{"id":5930,"date":"2010-12-27T17:08:45","date_gmt":"2010-12-27T23:08:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bekahcubed.menterz.com\/blog\/?p=5930"},"modified":"2010-12-27T17:08:45","modified_gmt":"2010-12-27T23:08:45","slug":"whats-up-with-my-nightstand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/bekahcubed.menterz.com\/blog\/2010\/20101227-5930.htm","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s up with my nightstand?"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of my first thoughts when it became apparent that I would be moving from Lincoln to Columbus was to ask about the Columbus public library system. <\/p>\n

What I discovered was less than exciting. Columbus\u2019s library is approximately the size of the branch library I used as a pre-teen\u2014the library that I abandoned for the main library once my bookish appetite outgrew endless re-readings of Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. Furthermore, the Columbus library has a lending limit of 15 titles, a far cry from the 150 I\u2019ve acclimated myself to at the Lincoln Public Libraries. <\/p>\n

Taking into account these variables, and considering the goal I\u2019ve been working on for four years (of reading every book in my Lincoln branch library), I decided to investigate the costs of purchasing an out-of-county subscription to the Lincoln Public Libraries.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d previously calculated the \u201cworth\u201d of my local (Lincoln) library at more than $5000 per year (using the cost of purchasing my average annual usage rather than borrowing it from the library). Compare to that, the $60 cost of purchasing an annual subscription is chump change. <\/p>\n

With an annual subscription in hand, I will drive into Lincoln once every six weeks to load up on the library\u2019s limit of 150 items. Each of these items will be checked out for three weeks and then renewed electronically for an additional three weeks. <\/p>\n

This is unlikely to change my standard library usage by much, as my average is slightly higher than 150 items per 6 weeks. However, it will alter my library usage PATTERNS significantly. <\/p>\n

While living in Lincoln, I was used to visiting the library once or twice a week, checking out ten to twenty items per visit. I returned items as soon as I had read them, meaning that I rarely had more than fifty items checked out at a time (except during that one summer when I intentionally kept books around in order to max out my card at 167\u2014with 17 in the drop box). I had no system for what books I checked out when. I merely checked out what looked interesting at the moment\u2014and if my reading mood changed, I could always take a ten-minute run to the library to check out something new.<\/p>\n

Now, with the library an hour and a half away\u2014and limiting myself to one visit per six weeks\u2014I need a system to ensure that I have enough variety to keep me interested for the entire six weeks.<\/p>\n

So, in true Type A fashion, I\u2019ve developed a library-visit rubric for myself.<\/p>\n

During each library visit, I will check out:<\/p>\n