Solve your isolation problem with a library card (the idea of third places)
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 5. 07. 2024
- The Library is a place I use to get out of the house in a way that goes beyond books. We have a significant lack of "third places" in our world, and with prices going up and rules getting stricter - while also living farther apart from our immediate friends and family, we need to find something to do...
And, I think a lot of us have coped at one point or another using "hustle culture" to make us feel like we're actually doing something, but really, I'm finding that its just us feeling stuck. Here's a video dedicated to helping us form stronger community bonds, at one of the last great institutions we have left... The local library.
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As a working librarian, I wanted to say thanks for promoting public libraries! If your local library doesn't have something that interests you, talk to a librarian and make some suggestions. Library staff are usually very eager to take patron feedback into consideration. We try our best to accommodate patron needs. Many states and regions allow folks to have multiple library cards, too, so you are not just limited to your local library and its branches. You can often take advantage of other libraries in nearby communities.
Simply having a library card and checking out physical or digital media adds to library stats and helps libraries to prove their worth. Other things you can do to help include: attending library events, filling out surveys (when offered), voting in favor of library levies, voting for pro-library city council and/or school board members, donating to Friends' groups, writing to your representatives in support of libraries, and telling friends and family about your library either online or in-person.
A Library is more than just a quiet place to sit and read in silence. Hopefully this video encourages you to get involved and explore your town's library. Also, to see that more than 10% of the people who watched this video hit the like button is absolutely CRAZY. Can we keep it rolling? :O
I literally tell people this all the time. My library has maker's space (sewing machines, cricut cutters, 3D printers etc), computer game rooms for both teen and tween, a performance space, computer rooms and color printing......and on and on. There's even a performance space in one of the branches! I tell folks, your tax dollars are already paying for this, but it's free to use. And don't even get me stated on the audio and kindle books and magazines....The library is a hidden gem!
My library is so dry when it comes to events tbh, everything is either for kids/teens, the elderly, or people learning English as a second language. all of those are important obviously but I wish there was stuff for younger people who are no longer in school.
As another commenter mentioned you could try recommending new activities
We love our local libraries. We also found we can access our neighboring countiesâ libraries-so itâs been fun discovering the unique features and programs each one offers. đ
So great that you are promoting the library. So many have no idea how much they offer.
Most board game stores have an area to play games. Those places are also good for meeting up.
Those countries you mentioned in the blu zones are also just fundamentally culturally historically more community and social based. This countries (US) problem is the stupid idea of rugged individualism that has been pushed for the last century plus or at least half century along with the shift away from what little social safety nets we once had were eroded away but corporations and these places that replaced our old third places centered around capitalism and consumption (like you mention in the video being marketed or sold to constantly). Itâs not surprise that the blue zone countries have always been family oriented with multiple generations living together for entire lives or at least longer than we do. And itâs also not coincidence that they had growing productive socialist or left leaning governments that we spent the past 50 years overthrowing and replacing with rebels or capitalist friendly regimes.
YES so good! Editing on point but I really appreciate how you highlight this important issue AND provide a real solution.
Thank you!
This is a great idea. Unfortunately, I live in the UK - our local library was shut down and around 30% of the books it held were shoved into a spare room in the town hall, which they then called the "new library". No idea where the other books went. Probably some storage warehouse
Similarly, almost 1000 libraries have shut down across the UK in the past decade.
@@bluegoose7832 Thatâs so sad! đ
Not from the UK, but it's pretty ridiculous how the mayor in my state is cutting budgets for libraries around my city when so many people still go to them and love the new renovations for some that were able to get them. Support your local public library if you have one, don't take them for granted!!
Any video talking about the perks of the local library is an immediate like. And the idea of playing board games at the library sounds like so much fun !
Also if you want to get back into a reading habit, go to your libraryâs website and join their seasonal reading challenge. AND if your ADHD requires body doubling, then there are libraries that has silent book clubs â€
I love this idea. The only problem is that my local library closes at 6pm. I get home from work at like 5:30. I live in NY too. I only have Saturday to go there. I wish I could go there more. Society is just messed up. All people do now is work and go home to get ready for work the next day. Its brutal.
man that is brutal.. understand the pain. i think mine closes at 9pm.
@@NomadOverNormal Lucky. What city are you based in?
@@yorgenibnstrangle3072 In New Jersey!
Thank you Chris. I am at a place in life where I am STUCK⊠and feel locked into âstuckâ for some time in the future. : (
I know this happens to many people at least once over their lifetime. My situation is ailing parents. Long time ailing parents.
The library or the equivalent, such as the City Community Center sound great now. I have always used the library with and for my children, but they are now on their 30âs - and I havenât thought of using it for me - until now. đ§Ą
I'm really sorry for your situation and understand how you feel. I'm a caregiver myself to someone and it's very difficult. I want to make a video about what that's all like. But it's difficult to put the whole package together in a presentable way.
