How do you use your library?

this is basically just a library appreciation post

The monthly roundup is coming later this week, but I had to pop in because I had an urgent thought that was simply too long for Instagram (which is really how every post of mine starts). This weekend, we visited the Wagnalls Memorial Library out in Lithopolis because they have Yoto cards. We love our Yoto because our son likes audiobooks and this is a device he doesn’t need to ask our permission to use—you know I’m not anti-screen (see: this entire newsletter), but he can only use screens with permission and I really didn’t like the idea of him having the iPad in his room if he wanted to listen to an audiobook on Libby to fall asleep. This is more information than you needed. Anyway, Yoto cards are pretty expensive, so I was happy to hear that one of the libraries in our system has them. But this particular library doesn’t let you request them or put them on hold, so now we drive out to Lithopolis every once in awhile to check out the Yoto cards. Which is fine because look at this library.

Twist my arm, I’ll drive 30 minutes to visit the castle library.

This got me thinking about just how much I use our library system. Once when my son was really little, I got to talking with a dad at the park as we pushed our kids on the baby swings, and he said, “I just checked out some movies for the kids at the library! I didn’t even know the library had movies!” I’ve been a lifelong library user, but many people just don’t know how much stuff the library has. It’s not just books…but also the books are great! On a recent receipt, I learned that I’d “saved” (a nice way to put it) over $30K since 2017 just by using my library card. That’s only since 2017, and that’s only one of our family’s five library cards. Budget queen over here!

In the past couple of weeks, we’ve attended two free library events—a program put on by the Ohio School of Falconry where we got to see owls poop on the floor and another bird fly through the library atrium, and an author talk by Peter Brown, author/illustrator of The Wild Robot. We regularly check out board or card games, which is great because I’ve instituted a No Buying Games rule (Hollis is a game guy and we just have too many). I love checking out movies that aren’t available on streaming—my library even had Silkwood, which is notoriously hard to find! And if you use the system to request specific copies, you can make sure to get Criterion editions for films in the collection so you can see all that bonus content. We’ve checked out free tickets to the National Veterans Memorial and Museum. We used to take advantage of story time, back when my son was young enough. I write at various library branches on a regular basis because they are chill, quiet places where you don’t have to buy anything (although I do get a matcha first from a local coffee shop, thereby rendering this a moot point). When we were at Wagnalls this weekend, my son (and Hollis, lol) spent a good amount of time playing in a room called the Lego Lab, which—you guessed it—was full of Lego. Kanopy (which is free through my library and may be free through yours) is probably my second favorite streamer and it has so many movies, new ones and classics and plenty that are also on Criterion.

Here are some other things that can be checked out from our particular library or others in the area:

-a bullhorn (my son tried to get this and I said no)

-ukulele (adult and child size)

-tickets to various Columbus attractions, including Franklin Park Conservatory, the ballet, the art museum, the zoo, etc.

-video games

-a yarn winder

-tarot cards

-records

-traffic cones to practice parking

This is, of course, not even getting into the resources the library offers such as: warming or cooling spaces on dangerously cold or hot days (the main library even opened up on MLK Jr. day to offer a warm space to people who needed it because it was so cold in Columbus), printers, computers, tax help, etc.

My advice is to check out the smaller local libraries that are part of the consortium but not technically Columbus libraries. You can still use your Columbus card to check things out, but they offer more niche stuff that you won’t necessarily find at the main library.

Our library is not only a huge money-saver, it’s also just a big part of our lives. At this point, I know most of the librarians at my library by face and many of them by name. We go to library programs a lot. The smaller libraries, especially, tend to have weirder, older books on the shelves that just make me happy to see.

Obsessed with this Hardy Boys book I saw at Wagnalls

My library has a fun staff recommendation shelf and I’ve figured out which librarian’s taste I vibe with (it’s Michaela…shout out to Michaela if you’re reading this). They also currently have wrapped Blind Dates with a Books, just like an independent bookstore!

I saw this note on Substack recently and I’ve been thinking about it a lot.

Partly I’ve been thinking about it because it’s my own personal view and it’s nice to see our own views parroted back to us as virtuous :) But also…it IS true! Most of these places are free—we pay a ton for the local pool, ugh, but even the museums can be free if you take advantage of those library passes! It’s just nice to have a place to go regularly where you see all kinds of people. Maybe I will write a whole post about this sometime, about how taking advantage of all these local public places makes me feel like I belong to this city and it belongs to me. But the library always makes me feel like that. It’s great, and I’ve saved $30,000, which I know isn’t technically true but I’m still going to brag about that.

So tell me: how do you use your library? What resources does your local library offer? I didn’t even get into all the digital services (I’m obsessed with Libby). Have you been walking around the house bragging to your husband about how you saved this family thirty thousand dollars? What’s the coolest/weirdest/best thing you’ve checked out? And if you’re in Columbus, what library resources have I forgotten?

I’ll be back later this week with the monthly roundup (usual caveat about potential sickness, you know the drill). See you soon. xo