Get More Out of Your Library: a new class!

Every year we survey Modern Mrs. Darcy readers and every year I’m blown away by how much you all read. Granted, this isn’t highly scientific, but with more than 5,000 responses, more people read over 100 books in the previous year than read 12 or less. 41% of respondents read more than 50 books a year. That is a LOT of books.

And our survey shows that when you’re reading that many books a year, you’re pretty good friends with your library—and the people in it. 

Books are only a part (a big, beautiful part) of what libraries have to offer. Even as I put this class together, I was repeatedly blown away by new discoveries about what you can find and do at your local library. (The Denver Public Library will let you check out a $400 GoPro camera for a week at a time. Please don’t tell Will or he’ll make us all move to Colorado.)

Libraries offer a wide variety of services and those services vary widely from library to library. We can’t tell you exactly what’s happening at your library, but we can give you a thorough overview of the possibilities available to you right now.

Here’s what we’ll cover in our new class:

1. The Books. Cue Julie Andrews singing: we’ll start at the very beginning. We’ll try to help you avoid the emotional drama of all your library holds coming in at once, show you how to request a book your library doesn’t have, and explore your options for getting ebooks and audiobooks on your mobile devices.
2. The Programs. We’ll use several library home pages as a base to explore the wide variety of programs—classes, book clubs, movie nights, story times, tours, and more—libraries have to offer.
3. The Resources. What do librarians consistently cite as among their most under-utilized offerings? The free resources available to their patrons through the library system. We’ll dive into the free classes, free access to paid periodicals, interlibrary loans, Libraries of Things, and research databases you didn’t know you were missing out on. We’ll also explore community resources like voter registration, legal forms, notary services, and job search assistance.
4. Tips and Tricks. We’ll encourage you to cheat on your favorite format, join nearby library systems, and use due dates to your advantage. We’ll also recommend tools to remind you to borrow instead of buy and explore accessibility options. I’ve recruited Hugh Grant to talk about library fines and there will be a real tell-all about all of my library fines. 
5. The People. Ultimately, libraries are run by people. We’ll share what these book-loving people want you to know about getting the most out of your library.

Want to join us?

• If you’re an MMD Book Club member, you don’t need to do anything right now. We’ll email you the link to join the live event on Wednesday at noon EDT and after that it will be available in the Class Library for you to enjoy whenever you like.
• Want to join the MMD Book Club? Do so right here. You’ll get the class for free, plus access to all Book Club benefits: private forums to discuss any title or bookish concern, monthly book picks to read as a community, monthly book chat, and author visits. (We’ve already got Summer Reading Guide authors Sujata Massey and Marisa de los Santos on the calendar for this summer!)
• Want the class, and only the class? It will be in the MMD shop soon. Stay tuned.

My goal at Modern Mrs. Darcy is to help you get more out of your (reading) life, and for most of you, the library plays a huge role in that. I hope you’ll join us for this class, but if you can’t, go visit your library soon. It’s a magical place.