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Public Library Access Cards

lunablu63

lunablu63

New Member
I was wondering if P.L.A.C.'s were just an Indiana idea, or if they were country-wide? I live in a small county, with a small library that doesn't offer the widest nor the best selection of books...The county I work in has a HUGE library, but since I live in a neighboring county, I must PURCHASE a Public Library Access Card in order to check books out. The current going rate is $55---annually. It never used to be like that, and I just find it annoying. Anymore, that's like, what? A half-tank of gas??? Two years ago, it was $26. Talk about inflation!!!
 
Ask your local librarian if they can order books for you from other libraries in the state and have them sent to their location for you to pick up. Kansas has a system whereby I can access the system from home and by entering in the code for my smalltown library, have stuff sent from all over the state. If I need something that is not listed here, I can ask my librarian to try to get it from out of state. We have to designated on the request if we are willing to pay a small fee for postage, and if so, how much we're willing to pay-usually up to $3.. I'd check into this before plunking down $55 to use the library in the next county.
 
Thanks!!! I never thought of that!!! It's just that the library is ten minutes from my work, and my home library is about 30 minutes and 20-some miles past my house...life in a modern world, so many conveniences, so many inconveniences.... I will look into ordering from my home library and see what they say...:)
 
lunablu63 said:
Thanks!!! I never thought of that!!! It's just that the library is ten minutes from my work, and my home library is about 30 minutes and 20-some miles past my house...life in a modern world, so many conveniences, so many inconveniences.... I will look into ordering from my home library and see what they say...:)
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I hope you get good results with that! I understand(dimly) why libraries might charge out of district patrons an annual fee..but $55 seems rather steep. If you're a heavy library user, it might still be worth it if your local library can't help.
 
You can also try using paperbackswap, if you're already willing to deal with postage. I love this site..I use it to get all the books I want to read that my library doesn't carry.
 
tundra said:
You can also try using paperbackswap, if you're already willing to deal with postage. I love this site..I use it to get all the books I want to read that my library doesn't carry.
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That might work, but at the time I looked into it, the only books being offered or wanted were books I was not interested in.
 
tundra said:
Well..they get lots of new postings every day. I wouldn't give up on it altogether..
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Oh, I'll checlk them out again sometime..its a little like saying abebooks or ebay doesn't carry what I like..;)
 
You could always just make a wishlist..then you'd get notified if someone posted your book. Also..you'd get a spot in line if other people are waiting for it too.
 
I have a few suggestions.

I know you have talked to someone at the library about this situation. I think I would go to the other library and ask again. Try to pick a librarian who has worked there for a long time. Be very polite. You'll probably get exactly the same answer, but there is a chance that there is some exception to the rule that that will work for you.

I looked up P.L.A.C. cards on the internet, and there is some rule about students being able to use the library in the school's county. If your company pays for classes, and you only have to take one day of class per semester to get a library card, this might be worth it to you. The community college where I live will give you a student ID card if you sign up for a one-day credit class. (If the defensive driving class (traffic school) qualifies for this, you can save enough on your car insurance to cover the cost of the class.)

Ask your library about electronic books. I haven't tried this yet, but I think the format is similar to the older books that you can download from the internet for free.

Also, do the math about the cost of driving to the library. Twenty miles there and twenty miles back is $3 to $6 for gas and one hour of driving time for every trip to the library. You might consider $55 a year for access to a larger, more convenient library a good bargain.

Here where I live, it's $175 a year for a non-resident library card, so $55 a year for access to any library in the state seems like a good deal to me. I could have fun with that.
 
Wow! Thanks for all the suggestions, guys!!! I guess I shouldn't grumble about $55 in light of your $175, Wicked...geez, that IS steep.
As far as making lists, half the time I don't know what I want to read until I see it on the shelf, kinda like shopping...that's half the fun of going to the library. Just depends on what catches my eye...
My home library is running out of books I want to read, as far as audiobooks. Most of what I haven't read are murder/mysteries and inspirational. Oh, let's not forget the "bodice ripper" type books. I don't have a lot of time to sit and read like I used to, so I read a lot of audiobooks. Makes a ten-hour workday go faster!
Most of the people I work with listen to danielle steele, nora roberts, etc. so I get a lot of weird looks when I come in with a book on Gettysburg, or a biography, a history, or classic literature. Although a few do appreciate Steinbeck. I read "The DaVinci Code" and one woman actually backed away from the book when I showed her what I was reading, like it was the devil, or something! So, I don't swap books with people very often. That's the price you pay, I guess when you don't follow the norm, lol...
 
I ran into the same problem that you did. Our small library where I live has a paltry collection of books. The county that I work in is about five times the size of the county I live in. The library is huge, but the membership fee is HUGE if you don't live in the county. Just this past year, they(every library in the state) have started to give out a card that is good in every public library in the state. I'm not certain how such a plan was accepted, but they perhaps thought that some business was better than no business.
 
Some places I know you have to pay between $50-100 if you don't live within a certain region/city. Some have actually teemed up to form systems where if you have a library card with one system, you can get one with another library system for free. For example, I live in the Fraser Valley Regional Library (FVRL) system. Now, because I live like 20-30 mintues away from Surrey, I could access their public library system (Surrey Public Library) by getting a free card through a system called INTERlink. I could even get a free card for the Vancouver Public Library (VPL) if I so choose to.

Some of the library systems do have exceptions. For example, if you wish to registar for a VPL card and you live either on the University Endowment Lands or at UBC, you have to pay a small fee. The reason being is that the UEL aren't incorporated and part of Vancouver, even though they are like a short distance away.
 
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