# Do you go to the library less now that you have a Kindle?



## Cindy Borgne (Mar 21, 2011)

I find that I hardly go at all since I discovered the Kindle, and yesterday evening I saw a report on the news that many libraries may close because of the economy. So far, even though I live in Michigan, the libraries have remained open. Are any closing where you live? Do you go less now that you have a Kindle?


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

It wasn't the Kindle that first stopped me from going to the library. I moved and the library is further away. It began to be difficult to get books back on time. 

Then I started going just to buy the cheap books. Any time I can buy a book for $1 or less, I'm there. 

Even after I got my K, I went to the library to take my mother. One time she fell, and she hasn't wanted to go back since. 

The libraries here haven't closed, but they have cut back on their hours and staff.


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## Arthur Slade (Jan 20, 2011)

I think it was google that cut into my library time. Most of my research can be found online and right at my fingertips. And many of the "old" books are searchable now.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Waaaaaaaaaaay less.  I used to go every other week or so.  I don't go at all now.  I think my card expired in Oct...I really need to go through.  I have some good friends who work there and I've ignored them!  Shame!


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## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

I manly go since my wife likes to get DVDs from there.  Neither of us can read the hardback books due to health issues.  Books are heavy to read and can be a problem.

I still like to look at all the sharp interesting covers.  If I find something I like, I see if I can buy it on Amazon.

I rarely read even a paperback any more.


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## Cindy Borgne (Mar 21, 2011)

The last time I went there was about 6 months ago to get a DVD. The place was packed and I always see the parking lot full. I think a lot of people go just for the free internet.


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## gina1230 (Nov 29, 2009)

I never go to the library anymore.  I expect that to change once the kindle can check out ebooks, though I still won't have to "go" to a library.


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## RobynB (Jan 4, 2011)

Yes, waaaay less. Can't remember the last time, which is too bad. I need to remedy that, methinks.


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## Julia444 (Feb 24, 2011)

I am sad to say that I go to the library much less than I used to.  I say sad because A) We have two BEAUTIFUL libraries in my town, and I used to enjoy just walking around and enjoying the ambience, and B) I really liked all of the library staff; they were knowledgable and always friendly.

Libraries have been closing for years, especially in smaller towns that can't fund them.  They are dwindling like the polar bears.

The bigger library in my town, a multi-million dollar extravaganza with an aquarium built into the wall of the children's section and thought-provoking quotations by famous authors stencilled all over the walls, looks like the Sydney Opera House and is lit up all night long.  I dread to think what it costs to keep it running.

But I think I stopped going to it less because of my Kindle and more because there was minimal parking.  

Julia


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## valleycat1 (Mar 15, 2011)

I cut way back for awhile when I first got the Kindle (3 mos ago) but am beginning to go more now - I read a LOT of books and need to budget my purchases.  Of course, with K books I can buy more for the same bucks.  But a lot of the fast reads and older books in series are just as easy for me to get at the library. I also read magazines there.

I'll also be going there more frequently for awhile because I'm clearing out a large portion of my DTBs and donating them to the library & their used bookstore.  They're going to miss that source of free books once I'm done!

I've found my bookstore trips have a different focus - the hard copies I bought recently are a book of photographs, a book on design with lots of drawings & color, and a gorgeous book of poems to share with the grandkids.


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## Stefanswit (May 9, 2011)

What's a library?


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## Straker (Oct 1, 2010)

I was never much of a library person even in my pre-K3 days. I like to be able to start or stop a book any time I want without the pressure of a deadline. Of course, I was fortunate that I could afford to buy the books I wanted, new or used.

I think the days when every city and town has its own library are rapidly coming to a close. In future I expect you'll see library systems run at the state level, possibly incorporating the resources of the public college & university libraries as well.


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## Montana Mills (May 6, 2011)

I still love the library, but I mostly get audiobooks for listening in the car.


