This week’s column is all about inter-library loan and why you should be using it to borrow more books.

Before I started at the Library, I’d sometimes think about ordering a book through ILL, but then decide against it. I couldn’t be totally sure I’d like it, I’d reason, and it seemed like an awful lot of trouble for a lot of people.

Now that I’m on the other side of the desk, I can see the flaws in that logic. We get book deliveries at the Library every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, whether there are 10 books in the delivery or 100. Processing those deliveries is our job, not an inconvenience. And checking out a book just to see if you might like it is a perfectly legitimate reason to choose a book!

Through the Minerva consortium — the group of libraries with whom we share books, DVDs, and other media — there are almost five million different items for you to borrow. With that many, you could read a new book each day for 13,698 years!

Or, more practically, you can get the exact book to suit your needs. Interested in studying math (because, who isn’t!)? We have “Mathematics: From the Birth of Numbers” and “The Puzzle Universe: A History of Mathematics in 315 Puzzles” on the shelves. Or we will, until I check them out. But you can also get “Statistics Without Mathematics” from the library at Southern Maine Community College or “Statistics Done Wrong: The Woefully Complete Guide” from Curtis Memorial Library.

Sick of what’s available for free on Netflix? We can get “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” or “The Durrells in Corfu” in just a few days. So don’t hesitate to ask!

You can search our catalog yourself from the top right corner of our website (bbhlibrary.org). Choose to search “All Minerva” to access all media available through ILL.

Once you find what you’re looking for, click on the red “request” link. From there, you’ll be prompted to enter your name and library card number (remember that begins with “bbh”). If your request gets denied, give us a call. It’s probably because your library card has expired, and we’ll be able to update that instantly.

So get searching, get borrowing, and we’ll call you when your books are in!

Upcoming events

• Toddler Story Hour: Fridays, 10:15 a.m. Hear a story, make a craft, and sing a song with friends
• Lighthouse Learning Center Story Hour: Thursdays, 10:30 a.m. This story hour, geared towards children aged 2-4, is open to the public.
• Student Art Display: mixed media children’s artwork on display through Friday, March 31.
• Minecraft Club: Wednesdays, 2-3 p.m. grades K -3 and Fridays, 3-4 p.m., grades 4 and up. Children’s Room. Come and build in a virtual world with friends.
• Literary Lunch: Friday, April 21, 11:30 a.m. Kevin Hancock, “Not For Sale.” Call or stop by to register.

For more information and a complete listing visit: bbhlibrary.org/events/ or stop by!