Is it bad that I feel slightly bad that I keep coming to the library to use its quietness and its desk space and its pleasant atmosphere for writing but I never check out books?
Why would you feel bad? You’re using the library for one of its intended purposes. The desks, WiFi, space etc are LITERALLY there for you to do exactly what you’re doing AND each time you go in you add to the foot traffic numbers that prove hey people are coming in to use our stuff mr. government so keep funding us.
Confirmed by another public librarian. One of the stats we track is “WiFi usages”
That is, we track number of sessions/devices using it over time.
The library is not about snooping on what you’re doing with that WiFi. Libraries respect privacy.
We literally have a door counter at my library. Congratulations, you just added to our statistics.
I think it’s a bit sad that with more and more public spaces vanishing, people are feeling bad about not “buying” stuff to “earn” their time at a library.
A library is like a park, you’re allowed to just. Exist in it.
I check out books every 4 weeks, when the learning period from my current books is up, but I go much more frequently with my kid to just sit there and read to them, and that’s okay. In my school days, we’d go and do our research for presentations there, just reading, never checking out.
A library is a space to just exist.
So a year or so ago, we added some new desklets at our library, in areas where we noticed that people gravitated to but didn’t have the right furnishing to use them in the way they wanted to.
The first few weeks of having the new furniture were absolutely filled with excited librarians whispering to each other, “Look! Someone’s using the desklet in the back corner!” and “casually” walking by to enjoy the sight like wildlife researchers who had successfully baited a particularly elusive rare bird. Nobody cared if those people checked anything out or not. There was a need! We saw the need! We filled the need! Hooray!
WE PUT THE THING THERE TO BE USED. USE THE THING.
And you literally pay for the thing! You pay taxes! I’m sure they would want you there regardless and I understand you feel like you have to pay for rent but you very much did already pay for it, that was a thing that happened!
Old art from Orctober 2023 (theme horror subclasses). I still love these so much and if you need inspiration this october you should try this challenge!
Baton Rouge, LA – Governor Jeff Landry is warning all SNAP welfare cardholders that they will receive no new benefits on their cards starting November 1st due to the federal government shutdown in Washington, DC. Any remaining benefits from previous months can still be used. Updated information will be available to all Louisiana residents through a new site https://dcshutdown.la.gov.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana receive SNAP welfare benefits. An update from the USDA this summer stated more than 16% of the population in Louisiana receives SNAP benefits.
said in tags but please consider making a cash donation to your local food bank or finding a community kitchen that makes and distributes meals to donate your time or money to.
my mum has severe knee problems and needs a replacement. Today she was told she’s too fat to be operated on and the knee specialist suggested she gets a gastric band - which also involves surgery. So my mum was like first of all you didn’t read my file because it explains that I’m not fat because I eat too much second of all you said it’s impossible for me to get surgery and then suggested I get a surgery about it? He then asked her her weight and height, didn’t believe her answer, and made her prove it to him because she “looks fatter than that”. So she was like so you also just entirely based this on looks instead of actual numbers?
My mom went through something similar. She needed a knee replacement and her doctor wouldn’t okay it until she lost weight, which was difficult given the whole knee problem preventing her from walking thing. He told her she was too dangerous to operate on and that there were just too many risks.
My mom tried to lose weight in vain for months before she finally gave into my begging her to get a second opinion. The first doctor she saw next scheduled her for surgery the same day she met him. When my mom asked about the risk of operating on her he told her that there was some minor risks for complication and that all she would need to do to alleviate the risk was spend an extra night in the hospital so that they could keep a look out for any complications.
There were zero. There were also zero complications when she had her other knee done, her hip replaced and her gallbladder removed.
Almost like the first doctor was entirely full of shit and just trying to coerce his patient to lose weight by scaring her for fucking nothing, even when she was living day to day in excruciating pain and desperately needed a surgery.
ALT
