Libraries vs buying books

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People still “buy books?”

I also receive them as presents and give them as presents. I'm 43.

[Anonymous]

I buy books (to support authors) at independent bookstores (to support a business I value).

I also check books out of the library because certain authors are significantly richer than I am -- I don't think they need my help. And I donate to the library because I want them to have the budget for all the benefits they provide to the community.

[Anonymous]

Don't feel bad about using the library--that's what it is there for! If you want to help authors and libraries, you can always give them money or write them positive reviews.

[Anonymous]

I'm well off but I rarely buy books. I borrow a lot from the library. That's what it's there for. My property and income taxes help support it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I support my library with all my overdue fines, and I get to keep the books (once I eventually find them). Win win.

My city doesn't do fines anymore.

Even if you just completely lose the book? Because that's what I have done a number of times.

Librarian here. Libraries that eliminate overdue fines still charge lost book fees, sometimes set at a fixed amount, sometimes based on the actual cost of replacing the book.

[Anonymous]

Author here, who also loves libraries. We love it when you read our books, however you can, though of course benefit most directly when you make a purchase. Pre-orders help a lot, so if an author you love is about to release a book, please pre-order and request that your library also do so. Tell your friends, too!

Next, if you read the book from the library and love it, please leave a review on Amazon and great reads or whatever platform you use. Publishers also look at an author's social media when deciding what size advance to give and how many copies to print, so follow the authors you love on Facebook and Twitter, etc.

Lastly, don't forget books whenever you need to buy someone a gift.

I would never begrudge someone for using the library. I do all the time. Just keep reading! And tell your friends to buy books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Author here, who also loves libraries. We love it when you read our books, however you can, though of course benefit most directly when you make a purchase. Pre-orders help a lot, so if an author you love is about to release a book, please pre-order and request that your library also do so. Tell your friends, too!

Next, if you read the book from the library and love it, please leave a review on Amazon and great reads or whatever platform you use. Publishers also look at an author's social media when deciding what size advance to give and how many copies to print, so follow the authors you love on Facebook and Twitter, etc.

Lastly, don't forget books whenever you need to buy someone a gift.

I would never begrudge someone for using the library. I do all the time. Just keep reading! And tell your friends to buy books.

I buy books that
-are not available at the library;
-reference books;
-study or workbooks that will be written in;
-travel guide books that I plan to rip pages from;
-books for young children that may be put in their mouths.

Apart from that, libraries are a great way to reduce clutter at home, and one of the things I think of as benefit when I get grumpy about my county RE tax increase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For my little kids I just had to buy books. Our libraries in this area are pretty poor quality. The books my kids want are always out of stock. And then when we finally get the books we want, we only have 3 weeks to read them.

Uh, how long does it take to read The Giving Tree or Goodnight Moon?!

[Anonymous]

I read so much that if I bought every book I read, I would be broke, and there would be no room for my husband or dog in our house.

[Anonymous]

Just remember that when you read a library book, someone else has read that same book in the bathroom.

[Anonymous]

I use the library almost exclusively for print, audio and ebooks. If I love a book enough to want a copy on my shelves, I will buy it. I read an average of 90-100 books per year and I buy less than 10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I support my library with all my overdue fines, and I get to keep the books (once I eventually find them). Win win.

My city doesn't do fines anymore.

No accountability?

[Anonymous]

I used to exclusively loan books from the library or purchase from Thriftbooks or book sales. Now I own a Kindle and just use Kindle Unlimited or purchase ebooks.

[Anonymous]

Author here and I have mixed feelings.

On the one hand, I love libraries, but obviously if everyone stops buying books then local bookstores will shut down.

Hypothetically, if people stopped buying my books (and those by other writers) we would get paid a lot less and many of us would stop writing I think. Certainly I would not be able to support myself like I do now.

I buy between 5-10 books a month because I value books and bookish culture and want to put my money where my values are.

[Anonymous]

I love libraries, I even volunteer in the library.

But, I end up buying most of my books. I mostly buy e books for myself to support the authors and I like having a digital library of everything I’ve read on my iPad and because I can’t see anything, so I like that I can’t crank up the font size.

I buy all my kids’ books from independent bookstores, then donate when they outgrow them. I just donated hundreds of books to stock the classroom libraries for new teachers in a neighboring district.