Want to know what my new favorite thing is?  It’s the library!

Now I know the library isn’t a new thing and as a kid I certainly used it a lot, but not as an adult.  I remember taking a cooking class at our local library, spending many hours researching for papers and checking out tons of mystery books to devour.  In college, the library was my favorite place to be.  We had several on our campus, some brand new with all the bells and whistles, but some really old with rooms of books that made you feel like you were in the catacombs.  Libraries are so quiet and peaceful and full of more knowledge than anyone person could consume in a lifetime.

Why I haven’t taken advantage of our library as an adult is a bit of a mystery.  No real reason, I just haven’t, until now.  Armed with my cool lime-green library card, I’ve been spending some quality time reacquainting myself with the atmosphere, the services and most importantly, the books.

A lot has changed since I was ten.  Most everything is automated and computerized.  Our branch has a self-checkout system using barcodes.  The best feature is that you can go online, find the book you want and ‘request it’.  Even if the book is not at your local branch, they will retrieve it from another branch and let you know via email when it’s ready to pick up.  Requires patience, but I can’t tell you how excited I get when I receive those emails.  You can also renew your books online from the comfort of your own home.  I only live a half mile from my local branch, but it’s nice that I don’t have to venture very far to renew my books.

Another handy service is e-books, specifically e-books for the Kindle.  You’re able to download the e-book and ‘borrow’ them in the same manner you would ‘borrow’ a paper book.  So cool!

I went through my Amazon book wish list and started searching for those books in the library catalog.  I found a few and started ‘requesting’ like crazy.  The system tells you how many people have requested this book before you and gives you an idea of how long you’ll have to wait.  Pretty handy.

“I hope this reading thing isn’t going to get in the way of our playtime.”