Ask HN: Any Open Library Memberships?
I really enjoy my local library in Texas but the digital/Overdrive selection they offer is limited. Do you know of any libraries that have open memberships to non-locals?
https://openlibrary.org/help/faq/reading
Or perhaps the Digital Public Library of America:
Austin TX has an eCard program, you can access their Overdrive for $22 https://library.austintexas.gov/mylibrarycard
As well, you may want to look to see if you can get access through other librarires in Texas via the TexShare Card program. https://www.tsl.texas.gov/texshare/card
Separately, I wonder if there are any university libraries that offer memberships for non-affiliated people. For instance I wonder if I could get library access at CUNY or NYU (or Columbia, etc.) since I live in NYC. In general it feels like there's more of a hassle than there should be for city residents to benefit from city universities even if you aren't a student/faculty.
- https://library.ccny.cuny.edu/about/friends
- https://library.cooper.edu/friends/
- https://library.nyu.edu/about/general/fob/
Between NYPL, QPL, BPL, and these I think living in NYC gives you access to a pretty great selection of materials. Navigating the policies can be a bit like juggling streaming services but is completely worth it in my opinion.
* Brooklyn Public Library
* Monroe County Library System
* Queens Public Library
* Charlotte Mecklenburg Library
* Chapel Hill Public Library
* Houston Public Library
* Fairfax County Public Library
* Free Library of Philadelphia
* Los Angeles Public Library
* Atlanta-Fulton Library
* Austin Public Library
* Enoch Pratt Free Library
* New Orleans Public Library
* Orange County Library System
* Westchester Library System
* Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
[1] https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/EBook_Lending_Libraries#Wid...
I think the OP's question is a good one. It's unusual in some ways, in that even if you are willing to pay for library access you often can't obtain it.
The problem related to access to academic resources in this way isn't just an issue of "open versus closed" in the sense of intellectual property, or even a problem of financial barriers to access, but also a gatekeeping problem.
Someone who is willing to pay, say, an amount equal to student services fees should probably be able to access the equivalent of a university library. It feels like, say, a US citizen should be able to access journal articles through the library of congress, maybe through a nominal yearly fee. You could even limit access like ebooks etc and it would still be better than the current system.
There's so many things like this in contemporary society that shouldn't be this way.
and we should be able to utilize the USPS for interlibrary loan. But lately that would seem like a terribly risky proposition. We'd be on the hook for any books that were lost, stolen etc. Maybe we could get the Japanese in to run the postal system for us under a yearly license and them do something like this???