Navigating Terrible Libraries

Post by **RegularJackass** » Tue Sep 11, 2018 12:32 am

As you might already know, researching for a project, trying to find relevant textbooks for school, or even trying to learn something new properly is pretty much impossible if you just enter a library and search the bookshelves. This is especially true if you live in a location that isn't in the absolute center of a metropolis. I've been at this for a while, so I've come up with some ways to streamline the process and make sifting through the mess of "clickbait books" in order to find actual informative books a lot easier.
EDIT: I JUST LEARNED THAT YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET A LIBRARY CARD IN A HUGE METROPOLIS IF YOU ARE A RESIDENT OF THAT STATE, EVEN IF YOU DON'T LIVE IN SAID METROPOLIS (IF YOU LIVE IN THE US). THIS IS TANTALIZING AND I AM LOOKING INTO IT
Before you even go to the library, you might want to have a look at your chosen topic in Goodreads; www.goodreads.com - set up a free account and have at it. If you look at books by genre you can find out what the entire damn world is reading, not just what people in your podunk library think is a "good source of information." Here's the alphabetic list of genres if you want to browse https://www.goodreads.com/genres/list and the simplified genre listing page https://www.goodreads.com/genres This will hopefully give you a better idea of what you're really looking for and get you acquainted with your chosen field of study. Bear in mind that most of the really tantalizing books will have to be bought online or in a used bookstore... but you'd be surprised what familiarizing yourself with good-looking books on Goodreads can do for your odds of finding good texts in a library.
Every library I know of has an online catalog in the U.S. so don't search the racks in person. Use the online catalog at home, making sure you do a thorough search and get more books on the same topic than you think you'll need. Since you're not there in person to flip through the books and skim the contents, you'll have to screen them at home; usually the ratio is 2 duds to one decent book. Be prepared to get pretty much all your books from inter-library loan; don't worry, you probably won't have to pay for it but discuss it with your librarian first. It can take weeks for your books to arrive from the middle of nowhere, but at least they'll be free and not clickbait. If you are lucky, you might find some ebooks on the library catalog's website that are actually readable, but I guarantee you that it won't be fun to deal with. Just a heads up.
It helps to have a list of search terms handy. Brainstorm that list, then use one term at a time to mine for gold. You should know that if you already know an author that publishes good quality content, finding informative books listed under the author name is a lot easier than keywords, titles, etc.
Once it gives you a list of books, double-check their reviews and descriptions on www.amazon.com if you aren't sure about them. If Amazon allows you to "look inside this book," use that. Write down the titles of the ones that look promising and call numbers on a piece of paper. Keep searching using different search terms.
Check the library hours, go there when they are open with your paper, and with some bill with your address on it and your driver's license or other form of ID if you don't yet have a library card, and you are good to go. It's usually best to restrict yourself to only ten titles, so choose them well, and go back later if you need more.
Hope this saves you some headaches.

How to Improve Your Library
There are a couple of options here.
Get involved with the library itself and/or get on the board of Trustees
https://www.stageoflife.com/education/l ... brary.aspx
Donate books or money
https://classroom.synonym.com/how-to-do ... 77934.html
Encourage people to come with you to the library and regularly check out books from it even if it sucks, and/or get involved with politics at a local or larger level to improve funding and legislation for your area's libraries
https://mastersreview.com/8-ways-to-sup ... l-library/