I've only got 2 more books in the series I'm reading, so I requested the next 3 from my local library. There are 2 more after that, but I'll have to request one from inter-library loan from another branch of the same (county) library. I'm not sure what I'll do about the other. I will have to check and see if Houston or one of the other larger systems has it. There are some others I'd like to read as well, but I'm going to hold off on those until I finish this series. I also have my eye on a few crafts books that can give me some ideas for things I can make and sell for the holidays. Does anyone else use the library?
I used to, but our library is only open a few hours a week now, and I can never remember when that is. Particularly, I enjoyed the library for its inter-library loan policies, since that allowed me to research towns several states away without having to actually travel there.
I used the inter-library loan system quite a bit when I was in graduate school, rather than having to drive all over creation, which in Texas can be quite far. Houston has a huge library system, and the county's is large as well, but so spread out that it could take a few days to receive the items requested. My local branch actually has a drive through window! They have quite a few programs for toddlers, and also for computer training. Does your library have electronic loans? Maybe you could e-borrow, instead of having to worry about the actual site hours?
I would guess that the library system in a place as large as Houston would certainly have an online library, @Diane Lane. In fact, I am pretty sure that @Ina I. Wonder uses the online library, and she might be able to explain it better to you since you and she are in the same general area. You might want to just pm her about doing that, and she can tell you what she does to connect. I have a library card, and am connected with our library here. However, I mostly read things online and have not borrowed anything from the library for so long now that I do not remember exactly how mine works. Look on your tablet in the app store for an app called "Overdrive", and that is how I entered the information about my library, and once you have all that in there, you should be able to start checking out books. Possibly, we even had a thread on that topic if you do a search for it here on the forum. It seems to me like we talked about it (quite a while back, maybe before you got here), and if so, there might be something more helpful in that thread, too.
I use the library on a regular basis. I have seven books checked out now and this weekend Friends of the Library had a large bookseller at the library. I bought four books, my wife bought six, but many people were buying sacks of books. The library has always been one of my favorite and most used places. I read somewhere this: "The world is a book and those that do not travel read only one page." I know it's not the same but I travel through books and stories from others who do travel.
I already use Overdrive. I've been using it for years, since I moved down here and signed up for a county library card. I'm not sure if the Houston Public Library uses it also, but the county one definitely does. It's not the most straightforward app, but at least it works. I've checked out books electronically before, but I'm referring to ones that aren't in the county library. I'm not near Houston, although I do have a Houston Public Library card from when I did live up there, assuming it hasn't expired. Most of the libraries for the small towns around here are on the inter-library loan system, but they don't automatically show on the system. Within the county, I can see which sites have the books I need, and then request them. The county I'm in is larger than the state of Rhode Island, so rather than driving all over creation, it's best to request the items via the library system and let them be brought here. I requested the ones that are actually at my branch, but they're still not in my queue. I was hoping to pick them up later when I run errands, but I might have to make a special trip later .
Libraries have been culled appallingly in the UK in the past thirty years and are still closing. I must concede that I don't use them very often as I am lucky enough to have a decent collection of books, but not everyone has that luxury. Thankfully, my own town's local library is still open and I have been grateful for that as I have needed to use the internet on occasions while my home is being repaired.