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## PraiseGod13 (Oct 27, 2008)

I definitely go to the library less now that I've been a Kindle owner.  Our library is quite a distance, and with the high cost of gas these days, two round trips to the library to get a book and return it can be costly.  I would prefer to read exclusively on my Kindle since it's so much easier on my eyes etc., but there are still books that I want to read but can't afford them for my Kindle.  So, I'm still a library patron too.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

It hasn't impacted me going. I generally don't check out fiction books (prefer to buy them), so the only books I'm taking out are for historical research. i.e. I just took out several books on armour in the middle ages, as I'm a LARPer and am trying to find ideas for how my under and over chain mail outfit should look.

ebooks just can't offer what I need for that


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

I was visiting the library every week until I began buying/reading ebooks, but I haven't been back in many months now.

And my wife says the library's ebook system isn't up to snuff yet, so she isn't using it at all.


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## ice-9 (Dec 7, 2010)

Does Overdrive count?  If so, I've been "visiting" the library quite often.  If not, well...


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## tim290280 (Jan 11, 2011)

Stefanswit said:


> What's a library?


It's a place where trees go to die.

My local librarian made the comment to me the other day "Oh, you haven't been in for a fair while." I didn't want to tell her that I had been seeing other sources of books, so I said I had been busy with writers' festivals and my own writing. I <3 Kindle.


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## Sam Rivers (May 22, 2011)

I went to the library yesterday and was talking to the librarian.  I was telling her that I had some novels published on Amazon.  She brought it up on her computer and asked which one that she thought she should buy.  I suggested the Reincarnation of Julie and Other Short Stories for $.99.  So she said she was going to buy that one.

So it seems that librarians are interested in Kindle books too and are interested when we talk to them about the Kindle.


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## Tess St John (Feb 1, 2011)

Montana Mills said:


> I still love the library, but I mostly get audiobooks for listening in the car.


I forget about that...I need to go by the library!


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

I used to go to the library pretty regularly. Occasionally I go because I special order books from other library systems for research that aren't on Kindle. Non-fiction is the only thing that takes me back to the library, I'm afraid and I have a librarian in the family who isn't happy about that fact.


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## Alle Meine Entchen (Dec 6, 2009)

I still go to the library, just not to get books.  One of my very good friends is a librarian, so we walk down and visit her.  As for getting books from the library, well, it stopped around the time I got my K2, but it wasn't just my K2's fault.  I had a baby in May and got my K2 in Dec.  The library has virtually no parking and is only 1/2 mile walk.  There is no way I'm taking a newborn out in Dec.  That's why I stopped getting books from the library.


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## tim290280 (Jan 11, 2011)

Franklin Eddy said:


> I went to the library yesterday and was talking to the librarian. I was telling her that I had some novels published on Amazon. She brought it up on her computer and asked which one that she thought she should buy. I suggested the Reincarnation of Julie and Other Short Stories for $.99. So she said she was going to buy that one.
> 
> *So it seems that librarians are interested in Kindle books too* and are interested when we talk to them about the Kindle.


Going out on a limb here but, I think it might be because they like to read.


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## hs (Feb 15, 2011)

I'm glad my library didn't close, although they did cut back on the number of hours open. I still go as often as before, but I borrow more DVDs than books. As much as I like the Kindle, there's still something comforting about carrying around a paperback.


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## cork_dork_mom (Mar 24, 2011)

PEOPLE!!! Go to the library - best bang for your tax buck. 

Yes, I work in a library - have for over 20 yrs. As has happened in the past, libraries are the first thing on the budget chopping block and the last to have funding increased in better times. Yet we make do. Seems now there are more "have nots" and with everything being computer based there is an even greater need for libraries. People come in to apply for a job and see that we have new release movies FOR FREE and kids programs FOR FREE and much more.

[climbing off my soap box] I am a Kindle fanatic but I am tightning my budget (what is up with the price of groceries ?! ) so when I reach the end of the books on Mabel (my K) I go old school and bring home books.


