You should also know that libraries spend most of their budget not on actual physical books, maintenance, or staff but on subscription fees to the digital library platforms they have. I learned this about my university library and I suspect it’s probably the same elsewhere, especially libraries on college campuses.

UK as an adult you often have to pay for this per request and there is a limit on the number you can request at once. As it can take weeks or even months to complete while you wait for your turn in the queue so it makes it very hard to stack requests.

As a kid I used to love this service as it was free without real request linits and a lot faster. I could just pre order books that hadn’t come out.

I stopped using my local library because of it as their planned fiction book selection is basically large print romance or war stories or westerns.

I bring this up like every chance I get, but check out Libby if you don’t want to go to the library. You just link your library card and you have access to tons of books, audio books, and magazines. I also just found out about Hoopla a couple days ago and will be checking that out as soon as I go get my library card renewed tomorrow. Same principle, access to your library’s stuff, but also includes music and movies as well.

ILL is the older system, where you make the request to the library and they go try to find it.

There’s a newer “Link+” service where you can do the search yourself and request delivery to specific branches. Supported by a lot of member libraries, for example: https://sfpl.libanswers.com/faq/103121

In our library system, they don’t put Link+ holds with normal holds. You have to go ask someone to look. We get an email that it’s arrived and we have 3 days to pick it up.

At my local library you can do it through their library system website or the librariana will do it for you if you’re there in person. It’s really great.