I've had a couple of messages over the last few days from folks saying things like, "Sorry, I can only afford to get your book through the library," and I need you to know I am gripping you by the shoulders, I am shaking you gently, and I am begging you stop apologizing for using library services.

After Amazon and Payhip, the quarterly checks I get from Overdrive/Libby are my biggest and most reliable source of income.

My readers have been nothing but feral in their quest to get Hunger Pangs into as many libraries as possible, and while library lending pays an exceptionally modest amount, if enough people do it (which many of you evidently are), those pennies add up.

I am guaranteed at least $20 a month in library lending royalties. That might not sound like much to some folks, but to me, that's my b12 supplements covered for the month. That's the thing I need to keep me alive paid for.

I will never resent anyone who uses libraries instead of buying books.

I'm a disabled author who lives month to month at the mercy of my medical expenses. Even though I have incredibly generous patrons and supporters, I know what it's like to not be able to afford things.

Use the library. Please.

Use it guilt-free. You're helping the library and the authors, probably more than you realize.

And if you're in the US and haven't signed up for a @queerliblib free library card yet, you should! it doesn't matter what state you're in, the Queer Liberation Library offers free access to their catalogue of queer media across the US.

And if you've got the means, maybe help them out with a little donation. They're only able to expand their collection via the support of their patrons, and the work they're doing is hugely important.

buying books & reading books..two different hobbies.

Find these quality shitpost designs and more at Library Renegade

friendly reminder that your local library has a wide range of FREE ebooks and audiobooks and a mobile app that lets you download and take them anywhere

ay kid, you like readin? then keep your eye on the birdie cause all you need for this card trick is a US address, a phone number, the date your folks popped you out, and a first and last name

you put those figures in this form right here

then theyre gonna give you a little somethin under the table, pro bono

take that card number and pin and bring it over to this site right over here

badabing badaBOOM you now got access to every ebook, audiobook, and magazine under the sun PLUS those ebooks can go straight to kindle. yeah. a real soft on your eyes type

now scram

and dont say i never did nothin for ya

Genuinely: For people who are angry and frustrated at the limited number of movies and shows available for streaming, at the way streaming services pull or cancel movies and shows at will, at the way every media corporation under the sun is pulling their stuff onto their own streaming service and balkanizing access to things behind a dozen different monthly subscriptions? For people who miss Blockbuster and want to be able to just rent a DVD again?

See if your local library has a DVD collection.

If I want to watch The Mummy (1999) with Brendan Fraser? I can't stream it on Netflix, but I can borrow it from my local library.

If I want to watch The Mummy (1932) with Boris Karloff? I can't stream that pretty much anywhere, but I can borrow it from my local library.

I want to watch Star Wars or Iron Man or my favorite Disney movie but I refuse to sell my soul to pay for Disney+? I can borrow these from my local library.

Do I want to finish watching Star Trek: Deep Space 9 or check out Star Trek: Picard but resent that it's all on yet another streaming service I don't want? I can borrow season box sets of DVDs from my local library!

Obviously, available circulating collections vary a lot between library systems. (My hometown's library has all of Star Trek DS9 on DVD, for example, but my college town's library only has TOS, Picard, and Discovery.) And of course it depends on whether things are released in physical media form at all, and you won't be able to keep up with new episodes of new series - it takes a while for many things to come out on DVD.

But there can be a lot of good stuff there too. For example, I missed Nope in theaters, but I still really want to see it. So I have it on hold from my local library. I'm 73rd in line on 50 copies, so it'll be a while.

So check to see what DVD collections your library does have - it might surprise you what you can get access to, for free, in a manner that no greedy corporation can yank away.

And by checking out DVDs, you are telling the library that you use and want them to maintain and grow their AV media collection. Which is an encouragement we could really use these days.

We are all aware that libraries across the United States are under attack. Thanks to groups like Moms for Liberty and other outspoken “concerned citizens,” there has been actual legislative action at multiple levels of government to limit what libraries can do and provide to their communities. Even in the places where there hasn’t been that kind of action, those same concerned citizens have mounted acts of intimidation to instill fear and block access...In light of this, I’ve heard many iterations of the same question: how can we help? What do libraries and library staff need right now?

Thought I could handle a spooky little horror novel—did not expect 'em to come at me with the existential horrors of being a queer child of american evangelicals 😰

Support Your Local Library!

Here’s 3 easy ways to get started: 1.) Get a library card (it’s free and usually just requires proof of residency!) 2.) Attend your local library’s events and programming. 3.) Advocate for increased support and funding. 

Digital illustration of a redhead fem with cat eye glasses wearing a green sparkly dress. She's leaning on a bookcart next to a tuxedo cat holding a book that reads, 'support your local library.' Behind her are books with titles that are commonly banned in schools.

Beautiful Support Your Local Library illustration and print by artist @liberaljane (buy it on her site). Here are three ways to get started, which she recommends: 1) Get a library card (it’s free and usually just requires proof of residency!) 2) Attend your local library’s events and programming. 3) Advocate for increased support and funding. Someone on the original tweet also recommended donating books and materials, which you no longer use - always worth asking your local librarians what sort of things they need for the library. My suggestion: 4) Start a zine club at your local library, where you can share and / or read zines with others, or even make zines with others. Zine clubs are an awesome way to meet people, make friends and explore more zines. And, if you're lucky, your library may have a zine library or zine collection. If not, speak to your local librarians about setting one up! ✨

Here's some reminders!

-Public library cards in the United States of America are free, $0, the overwhelming majority of the time, as long as you can prove your identity and your address

-If you cannot prove your address (you're experiencing homelessness or you just moved, etc), there may be a way around that to get you a free library card anyway, at least temporarily, possibly for a year or more

-If you lose your library card, many many many library systems will replace it for free and many others will do so for $1 or $2

-Many library systems are going fee or fine free as long as you return the book in good condition

-Public library systems in the US are not rolling in cash, generally speaking

-Library systems can only go fee or fine free if they are well-funded by other sources, so if your local library system charges late fees or card replacement fees and you don't like that, don't yell at the librarians - bother your elected officials instead and tell them you want them to give more funding to your local library

I love you libraries I love you public transit I love you pollinator and community gardens I love you parks I love you community and rec centers I love you local coffee shops I love you spaces that aren't hostile to just hang out in.

“I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.” ― Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Spooky season is upon us! To celebrate I put together a few designs promoting books and libraries. If you like them, feel free to use them! These are four of my poster designs! Again, these posters are absolutely free for you to print and use!

Schools and public libraries are under attack and need your support. They are facing quiet defunding, book bans, and acts of hate. Please consider contacting your local representative to ask that these institutions remain funded and protected, and show your support by stopping by your local library.

For additional Halloween freebies celebrating libraries and reading, click the link here!

If you would like to see more of my library/activism designs or would like to get these designs on a T-shirt, book bag, or sticker, you can visit my shop here.

if you haven’t already done so…pls fix this

[Image description: A t-shirt, edited to read, "Support Library," in all capital letters. The original image read, "0% Liberal".]

---

your wish is my command

Friendly reminder that if you're in the U.S. and have a library card you can get a bunch of free entertainment on your phone! Libby gives you access to your library's catalog of e-books and audio books, and Kanopy has a large selections of movies and shows!

Both of these are completely free and only need a library card number!!!!! And keep in mind there are tons of other benefits, these are just the ones I'm talking about!