Libraries
I read voraciously, so I'm a big fan of the county's library system: libraries here are well-stocked and open long hours. The catalogue and renewals system is online. Video and DVD rentals are free — which'd be useful if we had a video or a DVD player, but anyway...
And best of all, you can put a hold on anything at any library in the system and have it sent to your local library for pickup, free. This hugely increases the pool of books I have available; in Windsor, I had to pay for holds which meant I rarely used them. Here, I'm placing holds regularly.
There's a huge contrast between Danville library, which I used to use, and Walnut Creek Library, which I use now. Danville built a huge and expensive new library in 1996, which means they have a very nice building filled with a pretty poor stock of books.
Walnut Creek still uses its original 1961 library building, which was built to handle a population of less than 10,000; Walnut Creek now has a population of 65,000 and the library is way too small. But the stock: the stock is fantastic. Plans are afoot to rebuild, subject to securing finance, but the new library could yet be a long time coming.
And best of all, you can put a hold on anything at any library in the system and have it sent to your local library for pickup, free. This hugely increases the pool of books I have available; in Windsor, I had to pay for holds which meant I rarely used them. Here, I'm placing holds regularly.
There's a huge contrast between Danville library, which I used to use, and Walnut Creek Library, which I use now. Danville built a huge and expensive new library in 1996, which means they have a very nice building filled with a pretty poor stock of books.
Walnut Creek still uses its original 1961 library building, which was built to handle a population of less than 10,000; Walnut Creek now has a population of 65,000 and the library is way too small. But the stock: the stock is fantastic. Plans are afoot to rebuild, subject to securing finance, but the new library could yet be a long time coming.