Thanks for sharing this! My library has tons of events. Painting, crafting, 3D printing labs, concerts, movie theater, crochet groups, etc etc. Iâve had a great time at every event. I keep hoping that if I become a âregularâ Iâll make some
Friends but each time I go itâs different people. đ
Some cafes and non profit organizations hold events in my country and thats how i do it, we all need a community. We all need a purpose. Activism did that for meâ€
This is good advice, especially once you retire and there's no more workplace.
I love love love libraries! I donât live in the US and in my country people donât really care about libraries so ours donât offer anything really. That is so very upsetting because I wish it did. I would live there basically lol God willing Iâm moving to the US next year for college, though. And one of the first things I want to do is go to the library đ
I'm about to move to another town (in the same metro area) and this inspired me to check out the library where we're going. It has so much stuff!
thats sweet! Good luck. Always a good place to stop by on a visit or during a road trip.
I started attending a chess club that meets in a rented room in our local bakery. It was a game changer for me. HA!!! I love the idea of the library being a place to meet people. Awesome!
During high school and uni was fortunate to have great public libraries right nearby, made it so much easier to meet up with friends since our houses were always annoyingly far from each other- great video!
Glad to hear you used it well! Thank you:)
I like your library! and the lack of community while there are so many programs around one could join is so real. thank you
Glad you enjoy it!
I have a library card in my county and one in the county of my university. I love visiting libraries! Theyâre a great place for me to go when I have downtime or want a change of scenery.
yes, D&D! i got into it at the end of 2019 and joined a group at - guess where? - my local library! then covid hit and yeah, that fell apart. i donât live in that area anymore but i should absolutely check out the library here. thank you for the reminder â€
I attended our library's first English-Spanish conversation club this week. It was so fun! I'm a long time heavy library user, I attend a book club monthly and take my kids to all kinds of activities thw library puts on. And I could never ever afford to buy all thw things we check out.
This is an incredibly important post. Isolation crosses all demographics. Just a really great subject with an actual solution. đ Iâve subbed.
Freaking love the library. My library uses the app Hoopla which has all kinds of media on there. Audiobooks, e books, movies, etc. Such a great resource!
In my last video about the library people in the comments introduced me to Hoopla!! My library has Kanopy.
Small world, you and I share the same library system!
Loved this video! I'm a big advocate for libraries.
Your videos are amazing, I canât wait to see your channel grow!â€
Thank you so much!!
I hope this gets more views and your channel grows. This video is fantastic! Well done â€ïž
Good video and I can agree with this. I know I used to go to the library all the time just to get out of the house, before COVID.
I have started reading again and I should consider going again frequently.
It is just cool to get out of the house and be around lots of options like reading.
I love your video. I was raised by my grandparents. We always had big family dinners & family game night. I miss those days! †Now these days it's hard to get my own family involved in a good sit down family dinner & family game night. Even though I know they are too busy to spend good quality family time for just one evening... I just recently updated my library card to use the Libby app. As I love doing reading challenges in my spare time.
Well presented video. I used to go to the library a lot and was just planning to start going back. Best wishes.
I just so happen to see this video as I have already met up with a friend and her dear parents at the library twice. She got a meeting room and we spent time together and we are going to do so again this week. Maybe even a board game. I also used meeting rooms this year to get my homeschooled teenagers into a different study environment. We would try out different meeting rooms. Some have projectors and white boards which are good for drawing and some were more like playrooms or event spaces. And yes, you can actually have events there. I was told that some people even have their exercises classes there.
Very valuable video, Chris. Thank you for making it and reminding us of the importance of libraries. More people need to take advantage of them!
I'd also posit that church (or temple) could be good "third places". While I know they aren't for everybody, they can be helpful for those people who believe in a faith system. :)
Thanks again for your video!
My local library system puts on free art classes via zoom.
thats amazing.
My Mom is a sunday school teacher turned librarian (in a small town I might add) and since she became the librarian they have had to remodel to make the library bigger because check out rates have gone through the roof. They let people check out switch lites and games, tablets loaded with kid friendly software, wifi hot spots, dvds, books on cd, day passes to the local aquarium and science exploration lab, etc. The library is the shit. If you know how to rip DVDs you can make a pretty nice plex library.
i got to learn how to do the whole plex server thing... maybe that will be my next project! thats an incredible story, thanks for sharing.
@@NomadOverNormal ripping blu rays can be difficult but standard dvds are super easy.
You can also use MAIN libraries like Morris County library with your Parsippany card. And that includes the Morris County Community college library. I picked up a NYC library card to use the stacks in the library but it also allows me to get online. I plan on picking up a Montgomery County Maryland library card as a non-resident for $10 next time I'm in Washington. Lots of connections to lots of resources if you look. Good video.
Youâre a pro!
I love the library! thank you for sharing this Magicâs place đ«¶
Glad you enjoyed it!
Iâve had a library card for about five years now and I get books there obviously but I also joined a DND group there. My library also has a media drop like each year and so I canât wait for one this year.
Just recently got a library card at my own library that just opened last year. Got to explore the bookshelves and what was offered. đ Hadnât been to a library in a long time. Missed it.
