Libraries are awesome — but you knew that already, right? Check your wallet. Do you have a library card? Yes? Great — when was the last time you used it?
Library cards are FREE and available at your local branch. Yes, libraries have thousands to free books for you to borrow, but they have so much more. They are a quiet place to study and do homework, get assistance with taxes, take classes, research local history, and access the internet. Library cards also allow you to borrow e-books, DVDs, audiobooks and music.
If you already have your library card, ask friends if they have theirs. Show your support for your local library.
Here are some fun things to get you inspired.
Generate your own customized card catalog entry here. Here is mine:
Do you remember when libraries used these card sleeves in their books? You had to fill out your name on the line and it would live behind the circulation desk until you returned the book.
Then the book itself had a slip and stamps like this, that reminded you when to bring the book back.
Now, many libraries are online and digitized. You can easily see what their stacks have with a few clicks. Before all that, you had to search through card catalogs.
Slow and tedious, yes, but those drawers had a smell that I wish we had figured out how to bottle.
So, get going and get signed up for your library card!