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

Last summer, I went to the library a lot because I was nannying 3 kids and I loved the programs they had going on there. This summer, I signed up for the summer reading program, but I haven't been going nearly as much. If I hear about a book I really want to read and it's too expensive on the Kindle, I'll usually check it out from the library, but I definitely don't go as much as I used to.


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## NapCat (retired) (Jan 17, 2011)

i actually have been going to our local rural library more.....donating books as I weed my bookshelves.


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## Gone 9/21/18 (Dec 11, 2008)

More. My Kindle actually helps me choose library books, and I put holds on them and so it's much easier to get what I want without spending time staring at shelves of books spine out. I'm one of those on-a-budget cheap folks who doesn't buy agency priced books (but who keeps right on reading them for free).


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## Tamara Rose Blodgett (Apr 1, 2011)

Pre-Kindle (Sep/2010) I used the library as a great excuse to get my kids and I to spend time together. We'd go in there and browse, get a coffee (hot chocolate for them), make the whole "reading thing," into a special treat. Now, everyone has Kindles(we hardly ever go)  and it's more difficult to carve that time out. I will miss libraries if they close and I hope they don't because there are people that cannot afford a DR and still wish to read! When all my boys were little and the whole FAM was reading, the library kept us in books! Great establishment!


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## herocious (May 20, 2011)

I still go to the library and am always satisfied before/during/after the visit. I love perusing my local library's new fiction section. More often than not I find some beautifully designed small press books and leave with some good reading to pile next to my bed.


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## scl (Feb 19, 2011)

I went to the library about every week before I got my Kindle about 7 months ago.  I've been once since, to bring back a pile of books that I hadn't gotten to as I was reading on the Kindle.  I've bought a couple of reference books since then, but my fiction buying and reading has shifted from the library to the Kindle.  I do miss walking through the stacks looking for inspiration.  The Kindle is just too convenient a way to bring my reading with me to work in my lunchbox.  It's a 25 mile round trip to the library, so at the forty or fifty cents a mile it costs to operate a car I figure I can read a lot of 99 cent novels and still come out ahead financially.


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## grahampowell (Feb 10, 2011)

I discovered years ago that there were many, many books I wanted to read, but didn't necessarily want to keep around the house forever.  So I go to the library pretty regularly.

I hesitate to admit it, but for the most part I only get books on the Kindle that I can't get in print.


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## 9Lanterns (Jun 11, 2011)

Way less.  Like, never.  I just took my library card out of my wallet last week.  Why was I still carrying that thing around?

It's strange how fast the whole "library" concept has become archaic.  What a weird idea, driving somewhere and awkwardly searching shelves for some random chunk of paper that I have to lug around everywhere.  Yeah, it's free, but with ebook prices being what they are (and the idea of free samples), it's so worth it for the convenience.


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## Tara Maya (Nov 4, 2010)

I envy those who say they read books only or mostly from the library. I wonder what on earth they read. My local library hasn't carried 9 of every 10 books I want or need to read since I was in sixth grade. In fact, the only reason I go to the library these days is to check out books for my kids. I like reading to them in the kids section, surrounded by books.


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## Cindy Borgne (Mar 21, 2011)

One problem I had with the library (before the Kindle came along) is that if the book I wanted was popular there were always long waiting lists and not enough copies to go around.


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## tristanlindsay (Feb 4, 2011)

For some reason the library near me is not open on weekends or is only open until 1:00 or something. They close at 5:00 on weekdays so I have to take a vacation day from work if I ever want to visit. Couple this with the fact that they are not intuitive in the least and I am not surprised that they are on the way out. Most of the public just uses them for their DVDs anyway...

What they need to do is combine libraries with another soon to shuttered business: The local Barnes and Noble.

If libraries were less industrialized and positioned more as cozier, homier places to go and read I think they could come back. College students have been doing their homework in Barnes and Noble for decades. Whereas it used to be done in the library. If the two were combined as a sort of readers paradise where you could either check out free books or buy them off the rack, both business could survive and they'd make a killing off the coffee shop.


