Mastodawn

Nabil-Fareed Alikhan Jan 5, 2023

I see more and more paywalls on websites. Fed up with this, I have restarted getting in touch with my local library. They've definitely improved over the last few years. Theres the standard physical services we know and love but also access to a multitude of ebooks, audiobooks, online periodicals.

E.g. my library account gives me free access to pressreader, a catalogue of 6000 publications from around the world. And I'm happily reading "science illustrated" with no ads, no fuss.

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Nabil-Fareed Alikhan Jan 5, 2023

"Libraries aren't just a place to obtain books for free. They're one of the few public spaces left in our society where you're allowed to exist without the expectation of spending money."

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MsMerope Jan 6, 2023

@happykhan lol... our libraries have books you have to rent, and charge various fees for other things. Maybe that's changed... I haven't used a public library in decades.

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Irina

@MsMerope @happykhan In the Netherlands, too. The adult fee in our local library is 5 euros a month (used to be more but I think it was driving people away) with adjustments for people who really can't afford it. (I don't have a library card any more because of policy changes ~20 years ago, and I'm wondering whether I want to come back but I'm not looking forward to carrying a library card with my legal name on it)