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In Praise of Libraries

All the good public libraries have to offer.


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Personal

Libraries are pretty freakin' awesome. The variety of services they offer is often unrealized by most people who could be using them. I used my university's library constantly to get access to both books and digital media that I wasn't willing to buy or pirate. I read 50-ish books and watched multiple shows with the library's help during my time in school.


Internet Access

Internet access should be a basic human right at this point. Using a service via their "offline" process is incredibly inconvenient, as it requires extra time (time spent filling things out, waiting, etc), energy, and even money. Given that free personal internet for all is likely a ways away, the next best bet are public libraries. Patrons can simply walk in, log on, and do whatever business they need to—for free!

The American Library Association has published internet connectivity statistics, but the last study was from 2011. I suspect all categories have drastically improved since then.


Requests

Most libraries offer purchase requests, allowing patrons to request an item the library doesn't have in stock. If they deem it worthy of being stocked amongst their shelves, they will order it and notify you when it arrives.

Many university libraries also participate in the Get It For Me program, which allows libraries within the system to loan books to each other. Simply GIFM request the book if the home library doesn't have it and they'll send out an SOS signal requesting it. I've only had one GIFM request fail, probably due to it being an obscure paper from a research bounty.


Help

This is primarily university-related, but some librarians are worth their weight in gold with their research skills. They can help find anything and everything, regardless of whether or not they're familiar with the subject. They can also often help with formatting or other writing-related questions.


See Also