Libraries in past and now
By Porcospino
@Porcospino (31366)
Denmark
July 18, 2010 4:39pm CST
The libraries in my country have changed a lot since I was a child. At that time they used paper cards in the books and when you wanted to borrow or return books you had to ask the staff to do it for you. If you needed help to find a book there was only one option - asking a librarian.
Today we are literally able to do everything overselves. We use one machine if we want to borrow books and another machine if we want to return books. The library has a website where we can search for authors, titles or topics and make our own reservations. When the book has arrived we receive an email with a number, and when we get to the library we find that number on the shelves and pick up the book. If the book that we are interested in isn't available at our local library, we can use a site that covers the entire country. We can make a reservation at a different library and we can ask them to send the book to our local library.
I like this system a lot, it is very easy to use, and I can make reservations any time of the day or the night. The website is always open, and that gives me a kind of freedom that I didn't have in the past. At that time I had to show up during the opening hours, and I had to wait in line if I wanted to talk to the librarian.
Has your local library changed a lot since you started reading? In what ways? Do you like the changes?
2 people like this
14 responses
@jaypeesol (218)
• Philippines
19 Jul 10
I'm from the Philippines, and it sucks for book lovers like me that we don't have community libraries to borrow books from. Our libraries are usually only found inside schools, and they only have textbooks/academic books. If you want to read novels for pleasure, you have to buy them from the book store.
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
19 Jul 10
I didn't know that. It is a pity that you don't have community libraries, because that makes it easier to read many different books without buying all of them. We have public libraris, school liobraries (only open for the students of those schools) and university libraries. The unversity libraries have a lot textbookds and academic books and you don't have to be a university student to use those libraries, they are open for everyone.
@jaypeesol (218)
• Philippines
19 Jul 10
I guess I forgot to add that our libraries hasn't changed much, but then again the last time I was in a library was about 7 years ago,so I don't know if we have these online capabilities now.
2 people like this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
18 Jul 10
I remember doing the check out cards where they had the index card on the inside of the front cover and the little card they had and pulled out and stamped the return date on it and put it back in the pocket. That was the coolest thing ever! I even played library at home! Took all my books and made them the return cards and created my own date stamp. IT was the funnest!
But yeah, sadly today, the librarians that are in my local libs are rude, unfriendly and just lazy they seem. They don't offer nothing including help and act offended if you ask. THey have the self check out and altho I hate using those (just puts a person out of a job) I often do just cause the line is so long... don't know if it is the librarian that isnt doing her job or the person in line with a problem. All Iknow is I dont' want to stand there and wait and since no money is involved.. i will do the work myself (won't do that at grocery stores!)
I also enjoyed the Card catalog "back in the day". I made my own of those too!
Sorry to see a wonderful institution leave town. Hopefully the ones still around are not like the ones near me!
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
18 Jul 10
I also liked the check out cards, when I was a child I enjoyed watching the librarians when they stamped the cards. Today that is a thing of the past. There used to be 4 or 5 librarians at the counter at my local library, now there is only one. We have to use self check out. If there is something wrong and the computer won't accept one of the books we can ask the librarian, otherwise we have to do it on our own. Today the librarian at the counter only handles problems and collects the money from the late fees.
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17798)
• United States
19 Jul 10
When I was a kid going to the library was fun. These days...it isn't. Sad but true.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
18 Jul 10
I like the computerized checkouts, they are easy to use and there is less waiting time, but it is a big problem when the computers break down. That has happened a couple times while I have been there, and it me made me realize how dependent we have become on the computers, because everything gets very chaotic when the computers aren't working...
1 person likes this
@kbjunior15 (1309)
• United States
19 Jul 10
Our local libraries have all computer checkouts now. You checkout everything on your own. Libraries are getting smaller each year and are getting rid of lots of books each year, too. With the increase of technology, libraries and librarians are going to start becoming a thing of the past. I teach Language Arts and we are alredy looking into Nooks, which are devices where you can download books. Not really sure I like this idea, but this is where it is heading. There is something to be said about sitting down with an acutaul book and reading.
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
19 Jul 10
Many years ago I read a sciende fiction story about some children who visited a museum. One of the things in the museum was a book, because at that time books had become a thing of the past. I laughed when I read that story, because I couldn't imagine a life without books. But many things have changed since that time and now it is possible to download books instead of borrowing them at a library. I have downloaded some books myself, but I usually prefer to read an oldfashioned book instead.
@nijolechu (1842)
• Canada
18 Jul 10
Yes, they really have changed alot since I was a child and started reading. The libraries I used to visit used to have the old type of card catalog for storing the information you need to look up. Now they are more in line with modern technology and all the information can be gotten from the computer and stored in a data base. You used to have to call in to reserve a book you want. But now you can do it online and save up a book or item faster.
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
19 Jul 10
Yes, it has become faster to make reservations and I like that. I study online, and if I need to borrow a book at the library I can make a reservation straight away, and that is nice. I also think that it is nice that we are able to make reservations at other libraries than our own, and we have access to a huge selection of books about any topic.
