libraries

Save money by using your local library

6:17PM Sarah Stokely | I’m a big fan of libraries – one of my favourite ways to be frugal is to make up a list of new release books I’m  keen to read, head on over to my library and put in requests for each one. Sometimes it’s free to put a book on hold, sometimes it’ll cost a dollar or so – but that’s a lot less than the $25 or so you’ll pay to buy the book new! (And, before you ask, libraries do pay royalties so the author still gets some benefit from people reading their books through libraries rather than buying them.)But just borrowing books isn’t the only way to save money – Wise Bread has published a great post which celebrates the many and varied cool and usually free things which libraries offer to their community. This includes borrowing DVDs and CDs for free. There’s usually free or very cheap computer access – and often there’s wireless as well (recently we told you about 10 Sydney libraries offering free wireless). Depending on the needs of the local community, libraries often host story time for children, or computer tuition for seniors -so it’s worth checking out what’s on offer at your nearest library.And finally, no post extolling the awesomeness of local libraries would be complete without mentioning Melbourne’s own City Library at 253 Flinders Lane. If you check out the link you’ll see they’re trialling free wireless access from now until the first week of April, they have a speaking event with Max Barry coming up, and they have acoustic music sessions at lunchtimes. They also have a really cool gallery space which showcases local artists.And do I need to mention the lure of the sexy librarians? Go on, you know you want to get shushed. :) Duh – Libraries [Wise Bread] More »

Use WorldCat to Search Libraries

2:00AM Wendy Boswell | The next time you need to find something at your local library, try searching through WorldCat, a ginormous network of libraries, library content, and library services. You can use WorldCat to search for everything you would search for at your local library, find free content (downloadable audiobooks, for example), articles and citations, historical documents, and many more kinds of information from libraries all over the world. You can also use WorldCat to check out items directly from libraries you have an active membership with (this can vary by library). AU – I already posted about Worldcat here. WorldCat More »

WorldCat – a global library search tool

9:53AM Sarah Stokely | Via the Cool Tools weblog I came across library nerd nirvana in the form of WorldCat. This Beta aims to let you search the catalogues of 57,000 libraries to find the closest library that holds the book you seek. I had a quick zip around it, and I’m guessing that a few more libraries in Oz need to get on the bandwagon before it’s much use to us. I looked up David Allen’s “Getting Things Done” and it returned two Australian results – both Queensland libraries which doesn’t help me much here in Melbourne. I also entered several more obscure Australian authors (Larissa Hjorth and Cameron Rogers, both of whom I know have titles in Australian libraries including the National Library in Canberra) and the search found their books in overseas libraries but no Australian libraries. In the meantime, I guess one helpful thing we can do is tell our local libraries they should be participating with World Cat by sending them here. WorldCat – search 57,000 libraries [Cool Tools] More »