My Library Card: Pretty Much The Most Important Thing In My Wallet

I love my library card.

I am, as one would expect, a frequent visitor to the Muncie Public Library. There are many reasons for this, but all of these reasons fall easily into two categories: 1) because they have accessible things that I would like access to (ie, books, movies, CDs, internet, etc, etc) and 2) because it's all free (which is becoming quite the important qualification for just about anything I do these days). I got my hands on a Muncie Library card just as soon as I could after we moved here. The only thing that held me up was the proof of address requirement, for which I had to wait until I had an Indiana drivers license.

There are 5 branches of the Muncie Public Library; the branch nearest my home (and therefore also the one I frequent the most) is the Kennedy Library (see left). This branch was opened in 1964 in honor of -- you guessed it -- President John F. Kennedy. The Kennedy has just recently received approval to either add on to the present building or move to another as-of-yet undisclosed location because this branch is the busiest in the city (probably because I'm always there). The other branches of the library system are: the Carnegie (Carnegie...go figure. This is the main branch and it's located downtown. See photo at right), the Conley, the Maring-Hunt, and the Local History and Genealogy Center.

The book collection of the Muncie library system is fairly decent. So far I've been able to get my hands on just about every book I've wanted to read (including Princess Academy by Utah author Shannon Hale...I was surprised I could actually get this one because they don't have (sadly) The Goose Girl or Enna Burning). If the branch you are at does not have a copy of the book you want, but another branch does have it, you can request that it be delivered to your branch and put on hold for you. This system has come in very handy because driving across Muncie for any reason is pretty much always a pain. The layout of this town makes it incredibly difficult to get anywhere quickly, even though Muncie is not a large city. The most recent books I checked out (and read, too, by the way) were The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. (And yes, I would recommend them both.)

Blake and I also love the Muncie library because they boast a pretty impressive collection of movies ... and you can check them out for free. Think Orem library, only bigger, and freer. Free movies from the library make for great ways to relax on weekends or when we are feeling generally burned out. Oh, and the movies available are not just PBS documentaries (a la the Provo Library); new releases and a variety of genres abound.

For the first time last night, we surveyed the libraries' music collection. And we found it to be suitable, at best. We checked out the latest U2 album, and Bach's Mass in B Minor.

Free access to the Internet is another important reason we frequent the library because we don't have the Internet at home. It served me very well as I searched for a job and continues to serve me when I need to check my email on the weekends. It was also the main reason Blake and I were even at the library last night in the first place -- Blake's place of work is once again showing off their ability to waste perfectly good talent by giving him zero hours again this week. We decided that before he does anything drastic (such as tell them off and storm out, never to return again), it might be wise to have another place to work. So we went to utilize the library's free Internet to search and apply for a few jobs.

The last reason I am going to list here of why I simply adore the Muncie Public Library is the fact that this year they are doing an Adult Summer Reading Program. Does anyone besides myself recognize the coolness of this? I signed up last night and simply for doing that I was given a rain check for a "goody bag" (they had run out and couldn't get me one then). I also learned that if I read one book a week and submit a form stating my name, the book's name and author, and a brief review, I will get entered in a weekly drawing for enticing prizes (and by "enticing prizes," I mean desirable gift certificates). As I told the librarian last night, "Hey, I'm all for free or reduced dates."

So, dust off your library cards and head to your local library...and then just try and tell me that yours is as cool as the Muncie Public Library.