Get a library card
Posted on 17 February, 2024
I — probably along with the majority of people in the UK — haven't set foot in a library in years. I have a vague recollection of borrowing a library book when the son was a baby, so it's probably been the best part of 20 years ...
That said, I've always thought that public libraries should exist and be paid for out of the public purse. Whether or not I personally find them useful, they serve a public good. There was a definite push from the successive coalition and Tory governments of the '10s to reduce public services and sell-off public properties, including libraries, and it's a relief to me that those plans don't seem to have come to fruition.
My absence from the library isn't because I don't read; it's that I read eBooks almost exclusively — although I understand the appeal of a physical book, they're just too ... well, big. I commute a lot (although less than before Covid) and being able to pick up my book on a phone, tablet or e-reader "there and then" is just so much more convenient than having to carry an actual book around with me.
Imagine my delight when I found that, at long last, UK libraries are (for the most part) now able to lend eBooks!
To be fair, this isn't something that's just happened — I get the impression that it's been possible for a few years, but has gotten a lot easier (and more popular) recently.
Depending on your local library there may be other ways of doing this, but I've used Libby (which, just to be confusing, is an app provided by a service called Overdrive that used to have an app called Overdrive).
Signing up was simplicity itself — I applied for a library card from my local library online, and had both the card and a PIN sent through the post. Enter those details into the Libby app on my phone and voila, I can borrow (and reserve) eBooks.
One thing we don't get in the UK that is on offer in the US — reading borrowed books on a Kindle. I don't know whether it's possible to read books on other devices (eg a Kobo), but to keep things simple I'm just reading in the Libby app. It's "fine".
The service isn't perfect — anything that's popular can have a looong waiting list, and there are some series/authors that I would have expected to be available that just aren't — but the fact is that I've read ten books for free in the last month that I would have been reluctant to actually buy. And that's the magic of a public library service ...
Posted in thoughts
