speaking of libraries....anyone else notice no one checks out books anymore?

[ktgrok]

Every time I go there are people checking out stacks and stacks of DVDs, but no one has any books. At least the ones with kids don't. Just DVD's. I feel like the only one checking out actual factual children's books. Even my 1 year old gets board books each week.

[Anita in NC]

We get books every week. I see lots of people at our local libraries checking out books.

[gardenmom5]

Every time I go there are people checking out stacks and stacks of DVDs, but no one has any books. At least the ones with kids don't. Just DVD's. I feel like the only one checking out actual factual children's books. Even my 1 year old gets board books each week.

 

It must be where you live. I use a small branch from one of the busiest systems in the country (they put up a banner announcing it). there are lots of books on the hold shelf when I go pick up my stack. I really like being able to order online from all the branches, and then just pick them up.

[Pretty in Pink]

I always go during storytime and there are lots of children with their mothers or fathers there borrowing books. At least once a month I have to place a hold on a children's books that has already been checked out.

 

Perhaps you are just going at a slow time of day?

[Renee in NC]

It must be where you live. I use a small branch from one of the busiest systems in the country (they put up a banner announcing it). there are lots of books on the hold shelf when I go pick up my stack. I really like being able to order online from all the branches, and then just pick them up.

 

:iagree: Same here.

[FrogMom5]

This is not happening at our library. We don't have enough books, especially children's books, for all the patrons that want to check them out. I hope what you are seeing is not a new trend that just hasn't made it here yet.

Denise

[My3Monkeys]

It seems that the majority of people at our library are there to use the internet computers.

[Old Dominion Heather]

Not a problem here... I rarely see people only checking out videos or dvds, and if I do, they are always adults. Now stacks and stacks of books? YES.

[JFSinIL]

Our library is the busiest spot in town - a real community center.

http://www.gailborden.info/m/

http://www.gailborden.info/m/content/view/453/454/

 

Lots of books coming and going constantly! AND - we have a great precision book cart team that appears in the 4th of July Parade! :-)

 

(yes - it is named after the inventor of condensed milk. Gail Borden had his factory here just a block away from where this newest library is now.)

Edited July 20, 2011 by JFSinIL

[littlefurfamily]

I work part-time at the library and boy, oh, boy do I disagree ~ mostly. It's a very busy branch with mountains of reserved books and check-outs. I feel like I've been to the gym at the end of the day! There is a very big dvd turn-around as well, but reading is still alive and well at this library anyway.

[UmMusa]

I haven't really noticed that. I see lots of books going out and coming in.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

We have really good libraries where I live and from what I've observed, people use the library for many different things. There's the group that primarily uses the free internet, the group that primarily borrows the DVDs, the group that uses the homework and career centers, and the vast majority that is still interested in the books. There is a large section of shelves at my library where you find the items you've placed on hold, and if that's any indication, people are still checking out plenty of books around here.

[Slartibartfast]

I see lots of people with books.

[LostSurprise]

If you only go on Fridays, you might think that here.

 

If you only go after school, you'd think it was only teens on computers.

 

When I take it all together there's a lot of everything, but mostly books.

[My Three J's]

I think that is becoming more and more true. My friend just had a garage sale this weekend and had a beautiful table all set out with all sorts of books and only one of them sold. She was shocked! I know my husband and I, although we still buy and check out a lot of hard copy books, we are also using our Kindle and Nook a lot more often than we did even a year ago.

[ktgrok]

Wow. Ok, it's just florida maybe? I noticed the trend starting when I worked in a library 20 years ago, back when it was VHS tapes. Now it is even worse. Maybe because of the branch I go to? But yeah, when we go to story hour there are parents checking out piles of DVD's, but no books for the kids. Seriously, NONE.

 

Which is sad because it is a GREAT library system. Lots of books that I need for school, and they actually have a bookmobile service that delivers the books you have reserved right to your door! I guess all the people using real books are using that service? It's a bit slow, but if you aren't in a hurry it is great.

[stripe]

I don't notice that many people checking out DVDs. I assume most people have cable, netflix, and whatnot.

