Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Walking the Talk

I have a bad habit of buying books I want to read, rather than using my local library, which is a)expensive and b)not very green. I regularly went to the local library as a child and was even occasionally found in a library when at university, but since moving to Lewisham 8 years ago, although I joined the library, I don't think I've ever taken anything out.

So I have resolved to turn over a new leaf. I started by phoning Lewisham Library Services and getting a PIN so I can search their online catalogue. I did that and couldn't find the book I wanted, so spoke to a librarian who is going to order it in for me, for the bargain price of 50p.

So, I've belatedly woken up to the idea that libraries are very green places, and that I should use them more often. Maybe everyone who reads this is already a regular library user, and I'm just a bit slow to cotton on?

Of course, another thing I am looking forward to borrowing from the library, when they eventually arrive, are the electricity smart meters that we got through the budget this year.

5 comments:

Clare Griffiths said...

Another option would be to sign up for Book Mooch - you can give away your old books and receive books in return.

Clare Griffiths said...

Forgot to say the web address is http://bookmooch.com/

Jane said...

I'd not heard of bookmooch - thanks for the tip. I use greenmetropolis.com for bookswapping which donates profits to The Woodland Trust.

You might also be interested in the "How Green is my Library" conference in Manchester this November (http://www.cilip.org.uk/NR/exeres/6593DE2D-22DB-41E5-A5D9-E09921D75D2F). I coordinate the library purchasing for my employer and our supplier has committed to using re-usable boxes, fewer deliveries and less packaging to improve our carbon footprint.

Anonymous said...

thanks both, I hadn't heard of either.

William Canynge said...

It's a busy old time in libraries, he wrote, giving himself a shameless plug. http://nonprovinciallives.blogspot.com/2008/10/library-review.html