I’ve been a card-carrying member of at least seven different public library systems in my life, and have visited many others. Recently I got to thinking how great it would be if my favourite aspects of all these libraries came together in one perfect library!
Here are some of the things I have liked best about libraries I’ve visited. I hope you’ll share your own experiences in the comments. (You might also enjoy my earlier post in praise of libraries.)
The Perfect Library
Let’s start at the very beginning… free parking is always appreciated.
A historic building is a plus, if it isn’t too crowded and has good lighting, elevators, and all the other modern conveniences we are used to. (Don’t miss my post on Calgary’s Carnegie library.)
Have you ever had to pay for a library card? I was surprised to have to pay around $10 a year for a library card when I lived in Alberta. (The Calgary Public Library at least now waives the fee thanks to a generous donor, I believe.) So free library cards are definitely on my list.
I also think the ideal library has friendly librarians who know you when you walk in the door. At the same time, it’s nice to have self checkouts for privacy! The best self-checkouts I’ve used can check out a whole stack of books so you don’t have to place them on the machine one by one.
No limit on the number of things you can check out is also important to me. Once I start checking out picture books, easy readers, magazines, and games my number of checkouts skyrockets.
It’s great when public libraries offer a variety of material, including digital options, like ebooks, audiobooks, and movies. For those not on the cutting edge it’s nice to have physical items to browse, too. For some reason we can’t get our van to play audio from our phones, so we have to resort to checking out audiobook CDs from the library for road trips. Thankfully our current library has a huge selection.
Another thing I’ve greatly appreciated over the years is interlibrary loans. Even when I’ve belonged to a huge library system I’ve taken advantage of borrowing books from other parts of the province, including university libraries. This is great when I want to use an academic book for research or read a theological book that isn’t in all public libraries or order a book for book club instead of buying it. I even get a lot of picture books through interlibrary loan in order to review them on my blog. (Check out the picture book biographies I’ve covered so far.) Of course, it’s best when there is no limit on the number of interlibrary loans you can take out at a time and when renewals are possible.
Recently I’ve become enamoured of borrowing board games from the library, especially for my kids. They get the fun of trying new games out and playing them as much as they like for a few weeks. We benefit from the variety without having to buy or store all the games.
I’ve also heard of borrowing zoo passes from the library. What a great idea!
A friend told me that her library estimates how long a hold will take to arrive (including digital holds). I would love to have this feature at my library, especially for book club books, since I seem to have trouble getting my books at the right time.
A dedicated kids play area in the library is a definite bonus when you have young children. Toys and board books, maybe a play house or a tunnel. What I wish they would do away with is tablets! My kids are drawn to screens but I’d rather they play and look at books when they are young.
It’s nice when the library gives out colouring pages for kids. I like that our current library has tables and a jug of crayons near the circulation desk to keep my kids busy when I am picking up my holds.
Besides material to check out, most (all?) public libraries host free events. I thought it was really neat when a few members of an orchestra visited the public library and put on a short performance. I’ve also been to free lectures on D-Day and the Donnellys.
Storytime where you don’t have to register ahead of time is nice. I’ve taken the kids to one that included a ukelele, songs, stories, nursery rhymes, riddles, phonics, yoga poses, and crafts.
You can’t argue with free printing, but even if you have to pay for printing and photocopying those are great services to access at the local library.
At my in-laws’ public library they have a pet turtle. (I’ve also visited a car dealership that had tropical fish and a parrot, so maybe libraries could expand in this area. The kids love to see animals and I don’t want to own any!)
My last comment is, how I love an annual library book sale.
The Hopewell library is the first place I have used a self-checkout that scans a whole stack of books at once. I thought that was pretty cool when I discovered it. 🙂 I really wish my library had kids games or toys to borrow! But Hopewell gets points for not having any screens for kids.