 

And I check out DVDs from the library too! ;)

 

Anyhow I don't think what someone uses the library for on one particular day certainly reflects their total activities, including watching tv at home, downloading books, or reading books they purchased.

[gardening momma]

I never pay attention to what other people are checking out, so I have no idea. The inside hold shelves are always full, though (I use the drive thru hold, so I can't see much of those shelves--what I can see looks full).

[Brenda in FL]

I noticed it at our libraries in Broward County, FL. I remember thinking the same way as you - but I was just as guilty! My kids would check out DVD/VHS and use the computers. I was the one with my own shelf with the hold books! In Broward County they had actually changed their mission statement to include this type of lending and other non-traditional library activities. (But in actuality there were plenty of books being checked-out.)

 

Wake County libraries in NC don't have dvds or music. I wish they did - at least educational ones!

[LibraryLover]

I wish! Not rot really...except when I am in a hurry...then I sort of do. lol Our line takes some time. I do not know why people think they need to read!

 

Ever heard of Netflix, people??!!

[Julie Smith]

Our children's library gets really busy in the summer. I heard some librarians complaining just before summer break started. They were having trouble fitting books on the shelves and couldn't wait till summer started and people would start checking them out.

 

And it's true. Some shelves that would be packed have about 2/3 of the books. The easier reader shelves are down by about 1/2.

 

They have a almost complete shelve of BoxCar children books (about 130 books). They are down to about 20.

 

I am looking forward to summer being over. Then all the books come back and are waiting on the shelve for me, ME. (Picture Golem looking at the ring, "Mine.)

 

I do find it strange that it is so packed in the summer, and so dead quite the rest of the year.

[LibraryLover]

I haven't really noticed that. I see lots of books going out and coming in.

 

 

The ILL shelves are bursting here. Bugs the crap out of me. lol I always seem to be 12th+ in line for a wanted book. Grrrrrr. I hate that. It makes me feel so conventional!

Edited July 20, 2011 by LibraryLover

[ktgrok]

I noticed it at our libraries in Broward County, FL. I remember thinking the same way as you - but I was just as guilty! My kids would check out DVD/VHS and use the computers. I was the one with my own shelf with the hold books! In Broward County they had actually changed their mission statement to include this type of lending and other non-traditional library activities. (But in actuality there were plenty of books being checked-out.)

 

Wake County libraries in NC don't have dvds or music. I wish they did - at least educational ones!

 

So it is just Florida! Figures, lol.

 

I do check out DVD's sometimes myself, but people are literally checking out a dozen at a time. And they have to be returned in 7 days. And they have no books. I just feel bad for the kids....they are missing out on so much.

[Stacie Leigh]

Our old library was teeeeny and didn't have a ton of books, but they had a HUGE binder filled with titles of dvds you could borrow, most of them dramas and comedies straight from Hollywood. Very little educational material there!

 

We stick to books at the library and we usually have 3 bags or a laundry basket, lol!

[CourtneyBrooke]

Not here! There's always a long line, with three librarians working, to check out books. We have around 100 out every week or two, and I am always running into friends who have their own huge stack. We also get 1-2 DVD's per week :D

[LittleIzumi]

There is limit of 2 regular DVDs and 2 educational DVDs at my favorite library. The local library charges $1 per DVD for one week so we don't get any there if we can help it.

[LibraryLover]

So it is just Florida! Figures, lol.

 

I do check out DVD's sometimes myself, but people are literally checking out a dozen at a time. And they have to be returned in 7 days. And they have no books. I just feel bad for the kids....they are missing out on so much.

 

 

Not sure where in FL you are, but my dds and I are (partial) snowbirds in central FL. We school year-round. There are boatloads of kids in the two FL libraires we vist (one is near St Pete area, one more central). We've learned not to go there past 4 or so. It's insane. I get it, but once school gets out, those FL libraries are nowhere you want to be. :tongue_smilie: It looks like they are using the computers, looking at vids, checking out books; I don't know. I don't live there. I've never seen library runs in MA as I've seen in FL. "OMG, they are closing the library!!! There will never be another book available past *right this second*! Go!!!"

