I love the library!

Central Branch of the VPL in downtown Vancouver

Have I mentioned before that I love my public library? Did you hear that the Vancouver Public Library and the Montreal Public Library recently tied for best libraries in the world in a study from Heinrich Heine University Dusseldorf? I'm so proud of the VPL!

One cool thing my library offers is the Just Ask! chat system. When I have a question I can immediately chat with a library staff member from on of the libraries across the Lower Mainland. I did so today when I read Cheryl Arkison's blog post about "The Orenda" and decided I needed to read this book asap. I checked the VPL catalogue and there were 533 holds on 61 copies. I clicked the chat button on the VPL website and had a nice talk with a librarian about a variety of books I could read while I was waiting for my hold to come in. I also learned that the reason the VPL doesn't have the eBook is that publishers won't sell certain eBooks to libraries because they're worried about digital rights. Boo!

Oh, and those recommended titles? Here's the list of books I'll be looking for while I wait my turn in line for "The Orenda". 

"Three Day Road" by Joseph Boyden
"Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" by Maria Semple
"Me Before You" by Jojo Moyes
"State of Wonder" by Ann Patchett
"Bel Canto" by Ann Patchett

Do you have any recommendations for me? One of my favourite recent reads was "The Rosie Project" by Graeme Simsion (and not just because it had a red bike on the cover!) (but that didn't hurt!).

I love the Vancouver Public Library!

Sophia (age 2) and her Nonna at the Kitsilano Branch of the VPL, January 2010

Do you still get books out from your local library? I do! I love being able to access novels, DVDs, eBooks, magazines, and more. My whole family gets books from the library and both girls have their own library cards (no late fines!). Sophia has just signed up for this year's Summer Reading Club and is looking forward to lots of relaxing summer reading!

I find that the Vancouver Public Library has lots of modern quilting books available. Since the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild doesn't have the space to store a physical library, we let the VPL do it for us and encourage people to go to the library to check out books listed on our Books page.

But what do you do if the library doesn't have the book you're looking for in its collection? You suggest a purchase! This is what happened to me today when I went looking for The Farmer's Wife book. I was surprised that the book wasn't in the VPL's collection, so I suggested that they buy it:

To get to the Suggest a Purchase page, you click on "Using the Library" near the top right of the VPL homepage, then click "Borrowing", and then "Suggest a Purchase". My favourite way to fill out the form is to open up a Amazon.com tab for the book I'm suggesting and then copy and paste the relevant information. Simply tell the librarians why you think they should purchase this book, and send in the form!

I've had great luck getting books added to my library's collection using this method. If you don't live in Vancouver, try asking your local library how you can suggest a purchase.

Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library

Enjoy your summer reading!