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Old 02-13-2013, 11:40 AM
 
Location: Chicago area
18,761 posts, read 11,755,546 times
Reputation: 64148

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I like going for the obscure over looked films that I've never heard of but should have. No one talks through the movies and cell phones must be turned off. It's nice to watch something intelligent with considerate people for a change. On a lighter note: Our neighbor a retired PO went to our local library and some patrons were concerned that he was a homeless man. He grew his hair long and his beard so he could be Santa. (More like creepy Santa.) We had a good laugh over that one. One a tragic note: One of our patrons did befriend a homeless young man and invited him to live with her. She wound up murdered a few months later by him. Murders are unheard of here and it was quite disturbing. I guess you never know who you'll run into in the library. Especially if it's extremely cold or hot outside.

 
Old 02-13-2013, 11:42 AM
 
Location: California Mountains
1,448 posts, read 3,043,691 times
Reputation: 2356
Quote:
Originally Posted by in_newengland View Post
http://search.overdrive.com/classic/

I live nowhere near Boston but I am going to sign up to receive ebooks from the Boston Public Library. Imagine having a huge city library at your fingertips!
That's the same reason I have had access to more than a dozen libraries across the country. It started during the years I lived in Europe where English books were worth their weights in gold. The only way I could have something to read then was through e-libraries, so a few friends and family members allowed me to use their accounts with their libraries, and it sprouted forth from there.
 
Old 02-13-2013, 01:26 PM
 
Location: Cody, WY
10,420 posts, read 14,560,595 times
Reputation: 22017
Quote:
Originally Posted by in_newengland View Post
Download Library Search - Powered by OverDrive

Interesting link to what is available on kindle from a library that is not even anywhere near you!

I live nowhere near Boston but I am going to sign up to receive ebooks from the Boston Public Library. Imagine having a huge city library at your fingertips! A lot is still not available yet on kindle but more and more items will be added. FREE. I'm waiting for more history and other non fiction. It's coming.
Here's another. Books and periodicals in many languages are available.

Two million documents at your fingertips
 
Old 02-13-2013, 01:56 PM
 
Location: Canada
7,668 posts, read 5,477,929 times
Reputation: 8808
I've downloaded a lot of audiobooks from my library's web site. Acting by narrators is usually very good and it's nice to be able to do other things or even rest and close one's eyes while listening to a book.
 
Old 02-13-2013, 03:39 PM
 
Location: Sacramento
14,044 posts, read 27,165,238 times
Reputation: 7373
But a good physical library allows for wandering and serendipity not happening with downloads to a device. Just browsing through the books can turn up some things that may turn out to be interesting, and lead to further research or discoveries, and this doesn't occur with an iPad or a Kindle.

I have an iPad, and just really love using it. But it doesn't come close to replacing the great experience of spending a few hours at the library.
 
Old 02-13-2013, 04:08 PM
 
Location: Ponte Vedra Beach FL
14,617 posts, read 21,434,279 times
Reputation: 6794
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ol' Wanderer View Post
LOL. I have not read Fifty Shades of Gray and have no plan to read it in the near future. Not because it's "topical trash" (to be honest, I don't even know what the book is about until a few minutes ago) but because I still have about 300+ books I want to read this year and the next.

BTW, there are only 7 people waiting for Fifty Shades at Los Angeles Library and no waiting at NY Library (303 copies are free at the moment at NYPL.) I don't live in LA or NY, but I have access to both libraries, plus ~15 others. There is also no waiting at my county's network of libraries, with 5 copies available. Maybe there are fewer people who read topical trash than you think.
Gosh - 303 copies of Shades of Gray. What a great investment of taxpayer dollars!!! Robyn
 
Old 02-13-2013, 04:14 PM
 
Location: Ponte Vedra Beach FL
14,617 posts, read 21,434,279 times
Reputation: 6794
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caladium View Post
Robyn, it appears the first paragraph you posted is a quote, but you did not post it so that we can click on it to see where it is from or what the reference is. I don't recall seeing it on this thread so I was hoping to look it up and see what led up to this comment. Could you please tell us where you got this quote from?

Sorry to hear the younger people in your community don't use your library. I guess libraries in different areas have different experiences. Ours always has a lot of people of all ages, although of course you don't see many school aged kids during school hours. During Saturdays you'll see lots of them, and lots of kids reading. Yet another reason to love living in VA, I guess.
That was a quote from someone who posted about libraries in the other Retirement Forum thread - the one about walkable areas. Robyn
 
Old 02-13-2013, 04:23 PM
 
Location: Ponte Vedra Beach FL
14,617 posts, read 21,434,279 times
Reputation: 6794
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhxBarb View Post
This is a very sore topic for me and a big part of the reason I want to move to another state.
In my suburb of Phoenix, the library (granted, its a branch) is owned by the high school, and is on the high school grounds. SO every afternoon, around 2 pm a swarm of cars arrives and parks in the lot, takes up space and causes a general feeling of chaos. The backing in and out of a very tight lot will certainly cause a death one of these days. The Moms wait to take their high schoolers home. Or if they don't go home, the students take over the library, talk on their phones, to each other or surf the net. There is even a guard who makes rounds to keep them in tow.

I want to have a real library with all the stuff that Caladium has. I want classes, groups, lectures, a newsletter, a place with comfy chairs (ours are all hard wood, like desks) and less of the rowdy kids. I want more magazines, interesting artwork and a nicer atmosphere. The kids don't use the books; they only are there to meet friends. I don't mind my taxes going to the library, but I would like to get my money's worth one day soon.
Perhaps you are looking for a community center - or a senior center - or a Y - or a JCC - and not a library. So far - not a single message I've read has indicated that anyone here uses a library for the most part for its intended functions. Yoga classes in a library - oh puhleeze. Robyn
 
Old 02-13-2013, 04:35 PM
 
Location: Central Maine
4,697 posts, read 6,434,647 times
Reputation: 5046
Quote:
Originally Posted by Caladium View Post
Green Gene, thanks for the compliment. Actually, Robynn deserves credit for starting this thread.
Whoops - sorry 'bout that.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Caladium View Post
It was started after a long discussion on another thread; she started the new thread because that one was going off topic. You'd really enjoy reading the initial discussion that sparked all this. Here's the link; it starts more or less at post #135:

Finding Walkable Towns for Retirement
I'll check it out (no pun intended).
 
Old 02-13-2013, 04:36 PM
 
Location: California Mountains
1,448 posts, read 3,043,691 times
Reputation: 2356
Quote:
Originally Posted by Robyn55 View Post
Gosh - 303 copies of Shades of Gray. What a great investment of taxpayer dollars!!! Robyn
Consider the library serves almost 10 million people, and its content is near 60 million items, 303 copies of a sex novel is not that big of a deal. The book is not worth reading in your opinion, but there are almost 315 million people in the US, don't they have the right to read what they think is worth their time? After all, they also pay taxes just as you do.

BTW, after reading an excerpt, I share your feeling and fully acknowledge that Fifty Shades is not my cup of tea, but I also do not think one person's taste in tea serves as the gold standard for everyone else to uphold.
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