@jerikjames (1041)
• Philippines
19 Jul 10
Wow! I'm really happy that you're happy with your library's services! Sorry, I'm a library science student and it just makes me happy that people today are appreciating libraries more and more. That's true that before, paper and library cards were used if you want to borrow a book, and it's very tedious to search for a book using card catalogs. Now we have online services where students can search for a book they want or might want by just typing the name of the book or the author or subject or type of material.(e.g. books, journals) It was done not only for the patrons to have ease in accessing materials in the library, but to also act as a mediator for those who are shy to ask the librarian the book they are looking. But of course, even if you already have the online services, it would be fast and easier if you can't find the book you're looking for if you ask the librarian yourself. He/she could direct you to another library which has the book you're looking for. =)
2 people like this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
19 Jul 10
Yes, in the past it was a different experience to search for books. It has become a lot faster now. I am able to search in other libraries than my own, and I am able to compare the books that are available in my country not only the ones that are available in my own city, that makes it easier for me to pick out the very best books when I need information about a topic or when I need books for my studies. Yes, it true the computers also make it easier for people to find the books they are looking for even if thay are too shy to ask the librarian. On the other hand if people to prefer to talk to the librarian instead of finding the books on their own, they are also able to do that. Now both things are possible and I think that is nice.
@nikhil_sun (576)
• India
19 Jul 10
Nowadays libraries have become places of visit of an era gone by.Earlier people used to frequent libraries to read and refer books.Those were the days of painstaking research and a passion for reading.Nowadays though there are people who like reading books, very few actually go to a library to do so.What with all kinds of information available on the net, where is the need to go to a library?Really libraries have become relics of the past.
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
20 Jul 10
When I was a child there was only one way to find information about a topic - I had to go the library and find some books about the topic that I was interested in. Today you can find all sorts of information online, and it has become much eaiser to find information. I still read many books, but I also use the internet a lot. Today the libraries in my country have many other things than books for instanse cds, films and art. The computers with internet access are also extremely popular.
@allyoftherain (7208)
• United States
19 Jul 10
Oh yes. Big changes... but not nearly as big as yours. Back when I was a kid (Admittedly not all that long ago in comparison to others) the library had an in-house computer catalogue you could search through and you could request a book from the librarian. Now they've got a website with their catalogue online. You never even have to talk to the librarian if you don't want to. You can request books online, and there are even automated machines for checking books out.
1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
19 Jul 10
Your libraries sound a lot like the libraries in my country. My local library has a nice website and it is very easy to use it. When I want to find new books I often read reviews online. We have a website where librarians as well as other people can write reviews and recommend the books that they like. I often use that site. When I read about some books that I am interested in I try to find them at my local library (or one of the other libraries in the country)
1 person likes this
@allyoftherain (7208)
• United States
20 Jul 10
Very similar. Either we live in the same country or our countries have the same standards. 
There are some librarian reviews on my local library's website, but I haven't really read any of them. I'm really more likely to browse through the shelves and pick up whatever peaks my fancy and like or dislike books at my own leisure. I rarely go by the recommendations of strangers and I only read some friends recommendations if I think they're going to line up with what I typically like to read.
There are some librarian reviews on my local library's website, but I haven't really read any of them. I'm really more likely to browse through the shelves and pick up whatever peaks my fancy and like or dislike books at my own leisure. I rarely go by the recommendations of strangers and I only read some friends recommendations if I think they're going to line up with what I typically like to read.1 person likes this
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
19 Jul 10
Yes, a lot of things have become faster today. I remember what it was like in the past. We always had to wait in line if we wanted to borrow books, return books or talk to a librarian, and sometimes the waiting time was very long. Now that people check out the books on their own everything is much faster, and I never have to wait for a long time.
@CTHanum (8234)
• Malaysia
19 Jul 10
yes, it has changed a lot.and it is much better for me.no more queue and searching and borrowing process is much faster.but if i have more time i still prefer to look for books in a shelves one by one.i just love doing that.if i don't have much time i will prefer the latest process.
1 person likes this
@Memnon (2170)
•
18 Jul 10
Ours in the UK have changed in a very similar fashion to yours, with internet access, although a lot of smaller libraries are not linked to larger ones, so they cannot order as wide a choice of books. A lot of small libraries are also closing: a process that has been happening for a while. 
@Porcospino (31366)
• Denmark
19 Jul 10
The same thing has happened in my country. Many of the small libraries no longer exist and I think that is sad. There was a different atmosphere in some of the small libraries, the buildings were old and beautiful, I sometimes miss that, when I walk around in a huge, modern library. There are still some small libraries around the country, but I am not sure if they are going to survive or not.
@annamol (275)
• United States
19 Jul 10
I'm new for the library that I use now. I'm using it only for 3 years. It changed since I first began using it. For example, last time I used a machine to borrow a book. Now they have new machines for that, and a librarian taught me how to use one of them. It was easy and fast. Now I'll always use it.
1 person likes this
@jennywren3 (54)
•
19 Jul 10
It shows how long ago it was since i visited a library, then you had your chosen books stamped with the return date on them, don't know if the local libraries near to me are as up to date as yours though.
1 person likes this
