La Biblioteca

We are big library users. Figuring out how to access the local library was a big priority when we moved here.

There are three libraries in town. Biblioteca Torre Del Mar, Biblioteca Municipal Maestro José Ramos Cabello, and the Biblio Playa.

Turns out, getting access to the library is not that hard, since we have Spanish residency. All that was involved was filling out a form for each of us. Once completed, we turned the form into the front desk. The local government has not given the library a card making machine, so we do not get to have a library card🙁. We just have to give our names when we want to check out a book.

The library that we use most it the Biblioteca Torre Del Mar.

The selection is quite small, but we’ve been able to find several good books for everyone.

Leo has found some great books about dragons and castles and Oliver has found some books that he needs for school. We also found a selection of books about this region of Spain, and even though they are written for kids, Todd and I have learned a lot from them.

At home, the boys mainly select books from the graphic novel section. There isn’t a graphic novel section here, so the boys have the opportunity to expand their reading interests.

There is no online book catalog or card catalog. To find a book you have to ask the woman at the front desk and she will look it up on her computer.

Then she will walk over to the shelves and find the book for you.

One week she was out sick and had a substitute. She tried, but couldn’t seem to find any of the books we were looking for. We had to come back the following week. There is some sort of organizational system, but neither her substitute nor I could figure it out. Another disadvantage of not having an online computer library system is that the only way to renew a book is to visit the library in person, with the book in hand. Then she will hand stamp each book (like when I was a kid, back in the 70s and 80s).

One of our biggest frustrations is the open hours. The library is only open during the week in the morning and the evening (and closed for 3 hours for lunch), and closed all weekend. Given the kids’ sports and music class schedules, that only allows for one afternoon a week that we can take them to the library.

The Biblioteca Municipal Maestro José Ramos Cabello is another library in town.

This library is unique because you can’t check out any of its books, or it’s extensive DVD collection. You are only allowed to view the items in the library, so we don’t really use this library.

The Biblio Playa may be my favorite. It is located directly on the beach.

It is little more than a shack and the selection of books is extremely limited. But it has a great selection of board games and puzzles and even ping pong paddles to check out. During the week, seniors come to read the newspaper. On the weekends, lots of families come to play the games.