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## 4Katie (Jun 27, 2009)

I go much less - never, in fact. I don't even visit book stores anymore, and that used to be one of my favorite things. Now I shop on Amazon. I can read reviews and sample books. Can't beat that!


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## Ryne Billings (May 15, 2011)

I don't really go to the library anymore. In fact, I didn't even go before I got my Kindle. The library where I live always had a poor selection, so my reading habits after I got out of high school relied on buying books occasionally. I did go to the college library a few times, but I read all the books from there that I was interested in.


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## MichelleStimpson (May 29, 2011)

Gertie Kindle 'a/k/a Margaret Lake' said:


> It wasn't the Kindle that first stopped me from going to the library. I moved and the library is further away. It began to be difficult to get books back on time.
> 
> Then I started going just to buy the cheap books. Any time I can buy a book for $1 or less, I'm there.
> 
> ...


I always had a hard time getting books back to the library. My library is actually pretty close, but I was too lazy to get books back on time. For what I paid in fines, I could have bought the ebook versions.

Sorry to hear about your mom - hope she's okay


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## Cindy Borgne (Mar 21, 2011)

I can relate to being either too busy or too lazy to take books back to library. Then you have those pesky overdue fees.


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## Tris (Oct 30, 2008)

I still go to the library a lot even with my Kindle.  Like many other posters here, I still go there for my new releases, DVDs, books I'm not sure I want to buy, or books that are too expensive at the Kindle store.  Due to my financial situation right now, I'm using my library even more!  Yes, I am guilty of those pesky little overdue fees (how quickly 10 cents add up), but overall I like my library.  

My library system in my county is awesome, and I am a bit surprised to hear about library closings or cut back hours in other places.  My library system just won some library association award as the best library in the country...or library of the year.  We've got a couple new branches, and many of the really old ones are being remodeled and more ecologically and power efficient.  Two of the libraries closest to me are recently remodeled and are much nicer, and I feel lucky that I've got two libraries so close by.  Though my favorite branch is still a bit more farther off, but it's still in the same city.  What I also appreciate is what we call "library connection" where there is a tiny mini-library in high traffic/popular areas like a local mall which makes it much easier to do all of your errands like grocery shopping (this mall has an attached grocery store, large pet store, etc.) and you can do it all in one place at one go.  Parking might be a bit of a hassle at certain times, but in general, it's not bad.  As for materials, they have everything I want and look for...so no problem.  I love my library and proud of them.  So I don't think I can give it up as it works in my own personal reading system hand in hand with my Kindle.  

In fact, I've got a large stack of books and half of them are DTB that are from the library as well as being on my Kindle.  Which reminds me, I need to make a quick trip to the library today and get going on my library book reading.

Tris


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## Cindy Borgne (Mar 21, 2011)

Even though I don't go to the library much anymore, I agree that we need libraries and hate the idea of them being closed or cutting back on hours. I live in Michigan where the economy is especially bad. The libraries are packed, and so far I haven't heard of any cutbacks here. The library near us has a section where they sell old books cheap for only one or two dollars. Sometimes I find good stuff in there...mainly for my daughter who is eleven.


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## 4Katie (Jun 27, 2009)

> Last summer, I went to the library a lot because I was nannying 3 kids and I loved the programs they had going on there.


When my kids were little, going to the library was such a treat for all of us. I look forward to having that experience with grandchildren someday.


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## EliRey (Sep 8, 2010)

I remember going all the time and that giddy feeling of walking out with 5-7 new books to read. Sadly, ever since I moved to a city where the library is sooo small I started going less and less. Now that I use my kindle app on my phone to read. It's been years since I've gone.


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## SaraYork (May 3, 2011)

Our library is well funded. I haven't used the library to check books out for myself in a while. Usually it's just kids books.


