Library Conundrum

It’s paint city over here in Newhouseville. Being a new homeowner means there’s lot and lots of work to be done. Lots and lots of work to be done means hardly any extra time for reading. This is a blessing and a curse. It’s a curse because, well duh, I can’t read as much! But, it’s a blessing because I still can’t figure out what to do about my library situation. I absolutely adore my library, the Washington-Centerville Public Library. They have an awesome selection of books and media. It’s unmatched! I most especially like the Express Book and DVD sections. These have allowed me to check out the newest acquisitions without having to wait on the hold list for them. Very convenient. Also convenient is the ability to request books online. While I once roamed the stacks looking for titles that caught my eye and desperately trying to remember which books I had heard were good to read, I can now just search for a book right then and there. If it’s ready, then it’ll just be waiting for me at the counter! If I have to wait, it notifies me when the book is available. I LOVE this feature. Huge time saver. I’m going to attribute a large part of my high book counts to this. What an aid in hitting my 50 books a year goal. I could go on and on about my library worshipping. I have been with this library more than 5 years. I first discovered the Woodbourne branch at my very first apartment upon moving to Dayton. As I moved to a nicer neighbor, I found a second branch of this same library family. What luck!

Alas, I am at a crossroads. Whereas, it used to take me approximately 7 minutes to get to the library, from the house it will now take me 15 entire minutes, and that’s without any traffic. If I were to head over there say around 5:00pm on a weekday, forget it! 20+ minutes easily. There is a closer library in my new city but I am afraid of it. I am scared it won’t live up to my library standards. I have been on their website and they don’t have my beloved Express section. Perhaps what they do have is a Suggestion Box. Probably the only thing to do is get a card at the new library and test it out for myself. Maybe I will love it even more than my precious WCPL. Just maybe….. In the meantime! As I feverishly work my way through the Outlander series, books I have broken my rule on not purchasing books to buy, no less, I don’t have to decide what to do about my library quandary just yet. I’m safe for a little while at least. Plus, I’m waiting for a few books at my (soon to be old?) library, so I’ll certainly borrow those from there. Since I’m already more than halfway up the list and all. It would be silly to cancel those requests.

Is it considered library cheating to change to a new library when my old library is technically within driving distance but not at all convenient to me? Do you belong to more than one library? Is it awful to play library favorites? That’s quite like playing favorites among your children, no? In the literary world, however, one certainly has a favorite book or even many favorite books. I suppose books are more akin to children in this scenario anyway. Can one have multiple favorite libraries? Ah me, what’s a literarian (made up word?) to do?