Something Borrowed


My library card has been recalled. I got an email saying I had to verify my address to renew my library card or it would be disabled. There’s just one problem. I'm using a library card from the county where I used to live and I guess I'm supposed to use the library of the county I reside in. It’s just that I don’t like my county-designated library all that much. There’s not a location convenient to me. Parking is a hassle. So to avoid these difficulties I just kept using my old library card. At my old familiar library.

I love the library. I’m a bookworm at heart. Every few weeks, I set aside a weekend afternoon to browse the shelves, checking out new titles. I don't always understand the logic of the Dewey Decimal system, so I prowl around my favorite sections, discovering books only faintly related to how they're catalogued. I'm always surprised by the unexpected titles I stumble upon. I usually check out a stack of books that I can hardly juggle on my way to the car. I sneak peeks at the dust covers on my way home and settle down to leisurely peruse the stack to decide which books I'll read first.

So I devised a plan for this expiring library card business that threatened to interrupt my library junkets. Awhile ago, I asked my dad to get a card since he lives in my old county of residence. He doesn’t use the library so I wanted a back-up card exactly for this situation. At first, I nonchalantly checked out a few books on my dad’s card to make sure it was in working order and I didn’t have to show ID. The clerk barely glanced at the card as she scanned my books. Even though I was prepared to answer why my dad would want to read a biography of Chanel or the history of interior decorating, she didn't seem to care. I had to then return all the books I had checked out on my own card before it was so unexpectedly revoked, most of which I hadn't read yet. I wrote down all the call numbers so I could check them back out after they were reshelved. After a few days, I returned to the library, retrieved my books and re-checked them out on my dad's card. Success!

Maybe my obsession with the library seems a little crazy. Maybe I should let my regular plans be interrupted for a new experience. Maybe I should venture out to a different library to discover a new treasure-trove of books I haven’t read. I guess if I have to, I will. But for now I’m prepared. I told my dad to be ready at a moment's notice to show up at the library to verify his address. So I can keep on borrowing books on his library card. 

Comments

  1. Ha - too funny! Such a great workaround. I love this post. It makes me want to head to the library right now.
    Christy

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  2. I will start practicing baking cakes with a file inside- just in case you need to be sprung out of jail for library card fraud!
    Kate

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kate,
      Shhh -- don't let the library know! But I love how you're looking out for me!!

      Delete
  3. How funny! My husband never entered a library he didn't like - in fact, on this year's vacation, we went to the Elk Rapids, MI library - Google it. It's unreal - an original home, on a small island of like 5 acres, right in the down town area. Also, check out the history of the original owners, very interesting. Good thing we don't live there - I could live on the sun porch, looking at the bay, reading and drinking iced tea all day! Great article!! Hope your dad's card works out for you!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sharon,
      That library sounds like I might have to make it my next dream vacation!! :)

      Delete
  4. That Bachelor Girl book looks intriguing -- not available on ebook yet though so I may have to go to the library myself and get it! :)

    ReplyDelete

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