 

My experience in MA is not quite so frantic. lol

Edited July 20, 2011 by LibraryLover

[Dustybug]

It is like that at my local branch too. We frequent it so often we are on a first name basis with both of the librarians and they have actually commented to me that I'm one of the few that still comes in for BOOKS. They say Friday is the busiest day of the week because so many people come in to check out movies for the weekend. :glare:

[Margo out of lurking]

..

[Lady Florida.]

There's always a line at my library, and people in line always have their arms full of books. Current popular fiction and best sellers always have a waiting list, even when our library system has multiple copies. So it's not happening here- and I'm in Florida.

[kalanamak]

Every time I go there are people checking out stacks and stacks of DVDs, but no one has any books. At least the ones with kids don't. Just DVD's. I feel like the only one checking out actual factual children's books. Even my 1 year old gets board books each week.

 

There is always a line at my little library, but I have moved to a little town surrounded by bigger towns with a higher education level and income. My old library was much bigger and full of teens on computers, and never a line.

[swellmomma]

We get dvd's/vhs tapes twice a week usually, but that is because they are only good for 7 days, our books are due every 3 weeks, so unless we have finished with them early or are looking for something else with them in particular we only get new books every 2-3 weeks. I think in general in the library I frequent now very few people take anything out and if they do it is only 1-2 titles. I usually max out all 5 cards so I often have 200+ items out at a time, rotating in and out the door. So someone might see us at the library on a week we are only getting new dvds(We get lots of musicals, documentaries, and kids ones) it might look like we are a family that never takes out books, when in reality we have over 100+ at home being read already kwim.

[mom4him]

We get books every week. I see lots of people at our local libraries checking out books.

:iagree:

[Sevilla]

People check out tons of books at our library - in spite of it having a large play area, hehehehe.

[Brenda in FL]

Not sure where in FL you are, but my dds and I are (partial) snowbirds in central FL. We school year-round. There are boatloads of kids in the two FL libraires we vist (one is near St Pete area, one more central). We've learned not to go there past 4 or so. It's insane. I get it, but once school gets out, those FL libraries are nowhere you want to be. :tongue_smilie: It looks like they are using the computers, looking at vids, checking out books; I don't know. I don't live there. I've never seen library runs in MA as I've seen in FL. "OMG, they are closing the library!!! There will never be another book available past *right this second*! Go!!!"

 

My experience in MA is not quite so frantic. lol

 

Yes - it was like this in the Broward County libraries as well. Especially the one that was attached to a charter school!

[happi duck]

Our librarians keep track and were so sad when they saw that more movies than books get checked out. Parents sometimes refuse to check out books for their kids. :confused:

 

This morning we were at the library as they opened and saw them empty the overnight book return. They were all giddy that there were so many books!

[Aubrey]

I've never thought to look at what other people are checking out. :001_huh: But now I'm curious. :lol:

[Rosie_0801]

I've been feeling terribly embarrassed because I've become one of those mums who only checks out dvds!

 

Dd has been learning her letters and numbers, so I've been borrowing dvds for those things. There are a few different versions available, but most of them are dodgy so I have to borrow them all to figure out which the good one is.

 

She's also been interested in listening to chapter books being read aloud, so I'm reading some old favourites of mine instead of borrowing picture books.

 

But why did I confess to that? None of you here lurk in my local library :tongue_smilie:

 

Rosie

[readinmom]

Just came back from the library. After reading this post, I'd that the trend at ours is checking out mostly DVDs. I see the moms with a stack of DVDs and a picture book or two.

 

I only recently started letting ds 14 and dd 8 check out DVDs. They have all of the shark and animal documentaries that ds loves. We still check out a fair amount of books; hopefully, libraries will not go the way of our beloved bookstores.

[twoforjoy]

It seems that the majority of people at our library are there to use the internet computers.

 

This is definitely true at my branch library. But, the branch library really only has children's books, resources for the blind and visually impaired, and a single shelf of adult fiction, so that's not too surprising. It's really only kids and teens who check out books there, and most people do use it for the computers.

 

At the main branch, though, there's always lots of people checking out books.

