. I know they're not the only ones to have done this, but the more the merrier!

[intothestacks]

Books About Book Bans for Kids and Teens

In celebration of this year's Freedom to Read Week (February 23-March 1st) I have gathered together six books about book banning for kids of different ages.

Picture Books

The Great Banned-Books Bake Sale by Aya Khalil

Kanzi, an Egyptian-American immigrant, is finally feeling like she belongs in her new home… until an entire shelf of books about immigrants and children of colour is removed from her school library. Kanzi, understandably, feels demoralized, but her classmates and teachers are there for her. Together, they hatch a plan to raise money to buy banned books for libraries by way of a bake sale, whose end results are sweeter than anyone expected.

This Book is Banned by Raj Halder

A picture book that humorously showcases what happens when censorship occurs in schools and libraries.

Chapter Books

Finally Seen by Kelly Yang

Moving from China to the US hasn’t been easy for 10-year-old Lina Gao. Embarrassed at her difficulty with English, she decides she just won’t speak anymore. But one day a parent opposes a book Lina’s teacher has been reading to the class, a book that really resonates with Lina. If Lina continues her self-imposed silence the book might be banned… Can she get over her fears and find her voice in time to save the book?

The Accidental Keyhand by Jen Swann Downey

When 12-year-old Dorrie and her brother chase a mongoose into the janitor’s closet in their school library they make an astound discovery: a secret society of time-travelling ninja librarians! They can travel anywhere in time where travel anywhere in time where people are punished for the words they write, be it the Spanish Inquisition, Ancient Greece… or Dorrie’s own hometown in the present day.

Teens

Miles Morales: Suspended by Jason Reynolds 

For the most part, Miles Morales is just your average teenager (he’s also Spider-Man, but that’s not the point). He goes to school and gets into occasional trouble just like any other kid his age. One such trouble comes in the form of an argument with his history teacher that lands Miles in an in-school suspension. While in suspension, he discovers that a superpowered termite is determined to eat all the books about people of colour in the school library. It’s a good thing Miles has some super-powers of his own, because this Spider-Man is about to be tested like never before.

Nonfiction

A Kids Book About Banned Books by National Coalition Against Censorship

A nonfiction book for kids about book banning – what it is, what it isn’t, why banning books is a problem, and what kids can do if they come across a book ban they disagree with. Perfect as a book to read together to encourage discussion.

[lakecountylibrary]

We don’t have a uniform, why do you ask?

Inspired by our friends at Rapid City Public Library (link goes to TikTok). Music only - sound not needed.

[Video Description: A librarian with glasses wearing a polo shirt and shelving books answers an unheard question from someone offscreen. His words are inaudible but the caption reads "The librarian wearing the cardigan and glasses will be able to help you." Video cuts to an information desk where four librarians wearing cardigans and glasses are working. They all turn and wave as four more librarians wearing cardigans and glasses pop out from behind the desk and wave. The librarian from the beginning walks on screen and puts on his own cardigan. And waves.]

Music credit: George Street Shuffle Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

[booksinmythorax]

I'm already seeing advice from people in the US to purchase queer books and other banned or "controversial" books on paper as a way to combat the wave of government censorship that is coming. While this is a good idea (it is! absolutely!), it's not accessible to everyone, and truly, we're not going to be able to consumerism our way out of this one.

If you can buy the books, do. Whether you can buy the books or not, borrow them from your library.

Borrow the paper versions. Borrow the ebook or audiobook versions. Request the titles you want that your library doesn't have. The more a title circulates or is requested, the better librarians are going to be able to defend keeping it if and when it's ever challenged.

Use libraries like @queerliblib too. The more members they have, the better they'll be able to fundraise.

Your community resources depend on you using them. Borrow the books before they go away.

InB4: Piracy is not the solution here. We're trying to keep community resources available, not make sure individual people can read individual books. Different problems.

The books are still available. Borrowing them from your library and returning them on time and in good condition will help keep them that way.