#ReadingMyLibrary Challenge: Week One Update

Posted April 5, 2015 by Cristina (Girl in the Pages) in Challenges / 9 Comments

rmlc-komikaThis is my first update for the #ReadingMyLibrary Challenge hosted by Stefani @ Caught Read Handed and Amy @ Read What I Like. You can check out my sign up post here. It was a short first week, and I was out of town until Friday so I really only started two days ago! Luckily, I was able to pick up my first library hold on my challenge TBR Friday afternoon, The Wrong Side of Right by Jenn Marie Thorne.

wrongsideofrightI have to say I’m really enjoying this one so far. It’s marketed as being similar to Meg Cabot’s Princess Diaries series in the sense that it’s about a girl who finds out she’s related to powerful people- in this case the Republican presidential candidate. It’s got that modern-fairytale charm about a girl entering a new, glamorous (at times) world while curbing the label of “fluffy” as it really captures the feel of what it’s like to be behind the scenes of a high stakes political campaign (or at least I imagine it does, I’ve never been on one).

Stefani @ Caught Read Handed has been noting in her weekly updates how much money she’s saved by checking out books for the challenge from the library, and I thought it was a great idea! According to Amazon, I saved $14.58 by checking this out from the library.

Each week during the challenge, there is a topic chosen to discuss. This week’s topic is:

Tell us a little about your library (include a picture if you can!)

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The YA section at my local library branch- small but dedicated!

FullSizeRender(1)So I’ve mentioned on the blog before that I recently moved last year, and thus had to sign up for a new library card in my new county. My new local library is small, and at first I was disappointed. My hometown where I grew up had large, beautiful libraries (for a suburb, anyways) that were open 7 days a week. When I went off to college I joined my local library in that county, which was also very large (and my local branch was the main branch which also doubled as a historical center for the town, so it was pretty big with a very large YA selection).

However, once I started utilizing my new library system I found there were things that I liked about its small size. Though it often took longer for new releases to be ordered (due to budget constraints) there was much less of a wait time when you placed a hold on those books. The librarians at my local library are also younger and seem to be really in touch with YA, and they always put extra touches in the YA section for holidays and events (such as “Blind Date with a Book” for Valentine’s Day when they wrapped books up in paper bags with just a few plot points on the front so you’re surprised when you get home, or places where you can cast your vote for your favorite recent YA release). I think the small atmosphere allows the librarians to really get involved with the content they have and get to know the patrons better. There’s also a larger branch not too much farther away that I’ll head to if I want a bigger selection that day or a place to study, as they have more desk space and study rooms.

Unfortunately, there’s been talk about closing down our county’s library system due to budget issues that started in 2008 during the recession. They’ve already closed 2 branches and most branches are only open 4-5 days a week with shorter hours (which was a real shock to me coming from counties where libraries were open 7 days a week until 8 or 9pm). I think it would be so harmful to the community if we were to lose our library, and thankfully this challenge made me aware that these issues were happening, and has encouraged me to get involved with my local library and see how I can support them staying open.

Are you participating in the #ReadingMyLibrary challenge?

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9 responses to “#ReadingMyLibrary Challenge: Week One Update

  1. I find that there are times when I appreciate both my small library and bigger libraries I can visit. They both have things about them that I love and things I…don’t like as much. I really hope your library is able to stay open for you! Keep us updated on that.
    Looking forward to your final thoughts on The Wrong Side of Right. I’ve been interested in that one for a while.

    • Thanks! I really hope it doesn’t close, I know so many kids use it as a resource for books, and adults too as a resource for computer classes, access to computers to apply for jobs, meeting places for organizations, etc! The threat of a possible closure really makes you realize how important libraries are!

  2. This is so awesome. I don’t use the library as much as I should these days. Our town is quite small and I find I lack patience to wait for a book a month or more that I could have sent to me in two days with free shipping.

    But our local libraries do so much in our communities it’s really wonderful, and I think this week (or next?) is National Library Week.

    Anyway, this challenge is really cool and I look forward to seeing more.

    • Thanks for the heads up about National Library Week! 🙂 Since my library is smaller I do sometimes have to wait longer for holds to come in, but my TBR is usually so full anyways that I have plenty to read while I wait, and more often than not all of my holds come in at once!

  3. I love the YA section of your library. It looks super cute and cozy. I really hope your library doesn’t close. Ours is so important in our community too and I don’t even know what many people would do without it. Since I work at a library I love this post even more, so happy you are exploring yours even more. I also don’t have a lot of money and that is why I love using the library as well. lol

    Love your new header. 😀

    • Thank you! 🙂 The libraries have really come together to raise awareness in our community about how important they are and I really hope more people step up to help advocate for them so hours stop getting cut and branches stop shutting down!

  4. Amy

    So sorry that I am late in checking in, busy weekend… Anyway, cute library and I love all your thoughts on how you love small libraries. It is a different type of service, but you are right I think we get to know our patrons better! Then again I might be bias. Thanks for sharing.

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