When we first moved to this town two years ago, I was excited to check out the library. That is, I was excited until I actually saw the library. First off, the library is tiny, but that isn't necessarily detrimental. However, the stock here is very disappointing. I could hardly find anything when I initially got my card, so I didn't renew it. I decided to give it another try today and had more success. However, I did notice some things. First, there are a lot of shelves that are only half-full, especially in the fiction section. Second, they don't seem to like keeping the entirety of a series on the shelves. For example, I found books 3 and 4 of a series I want to read, but not 1 and 2. In fact, 1 and 2 are not even in their catalog! I don't know if they just don't have the funding to keep up a good collection or if there are other factors involved. Were some of the books just never returned to the library? Is someone with not so great taste choosing the books? Am I merely a library snob? These are all points to ponder. In any case, I did find six books, though I'm going to have to scrabble to find the first two books of one series and the first book for another. Here is what I found:
Clockwise from top left:
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr
Faefever by Karen Marie Moning
Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning
Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
I later went back to pick up
Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr when I discovered that it was, indeed, on the shelves. Apparently, I had just missed it!
I've been thinking about libraries lately and I'm thinking I will write a post on them soon. The problem I see, is that libraries are receiving less funding and small libraries really suffer. So when they buy books, they have to choose. It seems they either buy only NYT bestsellers or books that older patrons enjoy. Or tons of romance novels.
ReplyDeleteYou are most definitely right on that last point. There is an inordinate amount of western and romance novels in our library. I saw hardly anyone checking out books. Most were using the computers. It makes me wonder what would happen if more people begin to read and patronize the library. Would the funding increase if there were to be more pressures for improvement or would things stagnate further and drive people away again? There are so many questions that it boggles the mind.
ReplyDeletesucks about the library. That really makes it difficult to read anything. Thanks for letting me know what you think about S&S and Sea Monsters. I probably won't be reading P&P Zombies if it wasn't for book club. Can't wait to see your review on Faefever!!
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