I must say, I have to like the modern library.
I was spurred to use my local county library the other day when I found that a book I was looking for (a rather obscure book on the use of the Rolleiflex camera) was out of print and not otherwise available.
Since my local branch is right across the street from where I live I thought I would pop in and see what they could do for me. I found that I can now do catalogue searches online, put a book on hold online and check the status of my account online. I get up to 100 books out at once, for 28 days each. All for no money down!
Very cool.
I've gradually been working my way through a new naval fiction series (Dewey Lambdin's Alan Lewrie) and with fifteen odd books in the series it was looking like a major expense. Add to that my reborn interest in photography and the associated cost of photography books and the library looks like a great idea.
Funny - I really hadn't used a library since I left university. But being Web-enabled makes it very darn convenient. Kudos to the King County Library for being in the 21st century.
Posted by artandscience at April 18, 2005 07:11 PMWell, given that most victims of public schooling cannot read or write, it is comforting to know that the theft of your tax dollar on schooling is at least disproportionately partially allocated back to you every time you use the 'free' public library.
Posted by: Thomas Pindelski at April 29, 2005 06:57 AM