General Chat

We have a small library in the village. It used to be a sub-branch of the main library in town, until the Council, in one of its cost-cutting exercises, axed most of the smaller ones.

For a while we had no library, then volunteers stepped in and now we have a very good one in the Burgh Hall (village hall). It was closed during lockdown, but recently reopened and is operating normally.

In this week's local rag is an announcement that all public libraries will be re-opening, but with restrictions. First, all outstanding books should be returned, by appointment. Next, after a suitable gap for disinfection, people will be allowed to borrow books,

This is to be done by a "click and collect" system. :-| :-| I gather you ring up and tell them what kind of books you like and the library staff will choose ones that they reckon you will enjoy. They can then be collected on an appointment system. :-(

You can't select individual titles, so I would probably end up with ones I didn't like or ones I'd already read.

I am not at all sure that I would like someone choosing my books, Andysmum.

It will be interesting to see how it works out for you.

I do know that in my area there is a delivery library service available for housebound people. You list the authors you like and or the type of book ie thrillers, sagas etc and
at ;least eight or more books are delivered to you at your home every three weeks. It seems to work very well. If you might have read one or two of the selected books it is highly unlikely you will have read all eight or so of them. I understand a number of housebound people are very grateful for this service. So please give your library service a trial period, what they are offering you could be just as pleasing.

I don't use the library in town, but the village one, which is very good and operating normally. Last time I went into the town one the choice of books wasn't nearly as good as our volunteer one, particularly the non-fiction. When I queried this I was told that people didn't want non-fiction!!! :-0

I agree with JoyLouise, I don't want someone else choosing my books.

Can’t you reserve the books that you want online?

I reserved a book just before lockdown. When it became available the library of course had closed. The librarian phoned me and asked if I would like the book delivered.
We had a long chat she asked how we were coping and bought the book round to the house. Excellent service.

We are very lucky in our area as all of our libraries were refurbished and under normal circumstances are thriving and extremely busy :-D

I live in a big city, and we have one very large main library downtown with 22 branch libraries around town. Branches have quite a lot of liberty in ordering books, so you can find different themes, subjects or authors at every site, borrowers can order books from one branch and they can often find it at another branch, or order it in.

The Main Library re-opened several weeks, then about 5 branches opened about a month after that, with 5 more following on Tuesday this week, including ours.

I haven't yet been, but it seems it will be well organised ............ our branch will limit the number of people inside(it is quite small), the public is asked to restrict their time to 30 minutes or less, but there is access to the computers, borrowing and returning books. The lending time is extended from 3 weeks to 7 weeks, and you can order books online and pick them up from the branch when they have arrived there.

We have a Mobile Library which visits once a month, it stopped for several months at first so I was almost reduced to reading sauce bottle labels!
Now it's coming round again and altho you can't actually go on it, the librarian will select books for you if you tell him the sort of things you like. However there is a very good online reservations site so I've been ordering loads on there and they gradually come thro when available. You can put in an author you like, or just browse around the catalogue until you find something you like the sound of.
This is in the depths of Cornwall so not the most technologically advanced area so I'm sure it must be available in other areas so might be worth a look elsewhere.
You do have to be a member of the library with an up to date card, but I'm sure you can join if not already a member.

Susie .......

I'm re-reading books that I have had for 30 or 40 years! We have hundreds of books on shelves in the basement.

The awful thing is that I cannot remember reading some of them before, yet I know that I have :-(

Thank heavens for e readers!

Our libraries started to offer the ‘tell us what you like to read system’. Which we didn’t use. Eventually we got the book ordered before lock down and we,ve requested a few more. You get an email to say when you can collect the book and you are given it in a little brown carrier bag

Andysmum,
I am now retired but, worked in the local libraries for years.

If your library uses a similar system to most it means that if they scan a book onto your card, it will show a warning if it's been on your card before.
They should simply scan it off again and try another from their selection.

In effect, they should not issue you a book that they know you've had before.

GlasgowLass, that's a scheme I haven't heard of but it sounds a good idea. I haven't used a council run public library for years.

For a while we had a mobile library but when the local one got going we all used that. It is run by volunteers and "old-fashioned" as far as technology goes. The books are stamped by a human being with a date stamp and it is open and operating normally. As far as I know, it is the only one in the area that is.

Sylvia, I did the same as you and I know just how you felt!! Some books I wondered why I had liked them at all!

Our library also says if we have had a book before but not if it's one I've bought unfortunately. I read far too quickly and so can be half way thro one before I realise I have read it before so just carry on as i can't remember how it ends anyway!
I've also read some books I've had for years but never got around to reading so really enjoyed Sebastian Faulkes 'Birdsong' and am keeping 'Gone with the Wind' in reserve to read yet again if I run out of library books. My tastes are pretty lowbrow!

I'm as bad as you Sylvia, I've been rereading books and often can't remember the ending so it's okay :-D

Not many of Birmingham's (U K) small (part time) libraries have reopened yet. I think that like many other places the ones that have opened are "by appointment only"

I feel that quite a few of these libraries might not reopen. A cost cutting exercise, justified by the lack of customers,

Hoping that i am wrong.

The local council has just confirmed they are reopening the libraries. We must make sure we use it as we have already gone through the possible closures and it is already manned by one staff member with volunteers on hand.