Stefan BohacekApr 19

Happy National Library Week!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Library_Week

#libraries #NationalLibraryWeek #LibraryWeek #books #reading #bookstodon

JASMINEa 🌞Apr 19
Show threadStefan Bohacek

There honestly can't be said enough about how important #libraries are. In today's world, they truly sound utopian.

A place where you can go for free, to gain knowledge? To get access to services? Without someone trying to make money off of you?

Wild!

If you don't already have a library card, go get yourself one this week. And if/when you do, check out what services your local library offers. Community events, borrowing of musical instruments, free access to newspapers and magazines.

Apr 19 at 2:11pmWeb
Show threadStefan BohacekApr 19

And instead of asking ChatGPT, you can literally just ask a librarian!

https://ask.loc.gov/faq/420132

https://www.bklynlibrary.org/bal

https://library.nyu.edu/ask/

https://www.njstatelib.org/research_library/ask_a_librarian/

#librarians #libraries

What is Ask a Librarian? - Ask a Librarian

Show threadJust a Mr BillApr 19
@stefan And when you ask a librarian, you can be confident that what they tell you is accurate and based on sources that exist!
Show threadStefan BohacekApr 19
@billd Exactly!
Show threadAxomamma, Antifa from birthApr 19
@stefan I've been a transcriptionist of legal matters since the old days - the 1980s - before the internet. I would call the Boston Public on my landline (poor bastards, it's all we had) to ask what word someone was saying based on "it sounds like this" and "the context is such-and-such." They were able to help me out 100% of the time. Except nights and weekends.
Show threadJoe CrawfordApr 19
@stefan From Bruce Sterling, 1992. https://smorgasborg.artlung.com/bruce-sterling/free_as_knowledge/
Free as Air, Free As Water, Free As Knowledge

Show threadDoreen32128 ready to rumble!Apr 19
@stefan I volunteer at our local library in Daytona Beach, FL. It is amazing what they have to offer! I get all my audio books from them via Hoopla!
Show threadStefan BohacekApr 19
@Doreen32128 That's really awesome!
Show threadwikiyuApr 19
@stefan
place where you can spend time without being forced to spend any money...
you can just sit and wait for time to pass....
Show threadStefan BohacekApr 19
@wikiyu So rare these days!
Show threadIrinaApr 19
@stefan Note that libraries aren't free everywhere. In NL they're only free for under 27. I (much over 27) pay 5 euros a month for unlimited access. Still cheap, though.
Show threadStefan BohacekApr 19
@irina Definitely worth it!
Show threadTerryBApr 20
@stefan Which is why certain groups hate them. Free information for the workers?!! Horror!!
Show threadChris CorriganApr 25
@stefan our library has a Med Shed. Literally a shed in the parking lot full of medical equipment like crutches and leg boots and walkers and canes and wheelchairs that folks can borrow for as long as they need them.
Show threadStefan BohacekApr 25
@ChrisCorrigan That is very thoughtful! Libraries really can do everything!
Show threadLayne 💫Apr 25

@ChrisCorrigan @stefan That's awesome!

Relatedly in "things libraries have, but that few people know about", many libraries also have "makerspaces" where you can use sewing machines, 3D printers, etc. or a "library of things" with tools and items for hobbies like sports equipment, and there are some projects that turn them into foodsharing points with community fridges as well.

Libraries offer a lot more these days than just books!

Show threadChris CorriganApr 25

@glittercleric @stefan Yup. Ours is just a teeny tiny little island library, but you can borrow birdwatching kits, DVD and CD players, telescopes, tongue drums, robotics kits, radon detectors and seeds. You have to return them all of course, including the seeds which you do by harvesting from the flower or vegetable you grew with them.

Anyway, here is our library of things: https://bowenlibrary.ca/library-of-things/

Library of Things | Bowen Island Public Library