It’s only fitting that my first local-y post be dedicated to one of my favorite places on earth- the Kalamazoo Public Library. Honestly, we have one of the best libraries ever. On top of being incredibly cool looking, it has an INSANE amount of stuff. This is all about learning to use the library for things you might not have thought of. Here’s what I use the library for:
* Books. Obviously. They have an excellent selection, and you RARELY have to wait very long, even if it’s a new one.
* MOVIES! NEW ONES! I actually canceled my Netflix account after I discovered KPL’s extensive DVD collection. KPL has two different ’sections’ for movies. Upstairs, on the main floor, you’ll find what are called Hot Picks. These are new movies and, because they they’re new, they are check-out-able for three nights. Good for you because you get them for longer than a night, BETTER for you because it means that no one else can take them out for weeks on end, making it impossible for you to watch them!
The other section of movies is downstairs and it is EXTENSIVE. New movies, old movies, DVD, VHS, even Blu-Ray! Also, any type of movie you can think of. In addition to your theater movies, you have exercise videos, documentaries, classroom types of movies, musicals, foreign films, children’s films, anime, etc. Honestly, they’ve got everything you could possibly be looking for. Movies I’ve recently taken out: Wolverine, Mad Men: Seasons 1 & 2, Sunshine Cleaning, etc. I’ve noticed that KPL usually buys multiple copies of new movies and puts a few in Hot Picks and a few in regular rotation, so if you don’t see it in the library, get online and reserve it. JUST BECAUSE YOU DON’T SEE IT DOESN’T MEAN THEY DON’T HAVE IT! Get online and reserve it- it could be checked out or at another branch.

Non- Hot Pick movies are check-out-able for one week.
*Music: Not lame music. EVERYTHING, and it’s very current. They have sections for rock, r&b/rap, jazz, country, local acts, alternative, etc. If you are the parent of a teenager, consider taking them the music section at KPL. When I browse the titles, I recognize the names of many bands that my younger and much cooler brother likes. There is also a really great children’s music section. Also, if you’re after a specific CD and KPL doesn’t have it, you can suggest that they buy it!
*Audiobooks: I have a two hour roundtrip commute to work, and audiobooks are saving my sanity. Currently, I’m listening to Super Freakonomics, but I have also recently listened to Pimsler’s Learn French CDs, NPR “Driveway moments”, etc. Once again, there are tons of audio books for kids and teenagers. They also have “Playaways”, which are tiny recorders that you just need to put headphones into(*A warning about those: They are very expensive to replace, so maybe not the best idea for kids).
*Comedy: I’m not going to say it’s extensive, but KPL definitely does have more comedy CDs than I’ve ever seen a library possess. Recent comedians I’ve listened to: Mike Birbiglia, Patton Oswalt, Christopher Titus, Dane Cook, Mitch Hedburg. All for free, all courtesy of KPL.

*Magazines and Newspapers: An extensive collection, all for free, on the main floor. I like to use the back issues of Weight Watchers magazine and steal the recipes.

*Books you wouldn’t have thought to look for I recently took up sewing, and there in the sewing section at KPL I found Lana Jansdotter’s Simple Sewing. This book is full of hip, easy sewing projects, and even includes patterns. It sells for $17 on Amazon, but I’m going to make the projects for free! There are lots of things like this at the library- cookbooks, how-to books, etc.

*Ipods If you don’t happen to have a portable audio device, KPL also allows you to check out Ipods with preloaded audio!

Other Resources/Events at KPL

*Book Clubs. The Central branch group is reading literary classics and the Oshtemo group is reading Eat, Pray, Love for their January 12th meeting.

*Kids information and events (don’t miss the story time calendar)

*Tween and Teen Events, including a “Galley Group” that lets teens read and give feedback about books that aren’t published yet!

*Presentations, including several related to computer training and writing resumes and cover letters (many of these require pre-registration, so check the details).

*The Friends Book Store located on the lower level of the library sells inexpensive used books, many of which are current!

*Law Library tons of resources on legal matters, and a once a month “Ask a Lawyer” session where an attorney provides free legal advice to low to moderate income individuals (*Important notes about that: 1. You must register in advance 2. The attorney does not represent you in court, only offers their professional advice.) Don’t you think that’s a pretty remarkable program!??

Tips:

Reserve online. Get an online account. Not only does it make it incredibly easy to reserve and track everything you’re after, you can also set it up so that you get emails when your items are due. This will save you a fortune in overdue fines.

Get a calendar. The overdue fines aren’t much but if you take A LOT out at once (like I do), they can REALLY add up. Be especially mindful of Hot Picks- both movies and books. Those generate a $1 per day late fine! Again, you get Hot Picks movies for 3 nights, and Hot Picks books (usually the brand new, really popular stuff) for two weeks.

Can’t find what you’re looking for? Try MelCat- If a participating library in the state has what you’re looking for, they’ll send it to KPL for you!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 16th, 2009 at 7:18 pm and is filed under entertainment, goods. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.