Libraries and Books in 2023
by Isabel Schechter
Are
we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?
For
those of you who took family car trips when you were younger, or those of you
riding in a carpool to WisCon, the wait to get to your destination on those
trips was interminable. Time moved at a glacial pace. Fast forward to today when
the book you have on hold at the library still hasn’t come in, and the wait is
also interminable. Time is once again moving at a glacial pace.
Rather
than waiting for the book, you could just buy it (from an independent bookstore,
of course) and get it today, but that may not be a financial option for you. If
it’s a popular book, friends who may own the book might be reading their copy
and can’t lend it to you until they are done, and your friends who don’t own it
may be the very people who have a hold on a library copy and are in line ahead
of you.
On
the other end of the time spectrum, your book club is meeting in just two weeks
and you still haven’t even gotten the book, and who knows if you will be able to
finish reading it before the book club happens? Apparently, time can move at a
glacial pace and so fast that it feels like you can’t keep up with it. How is
this possible?
Well,
as a science fiction fan, I am used to time running in multiple directions at
multiple speeds simultaneously, so I do the best I can to manage my impatience
with whichever way time is flowing by having library accounts in multiple
library systems.
I have an account with my San Diego city library system as well as the San Diego county library system (having both is permitted). In addition, although I am not a resident of Los Angeles, I am a California resident, and the Los Angeles city library system grants accounts to all California residents, so I also have an account with the Los Angeles city library system.
My
city library system has a shamefully small budget for books and materials (City
Councilmembers, I’m looking at you), which means there is a limited selection
of books, and a small number of copies of the books that are available. My
county library system has approximately three times the city system’s books and
materials budget (governing done right), which means my chances of getting a
book in a reasonable amount of time are much higher with the county than the
city.
Sadly
though, even with two systems, there are still not enough copies of all the
books I want. But I won’t let underfunded library systems stand between me and
my book club, so when I was recently in Los Angeles, I brought my driver’s
license and a utility bill, and viola, I now have a Los Angeles city library
account! This doesn’t mean that I am going to drive two hours to go to LA every
time I need a book, but I can put eBooks on hold and have an even greater
chance of getting the books I need.
So the next time you need a book and can’t get it from your local library, or your other local library, or your other not-local library, contact your elected officials and invite them to join your book club that’s happening in two weeks. And be sure to pick a book that has 347 holds on it.
Here are some suggestions of books I’ve gotten from the library:
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson
The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson
The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
Happy reading.
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