We are just a few weeks away from the end of this year and the start of a new one. That means holiday celebrations, time away from work and responsibilities (hopefully!), reflecting on what’s transpired in past months, and anticipation about the future. Whether you put together a full-fledged list of New Year’s resolutions every year or find the whole notion of this kind of goal-setting toxic (I may write more on this later!), it’s impossible not to let that thinking creep in.
There are plenty of things for me to reflect on big and small in this funky transition between 2023 and 2024, many of which are big and significant and serious. But I’m also thinking about some smaller things… and here’s one of them:
The library.
I think I can get better at the library.
I know what you might be thinking. You’re telling me you’re bad at the library? Let’s chill a little bit.
I hear you. People have been telling me to “lighten up” for literally as long as I can remember. I do tend to be un-chill at times—and it’s something I work on continuously, particularly in areas of my life where I feel it’s causing me to take myself too seriously without an upside. But I also think it’s okay if we can’t be breezy all the time.
I can’t be breezy all the time. And I would genuinely like to get better at the library.
For a book lover like me, one’s relationship to the library does matter and is worth thinking about. When we bought our house in the spring of last year, I decided it was about time I started taking better advantage of the benefits of being (adulting alert!) a taxpayer. Until that point, I’ll be honest—and bookworm that I am, I realize that this is shameful and possible cause for someone to demand my reader card (please not my library card, because I’m trying to improve!)—it had been years since I visited a library. Now, as we prepare to grow our family in the new year, I want to continue to look for ways to be mindful about budgeting. Books will always be my favorite thing to buy, but thanks to the library, there’s no need to buy them all.
The good news: I learned to take way better advantage of my local library this year. The library became a delightful little element of my routine—helped by the fact that my branch is within walking distance of my house. I usually have holds to pick up once a week, and it really does feel like a mini-Christmas morning every time I grab a new little stack. And can we talk about that library smell? It never gets old.
Currently Reading: A December to Remember by Jenny Bayliss
I featured Jenny Bayliss’s first Christmas romance—The Twelve Dates of Christmas—in the round-up of favorite festive reads in this post. While I wasn’t a huge fan of Jenny’s 2022 holiday release, I was thrilled to see A December to Remember hit shelves. I’m happy to report that this one does not disappoint! Yes, there are romantic elements included, but it’s much more about familial love—even amidst the complexities of being part of a family—and I think that’s something we can all relate to at this time of the year.
I haven’t bothered to do the exact math (probably because I’m a little afraid of the truth), but becoming a library gal this year has also saved me a lot of money. Every time I finish a book I’ve borrowed from the library that was just okay, I’m grateful for the opportunity to support the author and the publisher in a small way without taking a hit to my bank account. I have been known to be fairly impulsive when it comes to shopping for books, and while I couldn’t tell you exactly what my system is for deciding what to buy and what to borrow, I think there is a system… and it’s helping my wallet. It makes visiting a bookstore and buying something that much more exciting!
But it’s not all fantastic in Library La La Land.
First of all—and I say this with love and respect—the Free Library of Philadelphia system could stand to make a few improvements.
I am consistently shocked by how long it takes for holds to come in. Many times, I can see in my dashboard that I’m first on the holds list and it will still take weeks (sometimes months!) to receive a notification that it’s time to pick up. I understand that I’m an impatient millennial, etc., etc., but I also have it on good authority that library systems of a similar size and scale manage to make faster moves.
There’s also room for me to up my library game.
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