Green Daily

I love books, reading them as fast as I can get them. And I went through a stage of, gasp, buying them online because I just could not get my act together regarding the public library. I live in a county that advertises a sprawling county-wide system, which sounds really great on paper. Wow! Books from across the whole county! What this means is that the book you want is never at your local library and always has to be ordered and delivered from as far as 40 miles away. However, thanks to a recent credit card statement, I had a renewed commitment to work the system.

First round went well. I'm filling up my reusable bag with well-worn library books, feeling thrifty and green. The second round went, well, not-so-hot. A book I ordered did not show up, apparently "lost in transit," but here is the clincher. The books get checked out at the sending library. So the book was on my card, yet swimming around the bottom of a van somewhere. It then took at least two visits and an hour of heated phone calls to get the book removed from my card. The director of the library was, er, less than helpful, and I was definitely feeling a guilty-until-proven-innocent vibe.

So after a very short romance, I broke up with the public library system. I just could not do it. Procuring books started to feel like a part-time job, consuming time and patience I do not have to spare at this point in my life. So I returned to buying books online (paperbacks), and sent a letter to Santa asking for a Kindle under the Christmas tree. A girl can dream.

Do you use your public library system? How is it working for you? Leave us a comment too, expressing your love for your public library (or not)!