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## JMcGhee (Oct 31, 2010)

I read books almost exclusively on my Kindle now, but only because I never return my library books on time and ran up about $50 worth of fines in the last year.  Plus, with school, I barely had any time to read, anyway.  The books on Kindle were free or very cheap.  I go to the library if I want several books on a specific topic and don't want to buy them, but I use Kindle for checking out new fiction from unknown authors, which is enjoyable.


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## Gertie Kindle (Nov 6, 2008)

There are three libraries in my area and I go to one or the other of them nearly every day. They are always packed with people either using the computers, checking out/returning books or sitting and reading.


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## QuantumIguana (Dec 29, 2010)

I go more often. I've begun reading more since I got the Kindle, but that doesn't mean I am going to read all of my books as e-books. Sometimes not going anywhere is nice, but quite often I like to get out of the house. And I won't pay for the convenience of an e-book if I can read it for free from the library.


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## stormhawk (Apr 29, 2009)

My having a Kindle hasn't changed my library habits, other than the likelihood that I'll rejoin so that I'm able to get library books on my Kindle when the deal is finalized. 

What really changed my library habits was having sufficient income to buy as many books as I wanted to read.

Then there's the matter of my library essentially being a "city" library ... not a great neighborhood, iffy parking, and it's a hangout for the homeless rather than the sanctuary that my childhood (and young adulthood) libraries represented.


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## Cardinal (Feb 24, 2010)

Before Kindle I went to the library for DVDs.

After Kindle I go to the library for books that are priced too high as eBooks.

One of the library systems around me has cut back hours and is letting employees go, the other is cutting back days.


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## Joseph Robert Lewis (Oct 31, 2010)

Cardinal said:


> Before Kindle I went to the library for DVDs.
> 
> After Kindle I go to the library for books that are priced too high as eBooks.
> 
> One of the library systems around me has cut back hours and is letting employees go, the other is cutting back days.


I worry a little about libraries shutting down. The people who need libraries the most, both for books/movies and for computer access, are the folks who probably won't have Kindles any time soon. I hope that libraries can evolve into a new type of community resource that won't be negatively impacted by ebooks.


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## Anita (Jan 3, 2009)

I don't think I go any less.  As much as I love my kindle and prefer e-books to paper, I still find the library to be a very useful resource.    I was just there yesterday to pick up a couple of cookbooks.

I use the library to preview a book that I'm not sure I want to buy. There are some books I want to read for which I'm just not willing to pay the publishers price - so I head to the library.  I get DVDs and audio books from the library (even though I have an Audible subscription).

The library in my town doesn't have a huge selection but it is one of 22 libraries in a system and I can view the library catalog online and have the book sent from any branch in the system to a branch near me.  I was bummed when the library cut their hours because of a lack of funding last year.  But the voters approved a new library levy and the hours are back to normal now and that makes me very happy   

When I was a child, and later as an unemployed adult, the library was my link to the world of books, movies, music and computers that I could not afford to purchase.  I think there will be people who need services that libraries can provide for a long time to come.  I will do what I can to support them - including keeping their materials in circulation


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## Todd Young (May 2, 2011)

I certainly don't go as much as I used to. The only time I go is when there's a book I want to read that isn't available in a kindle version.


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## Adam Kisiel (Jun 20, 2011)

I tend to go a lot less.


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## Jeff Rivera (Jun 22, 2011)

I think I can honestly say that I've been going to the library a lot less before even owning a Kindle. Before the Kindle I liked to own my books and not have to worry about returning them or late fees.


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## JFHilborne (Jan 22, 2011)

I visit the library far less since I bought my Kindle, but I do still go from time to time just to wander among rows and rows of books and see what readers are interested in.


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## ginaf20697 (Jan 31, 2009)

WAY MORE! Ever since I got my Kindle I have discovered so many new authors and books. I can pound through a book a day though so there is no way I am buying that many books. Most stuff I'm not going to reread anyway so it's silly to buy it but I do occasionally buy a book that I took out of the library first.


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