What a Good Old-fashioned Library Card Will Get You!

Just got my library card today!  And, in the process,  I took out three great books I've been meaning to read for a while now.  I'm blessed with having an amazing, contemporary, local library with an incredible selection!

I really encourage more young adults to utilize their local libraries (especially people in their 20s-40s; a population that, more so than others, does not seem to consider the rewards a local library can provide them).  It just seems if more people would take advantage of the gems they pass on their ways home from work everyday, the world would be a better place... Okay, that's a little intense but read on and you'll get my point.

If you share my love of reading, it is one of the most eco-friendly options out there.  Heck, if you're NOT a big reader it is probably MUCH MORE eco-friendly to go to the library, as opposed to buying a Nook, Kindle, or buying a new book; especially if you can ride your bike or jog to get there!

Although E-books are great, convenient space-savers, and I would not tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do, buy or read, I personally tend to lean towards the Sierra Club perspective.  I just look at it this way: there is a lot of energy that goes into producing e-books.  Energy that could be expended elsewhere.  What's more, Amazon launched the Kindle in the US in 2007 and I believe there have been at least 2 updates since then.  Nowadays, Technology can be costly and not the most sustainable medium to keep up with (especially when you're replacing an e-book with an upgraded version every other year).  So if you can save a buck, a tree and a carbon molecule, then hey, why not?

People are constantly streamlining what they carry in their purses or pockets anyway, right?  My Smartphone acts as my super portable laptop, e-book reader (both Nook and Kindle for Android, along with other e-book readers, are available), navigation system, to do list/organizer and a plethora of other odd-jobs AS WELL as my phone.  So if you're worried about supporting authors and the publishing market and you need your electronic device by your side all the time, maybe you could choose something that encompasses most of your needs all in one.  Less energy consumption in the form of production, packaging and shipping!  That's a plus.

Some added benefits of using your local library:

1. Libraries are not just for books!  My library has:
• newly released DVDs on par with Netflix, 
• helpful workshops for the community (I just signed up for a free resume-writing workshop, a book club and a seminar on organic home gardens!), 
• and conference rooms you can rent out for free (great for non-profits and volunteer organizations to hold meetings).  
• Find out what your's has to offer!  If you want to share I want to hear about it, so let me know!
2. Ideally, as more customers use their local library, generally more money will be allocated towards improving that library's stock and programs.  That can only help a local community.
3. Library cards are free and so are the books (and movies) in them.
4. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.  You are REDUCING your consumption and the books and DVDs are being REUSED countless times.  When they are worn out and simply unreadable they get RECYCLED after a long useful life.  Can't go wrong in my book.
5. The library is a great place to donate those books and DVDs you no longer want or need
6. Books on cd and tape are also available.  I'm pretty sure you can load a book on cd onto your iPod to listen in the car, at the gym, or wherever. 
7. The library is a neutral meeting ground
8. There are a ton more benefits. So if you have some ideas or suggestions please comment.

After I got my library card today I pulled up these two views on the internet:

Sierra Club Blog
Sierra Club Green Home » Blog Archive » E-READERS VS. OLD FASHIONED BOOKS—WHICH IS GREENER?: "E-reader vs. paper book is a provocative question... The key to the answer is that basic tenet of sustainability, life cycle analysis. We must consider not only the trees needed to make paper versus the manufacturing of electronics products, but the shipping costs, fuel, and ultimately, the energy needed to recycle these materials at the end of their days. Not to mention, what ultimately happens to e-waste? Where do the non-recyclable remains end up?... This conclusion is reinforced by a study referenced on the website of TerraPass, a carbon offset business...  its authors said e-readers are the more environmentally responsible choice only if you are reading in excess of 23 books per year(http://www.terrapass.com/blog/posts/digital-books-greener-than-real-books)."

NY Times Blog

Are E-Readers Greener Than Books? - NYTimes.com: "“The new study finds that e-readers could have a major impact on improving the sustainability and environmental impact on the publishing industry, one of the world’s most polluting sectors,” a statement at Cleantech’s Web site states. “In 2008, the U.S. book and newspaper industries combined resulted in the harvesting of 125 million trees, not to mention wastewater that was produced or its massive carbon footprint.”

The report asserts that printed books have the highest per-unit carbon footprint — which includes its raw materials, paper production, printing, shipping, and disposal — in the publishing sector. “In the case of a book bought at a bookstore,” Ms. Ritch said, Cleantech’s measurement “takes into account the fossil fuels necessary to deliver to the bookstore and the fact that 25-36 percent of those books are then returned to the publisher, burning more fossil fuels.”... The Cleantech study concluded that purchasing three e-books per month for four years produces roughly 168 kilograms of CO2 throughout the Kindle’s lifecycle, compared to the estimated 1,074 kilograms of CO2 produced by the same number of printed books."

~Shreena