Maybe Chuckles was referring to the libraries in South Jersey where I lived until Spring this year. They had no online system for searching and reserving. The intra-library loan system was a joke, taking weeks to get a book 10 miles across town. If you wanted a title they didn't have, which for me was almost always, the North Jersey libraries might have it but you would have to wait 4 months. I wish I was exaggerating. E-book reader borrowing became available March of this year but in a very limited way and of course, you had to own a reader. The funding for books was absurdly low but apparently the computer funding was through the roof. In the late 90's every county library removed 70% of their books and installed computer labs. Late last year I filled out a paper reservation slip for a new, best-seller biography. It took 3 months for them to call me to pick it up. Apparently they'd only bought two copies for the entire county. They also charged $ to check out videos and cd's.
Our county was the poorest and least educated county in the state so the theory of the average education level of residents in relation to availability of materials is an intriguing possibility.
Now I live Colorado, just outside a major city. The library system here is absolutely FABULOUS!!!!! My husband has read only two books in his adult life and even he can't wait to use the library site and pick up books now. He jumps at the chance to take the kids over and of course, they love it too! It couldn't be easier to reserve what we want online. We can clearly see where we are on the waiting list for items. For high demand items, you can get on the waiting list or get lucky and see the item on the Rapid check-out shelf when you visit. They buy copies for both purposes. For example, hubby got on the list for the new Dark Shadows movie and was 400th in line(the county bought 40 copies so the wait wouldn't have been forever)but when he picked up items yesterday he saw the movie on the Rapid shelf(3 day borrowing). I love the Rapid borrowing option! It seems to level the playing field for those who don't have easy access to computers to make reservations on materials. When our items are ready, it's a simple stop for hubby on the way home from work and the check out system is is digital self check-out. They even hand out the actual e-readers if you don't have one when you borrow a title. I know I'm gushing but as a 32 year old bookworm painfully disappointed with the public library system in my county for over 15 years and dreaming of a perfect system, this is about as close to it as I could imagine.
Right now I'm reading, free:
The Debt Bomb, by Tom Coburn
Liberty Defined, Ron Paul
North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell
A Field Guide to American Houses, McAllister
Against Wind and Tide, Ann Morrow Lindbergh
Homebuilding and Woodworking in Colonial America, Keith Wilbur
A Tiny Home to Call Your Own, P. Foreman
The Tragedy of American Compassion, M. Olasky
I'm back to being the voracious reader I was when I was a teenager, when the library system in South Jersey had tons of books. They were mostly from the 70's but that didn't make them completely irrelevant. ;)
So far this year, as a busy homeschooling mother to three kids, I've read over 70 books. We have 3 weeks of Winter break coming up and I have put over 30 books and books on CD on reserve at the library to get me through.
