Books, Electronic Books, and Libraries

We've been visiting the libraries in this area.  Grover Beach is close to the RV park, but the library is a small, volunteer library with donated books and not connected to a larger library system.  Still, they had two of the books that I wanted to read.

Arroyo Grande is a little bit further (5 miles or so) but their library is much bigger and connected to the larger Black Gold library system which stretches from Paso Robles to Santa Barbara.  By using the address of the RV park, Dave  and I were each able to get free library cards.  Better still, we are able to borrow electronic books from that library system as well as from the Oregon consortium which we can use through our home library system.  Both e-book systems work the same way so we didn't have to learn how to use it.  We can also get electronic audio books from both systems if we choose.  We load the books onto our Nooks, but Kindles can now be used for library books, too.

Arroyo Grande library

I'm reading Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilters series, starting with book 1, The Quilter's Apprentice.  I'm almost finished with book 2, Round Robin, and then it's on to book 3, Cross-Country Quilters.  There are at least eighteen books in this series and I'm trying to read them all and in the order they were written.   I read one of these books a while ago, before I started learning to quilt, and I didn't care for the books.  But now my interests have changed, and I am enjoying the books. 

Yesterday Dave and I made the 20 or so mile trek to Santa Maria to get the next book in the series.  Yes, I could have put it on hold, but the libraries are closed the next two days because of the holiday, and I knew I would be ready to read the book before I could get it on hold.  This library system charges a dollar for each book you put on hold, which is reasonable, but it adds up if you put a lot of books on hold like I do at home (for free).

The Santa Maria library is one of the nicest libraries I've ever visited.  It has a small cafe, a library store, lots of study areas and lots of comfortable chairs, as well as lots of books, magazines, and computers.  We also stopped at the small Nipomo library on the way back to get another book in the series. 

Santa Maria library

The other two small branch libraries that are closest to us at the RV park are Shell Beach and Oceano.  We can return our books there and pick up our holds there instead of driving to one of the bigger libraries.  But e-books are the best, because we order them and return them online, without leaving the comfort of our home or motorhome.  And e-books from the library don't cost us a cent!

I enjoy visiting libraries--the way some people enjoy visiting wineries or department stores.  I walk around, I drink it all in, I "try on" some of the books, and I enjoy the atmosphere.  I even have my own rating system for libraries and all that they offer.  Libraries are a good place to hang out on a rainy day, not that we've had any rainy days since we've been in Pismo Beach.  It's a very low-cost hobby!