My love of public libraries has been nurtured from a young age. Our library was small, but we’d visit fairly regularly. I had my own card and everything, and I’m old enough to remember card catalogs and signing the lined paper in the little pocket inside the book I wanted to check out.
(Side note: it is an adult dream of mine to someday have an old card catalog in my house. I have no idea what I would put in it. But when I’m rich and famous, I’m finding one. Harder would be finding a place to put it, but where there’s a will, there’s a way!)
My love for libraries has only expanded as I’ve gotten older and had kids of my own. Before Covid-19 came around and changed our lives, we went to our public library fairly regularly, where my kids also have their own cards.
Also, I discovered Libby/Overdrive, and I could borrow audiobooks for the kiddos! (They love audiobooks; I am indifferent, mostly preferring to read on my own because it’s faster.) Then, the pandemic came along, and I fell even harder in love with the library! I could get ebooks through it, without even having to leave the house. Totally free, and the authors get paid–it’s a win/win situation.
If you haven’t figured this out already, here are the steps!
- Get your library card out and have it ready.
- Download the Libby app on your phone (or Overdrive on your Kindle tablet. Overdrive automatically comes with a Kobo e-reader, as I just learned when I got mine for Christmas).
- Follow the prompts through Libby, choosing your library, entering your card number, all that good stuff. (I don’t know if things have changed, but this wasn’t 100% intuitive when I did it a few months ago.)
- Browse books, select “Borrow” when you find one you want to read.
- Choose how you want to read it. If it’s Kindle, you’ll be taken to Amazon’s website to finish the process. Kobo has a different system, which you can read more about here.
- Enjoy your library book!
If you’re looking for a specific book (like one of mine!) and your library doesn’t have it, you can request that they purchase it. Libraries have funds for purchasing requested titles, and I’ve taken advantage of that several times.
I think that’s about all! If you have trouble, do contact your local library and ask questions. I’ve had to do this, too, and they’re super helpful and patient. I <3 librarians.