[Mommee & Baba]

We have a VERY small library and still I see many families checking out stacks of books and an occasional dvd or 2. We do this as well though.

 

I think it must be the time or the location you go.

 

I have had to place a hold on a few children's books because they weren't available.

[SeekingSimplicity]

We have a small library, but I've seen older people come in and check out books. Younger people with children check out easy readers during summer reading. For the most part it's empty when I come in, except a person or 2 on the computers.

[Ksol]

I don't see that at our library either. My kids are each allowed to check out a movie on most visits. We also have problems getting what we want, but I've learned to utilize the online holds to secure books.

[Sahamamama]

Every time I go there are people checking out stacks and stacks of DVDs, but no one has any books. At least the ones with kids don't. Just DVD's. I feel like the only one checking out actual factual children's books. Even my 1 year old gets board books each week.

 

We check out TONS of books every week, and I see many older people checking out books (usually Large Print Mysteries, LOL). ;) But at our nine-branch system, the circulation staff do complain about the library turning into "Blockbuster." They don't seem to like the change.

 

OTOH, I have also detected a shift in the attitude of some librarians. They seem to be anti-book, as if that were possible. I can't quite put my finger on why I feel this way, except to say that our newer librarians don't seem to LOVE and ADORE actual books the way I remember older librarians loving them.

 

Here is a wonderful book -- [bOOK] :001_wub: (older librarian) -- "Oh, Book, oh thou Beauteous Book, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Shall I compare thee to a summer's day, or to a frigate to take me lands away...?"

 

 

Here is that same wonderful book -- [bOOK] :tongue_smilie:(newer librarian) -- "Oh, great, another book I have to find room for on those stupid dusty shelves. Can't we get this in a digital format? What's the date on this one? Nice, it's from 1953, I can throw it in the dumpster." :smash: proceeds to cast cartloads of classic, well-written children's books into the dumpster. :glare:

 

Oh, and the public is NOT allowed to "rescue" these books. I heard about one woman (not me!) who was so upset to see the books being thrown out (they were Landmarks), that she asked to have them. "No, they must be thrown into the dumpster."

 

She waited until they were in the dumpster, and then she CLIMBED INTO the dumpster to get them out. (Wow, that is loyal). Anyway, a library staff person saw her, called the county sheriff (because the library is a county thing), and she was literally arrested. Unreal.

[PiCO]

We get books every week. I see lots of people at our local libraries checking out books.

 

Same here. We have a pretty busy library. There are usually people on the internet computers and the research computers, but there's always people checking out books also.

 

I think it's great that public libraries provide free internet access for the general public. I've used it when my computer's on the blink!

[NanceXToo]

Haven't noticed that here.

[butterflymommy]

We have a number of library branches to choose from that are within driving distance. I've noticed in the libraries in the poorer neighborhoods most of the people are there to use the internet. The book collection at those libraries has been cut in half-- the shelves are practically bare. I still see people checking out books, and there are holds, but not huge amount. DVDs are popular.

 

In the wealthier neighborhoods, there is less internet usage and more book borrowing (DVDs popular there too). In those branches the shelves are still full.

 

My sister uses a library in a poor neighborhood and she says that the library has been transformed into something of an internet cafe for the homeless.

[Mom0012]

When my kids were little, we always had 100 books checked out at a time. Once we started using SL, I really dropped off on checking books out of the library during the school year for the kids because they don't have as much time to read between schoolwork, activities and their SL reading. In the summer, I check out lots of fun reads for them that are NOT historical fiction.:001_smile:

 

Throughout the entire year, we check out dvds because we do not have any television reception at home other than Netflix.

 

I often feel guilty checking out more dvds instead of books, but I've got a ton of books at home already for my kids to read.

 

Lisa

[Crissy]

We visit several libraries in our county system (which was recently named Library Journal's Library of the Year).

I notice many more books going out the door than discs of any kind regardless of which branch we visit.

[Ellyndria]

I always see people coming in and just checking out DVDs. I also see parents limiting their kid to checking out 1 or 2 books. (We have a 50 book limit per card.) However, I know a lot of books still get checked out, as I see them on the hold shelves and on the carts ready for reshelving.