Lionne posted 11/2/2020 07:01 AM

Amazing source of entertainment and resources. Most Public libraries have some online databases.

Hoopla audio and video
Overdrive books and audio books
Fold3 military record search
Lots of stuff for kids, although I'm betting they are getting too much screen time right now
Artist works, art lessons
Chilton auto repair
Rosetta stone and Mango, two language sites
Kanopy, documentaries and classic films
Ancestry
Flipster, magazines
All sorts of science, history etc.

Check your local branch.

[This message edited by Lionne at 7:03 AM, November 2nd (Monday)]

wildbananas posted 11/2/2020 09:05 AM

I love the library! Ours has a pickup window, too. I can reserve things online and pick them up, no problem.

Gottagetthrough posted 11/2/2020 13:11 PM

I really miss going to the library in person. I went inside to pick up a book the other day, you can only go if you reserve something and pick it up at the circulation desk, then leave.

I loved browsing and finding a goo book

sisoon posted 11/2/2020 13:17 PM

I love libraries even without a pandemic.

We do not need to buy more books. We need to get rid of books. But how can we dump books we've owned for more than 50 years? Or books that are on their way to being owned for more than 50 years?

Lionne posted 11/2/2020 14:01 PM

But how can we dump books we've owned for more than 50 years? Or books that are on their way to being owned for more than 50 years?

This is why I don't buy books. I am a retired librarian. Throwing away books is heartwrenching. But books age out and that many tons of paper winds up in landfills.

Ebooks all the way. I get that some people think they just have to have the paper book. And children's illustrated masterpieces don't always translate well.

But I have thrown out more books than I have bought. I donate many but even libraries don't want your old books. My professor used to say, "if the books aren't good enough for your suburban kids they aren't good enough for inner city kids."

But libraries are so much more in addition to books! Even in a pandemic.

sisoon posted 11/3/2020 12:43 PM

An old prof has about 60-70' of shelf space devoted to a beautifully printed collection of classic texts. When he bought them 65 years ago, the only way to get some of the texts was to buy the collection or wait for inter-library loans.

He's over 90 now, and no one wants his books. They're all available online.

My brother is a writer. He said he gets a bigger royalty from an e-book than a printed book.

IDK ... the ability to browse through physical books once kept me from relying on and citing a totally fabricated source in an important school paper.

There were 2 volumes with the same title - IIRC, The Memoirs of Li Hung-chang,but different colors. I picked one, and it was a treasure trove! All sorts of info in English!

I finished with the book and returned it to the library. Out of curiosity, I picked up the yellow volume - and found out it was a forgery.

It's in the public domain, and it's available on the web, without noting it's fake. Li Hung-chang (Hong-zhang) was a major figure in late 19th-early 20th century China. I wonder how many papers cite this text - and thereby perpetrate lies.

BTW, the Memoirs were created by a journalist who made a name for himself with vivid reports from the front during the Spanish-American war in Cuba. Except that he never left Havana. It was a brilliant forgery, discovered only because someone met LHC someplace on a date that the book said he was someplace else. He confronted the author, and the true story came out.

I've done a brief web search and can't find the 'journalist's' name. But the above is a true story.

little turtle posted 11/3/2020 12:52 PM

I've been using the library through my libby app. I've read many more books through there than I would have ever picked up at the library. It's so convenient to always have a book with me on my phone!

I donate old books to my library and they use them or sell them at their used book store.

PricklePatch posted 11/4/2020 22:53 PM

I use my local library online.