No, I don’t feel guilty in the least. I’m just reading the book in the library or at home, but I’m not keeping it. The library paid for it or someone did before donating it. I wouldn’t feel guilty about reading a book that a friend owned and shared with me so there’s no reason to feel guilty about this in the least.
I have heard there are people who should feel guilty about some things they do in libraries besides reading. I prefer doing those things in private.
Congrats to your wife. That’s no easy feat.
Public libraries are in the top 5 greatest inventions in the history of humankind. That’s not opinion, that’s objective fact.
Okay, it’s my opinion. The fact is I love libraries, and do believe they are among the greatest things ever invented. I love the fact I can go into any library and read a book, or check out a movie, or attend a seminar, or use any other service a public library provides. And I can do it for free (paid for by local taxes, but it’s free certainly on a per use basis).
I don’t feel guilty about using the library; libraries are probably the top purchasers of my books.
I don’t even feel guilty about putting my stuff online, therefore depriving some middlemen of 100% of their filthy lucre. That does mean I have to generate my own PDF files, though.
On the consumer side, I’ve never felt guilty about using the library.
I’ve spent many hours of my life volunteering in libraries, school and public. I’ve earned a right to use the library.
I’ve bought a enormous amount of books, periodicals and newspapers as well.
I rarely buy books anymore. I’ll never finish reading what I have lined up before my demise.
But, boy I enjoy authors and appreciate their efforts.
I’d feel more guilty about generating an unnecessary paper copy of a book. Bad, bad, bad.
I am a published author (some chapters in a few books) and am thrilled libraries exist. Most people are not going to buy or read any particular book.
With the invention of smartphones and my advancing age I find myself not reading anything long form anymore. I have a bunch of books I haven’t read.
When I was a kid I felt a little guilty about how I used the library. I never had a library card. My mother was a librarian. I told her what books I wanted and I got them first when they came in. Never paid a late fee. I had library privilege.
Virtually everything I read (or listen to) these days is via Libby, which I have access to using my local library card. I don’t feel guilty about borrowing books through Libby, and I have never felt guilty about checking a book out from a library.
Agreed.
For the past six years, I’ve done volunteer tax preparation. Our library graciously offers us their facilities, including computers, printers, and wifi, to do this work.
How can I get involved in that? I could easily get certified and do simple forms.
I feel guilty about NOT using my library more. I don’t have anything to compare it with, since I haven’t been in a library on the US continent in decades, but my library in Hilo, HI feels so vibrant and important to the community (for some reason my image of continental libraries is that at any given moment they are fairly empty, not bustling with readers).
There are always lots of people there, and the librarians are always cheerful and helpful. The infrastructure is a bit old, so we don’t have lovely, hushed carpeted reading rooms with cozy, overstuffed chairs, but there is a year-round, open-air courtyard at the center of the building so you can always read next to a natural environment.
I would like to go more, as I want to contribute to the library’s usage statistics in hopes that they will be well-funded by local government.
We do it here through the auspices of VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance), which is a service of the IRS. Here’s a link:
If there isn’t a VITA opportunity in your community, AARP might have one, as they also do tax preparation.
Last tax season, there were three of us volunteers, and we prepared 381 returns. It’s a worthwhile service, particularly for the elderly, who make up 70% of our clientele.
I don’t remember what Publisher’s Weekly paid me per review, but that was probably my best rate/word.
As a child/teen I practically lived at the library and on library books. I had no money to buy them, so without the library I would have been completely starved for reading matter, and probably would have come to a bad end. There is no finer sight in this fine old world than a library full of young readers.
I’ve bought plenty of books since then. I still use the library, online, and take out ebooks, which come from Amazon. Being Amazon, I’m sure they keep track of the frequency with which books get borrowed more often, although I doubt the authors benefit at all from that knowledge. I feel zero guilt for this practice.
What a bizarre question. Of course I don’t feel guilty.
Our county library hosts book chats and signings with local authors. It looks like a symbiotic relationship to me.
Besides, if we didn’t have libraries, fringe whackos wouldn’t be able to to try to get books banned from them, and the resulting publicity wouldn’t drive up sales of those books.
Thank you. This is the type of volunteering that I would enjoy doing.
Yer putting money in my pocket. Keep it up.
Just because your answer is “no” does not make it a bizarre question.
I’d never thought of it myself. But I do buy a lot of used books, and the thought has crossed my mind as it relates to that.
mmm
Love the library network in my area and rely on it heavily.
We can get almost any DVD/Blu-ray, video game, book(duh), etc. and have it shipped free of charge to our library so I can pick it up and play.
I have two box fans at my classroom at school. They are from the library.
I have a wifi hotspot from my library.
They have Tears of the Kingdom, the latest Zelda, but I bought it.