When you create an account at the library, we issue you a library card. Why do people seem to think I'm the crazy one when I ask for their card at the desk as they try to borrow items? This isn't a difficult concept.
- Go to library.
- Present library card.
- Borrow books and more.
That middle step matters. That's why we issue cards in the first place. Please don't act insulted when I request the thing we gave you for the specific purpose of allowing the process to function. I'm old enough to remember rural libraries before digital catalogs and computerized accounts when the card number was stamped to a small strip of metal to use in a mechanical stamping system. Now it's barcodes and computer databases, but the card still functions as a key part of the checkout procedure.
Stranger still, though, is when people wonder why I won't let them pick up holds for family members without both the borrower's card and an authorization note on the account. I don't know you from Adam, so no, you can't walk out with this person's materials on your own recognizance. Why am I the bad guy here?
I guess I'm supposed to include a "call to action" in a blog post. Find your library card, visit your local library, and borrow something. Share a picture in the comments! Edit out stickers and stamps identifying your location if you want, or include the sign and building in the background if you want to proclaim your hometown to the world. Heck, write a post about visiting your library and just share a link. Let's get some proof of circulation!
