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I would like to make a few comments on the Milan
Library. I'm an avid reader, often up to six novels a month, and I'm
thrilled with the people and the service they offer at the library. My
eyesight is not great and I usually read only large print books and
because the library belongs to the Clevnet Library System, I'm able to
get just about any book I want to read in large print. If you're a reader
and have problem eyesight, I strongly encourage you to join the Milan
library and use your computer to search their vast library and order the
books you want to read in large print. Or if you want to take out an audio
book, or DVD or video tape to watch over the weekend, your
membership get's you all that and more. Other services they offer is
computers for public use, fax service, internet access, photocopier
service, tax forms, voter registration and word processor. In my opinion, this library is a
huge asset to Milan and the surrounding area. The library hours vary from
winter to summer so keep that in mind when visiting the library.
On June 1, 2007 the Milan Library changed it's hold and
checkout policy. Prior to this time you could look up a book you wanted on
the library's Internet site and place a hold on it, so that when it was available they
would notify you and you could go to the library and pick it up or arrange
for someone to pick it up for you. This was
an ideal situation for busy working people and people with handicaps. Now
however, the Milan Library no longer accept holds on new books for 3 months.
While this policy will prevent new local books from going
to other libraries through hold reservations, it also prevents many people
who live in Milan from reserving a new book from the local library.
Effectively, the majority of people in Milan really have no way of getting
new books that come into the library unless they want to hang out at the
library which I don't think most people want to do. If the Milan Library
had a policy where only members of the Milan Library could reserve new
books, that would make sense to me. But to deny new books to people who don't
have the time to often stop by and browse at the library seems to me to be
backwards. And for
those people who are handicapped such as with eyesight problems that
prevent them from driving to the library or being in a wheelchair or
bedridden, the library has effectively removed their only way of reserving
new books from our hometown library. Fortunately, most other library's in
the Clevnet system do not have this policy and you can still reserve a
book from another library, just not from Milan. I'm sure this policy makes
sense to somebody...just not to me. |