As someone who sells coffee and books, I love my local library. Mine has a café too. Don't usually take part in much of their events, but I can sit and read with or without a coffee. They have free Wi-Fi, they do chess tables (and other board games too) through the week and community puzzles to be completed too. All good stuff.
Good ADVICE!
I live in a small town, and the library is a big part of our community. Thereâs always events around the clock for all types of people and ages. Also, any type of skills you want to learn thereâs a class for that.
Editing = đ„
Thanks!
mine does do a raffle for adults during the summer, I's usually like gift cards for coffee, but personally I'd rather have the pizza I got as a kid
Iâm so happy you have all of those opportunities at your library! Where I am currently living, the libraries close at 6 pm and are closed on Sunday. So if one isnât a stay at home parent or retired, itâs pretty much inaccessible. Just looked at programs - made for those demographics. đą
I have another video about the digital programs that the library offers! You should check those out... It might help you with a lot of entertainment options.
@@NomadOverNormal Thanks but I do use Hoopla and other digital options for movies and audio books⊠even digital magazines! Love, love, love those resources. But alas, they donât help us connect with others in ways people used to. đ
One antidote to feeling isolated can be volunteering, so think about becoming a library volunteer or joining your Friends of the Library organization.
Yess!!!
LOVE
I saw that you have American Graffiti in your bag! When I was 14, I wanted to check other work George Lucas had done besides Star Wars, and so I went to Amoeba and bought that exact copy of the movie with the original and its sequel. Ever since I watched it it has been my favorite, even 16 years later.
Also, I just started attending my local city library as they've begun hosting movie screenings in their projection room this summer. I've made some suggestions and it appears some of them were considered for the Halloween season.
Hey thatâs so cool!! And on top of that, what a great idea for them to project movies
blue zones, I need to find out more about those areas
As someone who regularly goes to the library, itâs quiet and nobody talks to each other⊠because itâs a library⊠You should find places to go but to act like everyplace is social is naive.
While it's true that libraries are great quiet spaces, many offer more than just a place to read in silence. Mine has several rooms and a different floor dedicated to community events and being a gathering place.
@NomadOverNormal Yeah mine has entire clubs and even a seed library like you mentioned. I got my own basil seeds to grow!
thats so cool! @pixelzebra8440
My local library has all sorts of activities going on daily. There are a few tables scattered around with signage for home work or group discussions, kids thing, book discussion groups, teens have their own semi secluded area where they can chat, etc. Books and quiet spaces are only about 15% of what's going on.
Doesn't your library have programs and clubs? Mine does. We have book discussions, workshops, all that.
â€â€â€
I like this idea of a "third place" but not collecting media junk.
now they are full of homeless men that creep me out
BCLS? burlington county, nj? i have the same card! fellow jerseyan!!
that's so wild that i clicked on a random recommended video and found someone so close by!
my library has absolutely nothing fun to do.
I love the library but I can't afford transportation đ
Oh! Well, the library has many services that you can access even without going there. They can mail you movies and books. I also made another video all about their streaming services
hi nomad need youtube thumbnails designer at cheap rates?
First of all, libraries are a great social service.
That said, all of the problems your library 'solves' are self-inflicted. Coffee shops, diners, and bars are dying for people to come in and the idea that you're 'isolated by technology' is a problem of your own design. As is this obligation to make every time someone comes over an "event" as you put it. And religious beliefs/issues aside, the nationwide decline of organized religion is a major factor here.
Even so, the "lack of third spaces" complaint just doesn't hold water. The amount of businesses that would love people to come in and spend just a couple bucks is hard to count. Go to a bar, coffee, shop, restaurant, diner, bowling alley, arcade, driving range, park, gym, movie theater, bookstore, hiking trail, mall, climbing gym, local men's or women's club, or a million other options if you just really can't stand the idea of going to your friends' places. And if you can't afford any of these, including a $2 cup of black coffee, you've got bigger problems to worry about than adequate places to socialize.
church
Yo you kinda look like jacksepticeye
A third place is where people can and should talk. The library isn't it.
and proving that point wrong is the purpose of this video
@@NomadOverNormal I watched the video but it's still never going to become a third place. Bookstores with large cafe areas are more suited for what a third place is.
Thats a great idea for a third place. But to be that size it probably needs to be a chain. I think we only have one left, and im not sure how many there are.
@@NomadOverNormal In the part of L.A. where I live there are a number of independent bookstores with or adjacent to pretty sizable cafes.
@@brotendo thatâs brilliant⊠not a thing on the east coast. Love to hear it!
Libraries are great, but folks should consider Church. Besides the obvious reason of worshiping God, there is also community, service and purpose.
"nomad OVER normal"
Oy vey.
>Nomads like us question what is "normal" and are in search for alternative ways to live in a world that are beliefs don't fit in with
This gave me a laugh. Thanks.
But anyways, thanks for bringing attention to the resources libraries have for people.
- library worker (circulation)
that's exactly the theme of the channel!
Libraries-a great place to get bedbugs!