What bliss today to return to the library. That is, until they told me the late fees figure! Yikes! My sister took us a couple of times over the last few months but I thought the last time was just a few weeks ago. It was two months ago and we had checked out a lot of books that never got renewed! I won't say how much I owed, but let's just say I am helping fund part of the renovations they are currently performing!
Before we had this nice building, the library was rather small. It was quite exciting to have this new modern lovely building. However, I am a bit peeved they spent untold sums on a round dome that does nothing but look pretty and yet the books are still so dated! I love to read old novels but the vacation guide books, for instance, are from the 80s. I don't think the hotel prices will hold up 20-something years later! And the craft books are mostly things like macrame and bread dough creations. I can't help but wonder how many new books that useless dome cost us! And now they are enlarging the library, after I heard them moaning about not getting a budget for any new books. And if you take the time to go to another branch of the library system, they tend to have an almost duplicate set of books rather than buying different ones for each branch that can be traded around.
Nevertheless, picking up a stack of free books is pretty blissful, and it's fun to look at the vacation books and PRETEND the prices are still that low!
So glad you are enjoying getting out and about! And I hear you about misplaced priorities with funds. Our county can't meet it's budget for the schools yet spent 100's of thousands on fancy brick crosswalks in town! Yeah they look good but they old crosswalks did the job just fine! Bureacracy at it work.
ReplyDeleteOh I totally hear you on the spending money on "pretties" instead of books thing. Our library is talking of expanding and doing all kinds of showy things but our books sound just as old as yours. It drives me CRAZY!
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the fines, luckily for us, our library stops fines at 2.00 a book.
Jan, It's so good to "hear" the joy in your voice! We take so much from granted like a trip to the library until we can't go for some reason. I'm glad you have been given your freedom again with the surgery. Part of the renovation in our school is to have a library. We don't have one now. I'm hoping that means books to put in the library too!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was growing up I spent many a summer afternoon at the public library because they had air conditioning!
ReplyDeleteYay! Congrats to you on getting out and about. I love that the library was one of your first excursions. It's a very pretty building.
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