Strollerderby : convenience

Will Libraries Go the Way of Video Stores?

Miriam Axel-Lute — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:15:00 GMT

Anyone who has both used Netflix and had an overdue library book knew it was only a matter of time until the same model was used for books. And in fact, there are a few companies out there who have been sailing in those waters, like Booksfree and Book Swim. Book Swim is now specifically promoting itself to pregnant women ("It costs a lot to buy all those pregnancy books only to discover that most of them are useless and mostly designed to scare the crap out of you." Ahem, my words, not theirs) and also parents of the voracious read-to-me set ("save money spent on buying lots of children's books that can be rented instead." Their words, not mine).

While it appeals on some level, I have quibbles with the execution: They have not yet gotten the one of the main keys to Netflix's success, which is having everything, not just the most popular stuff. I looked up several of my daughter's favorites on Book Swim, and they weren't there. Not only that, but her not-all-that-obscure beloved tales don't come anywhere near meeting the fine-print criteria for the cheery "just tell us what you want and we'll buy it for you!" option, which include "an Amazon sales rank of at least 20,000." That's pretty narrow folks. I think there must be 20,000 best-selling unofficial political biographies alone.

If you're going to charge $20 to 40/month for 3 to 11 books at a time (Book Swim. Don't get fooled by their low intro rate—it's one month only) or $10 to $50/month for 2 to 15 books at time (Booksfree), you need super-duper-special selection and service. Remember folks, you are competing against free. I suppose if I had to drive to the library, or had a work schedule that conflicted with its hours, the delivery aspect would be more of a draw and feel like less of an environmental faux pas, but from my home office it just looks like one more lost excuse to get out of the house for 15 minutes. (And it's worth noting that many libraries apparently will deliver too under some circumstances.)

I'm sure the right person with sufficient capital could iron out these issues, add a recommendation engine, and be really in business. (Unless the higher cost of shipping books compared to DVDs just makes it an idea whose time hasn't come after all. It's possible.)

But what really troubles me, of course, is the idea of abandoning the library. Libraries still serve as one of the rare public meeting spaces not devoted to commerce. They help kids with research and adults with job hunts and starting businesses and their own formal and informal educations. Libraries buy books based on both popularity and serving their public. They tend to fight the good fight to make sure controversial material is available. You know, good qualifty-of-life, bastion of democracy stuff.

We recently had a budget vote on a large plan to expand and upgrade the branch libraries up here in Albany, so I've seen the research about the social and economic benefits of a good library. But I've also heard from the kooks who say that with the Internet and big-box bookstores, we don't need libraries anymore, and I hate the idea of giving them more ammunition. I know book renters would still pay their library taxes, but usage rates and general familiarity are crucial to keep libraries' budgets away from the ax.

I think with the right savvy, libraries are up to the task of competing with even an improved book rental service. Already, through inter-library loans you can get almost anything, and with my countywide system's online reservation system, it's almost as easy as Netflix to request something. A little slow to get it, but that should be fixable. Make renewing easier, with a warning system when something's coming due, and you're most of the way there for me.

Besides, for picture books, the library already wins hands down: My daughter gets the tactile adventure of browsing the shelves and discovering hidden gems, and we get the excuse of "Oh, that has to go back to the library now!" when a not-quite-gem has worn out its welcome.

Photo by Sugar Pond.

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Do You Leave Your Kids in "Car Care?"

JeanneSager — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 17:31:00 GMT

My friend calls it "car care." The kid's fast asleep in the backseat, and you just need to hop out for five seconds. If you're in sight of the car, you leave it running. If you're going inside, you lock the doors.

It's gotten plenty of moms in trouble - like the Miami mom who left three kids under 3 in the backseat of her Cadillac this week, air conditioning going at full blast, windows rolled down, keys dangling from the ignition. This wasn't a "jump out to feed the meter, drop a library book in the drop box, grab a carton of milk . . " sort of incident. Misti Ellis was inside a store, "reading magazines." Now she's facing jail time, and deservedly so.

But sometimes, you just can't avoid it.

Earlier this year, an Ilinois woman sparked plenty of debate here on Strollerderby for leaving her sleeping 2-year-old in the warm car while she popped out to chuck some change in a Salvation Army can - with the car in plain sight. The charges were eventually dropped with plenty of moms coming out to admit, "hey, been there, done that." And yes, I'm one of them. I live in a very rural area, and on occasion have left her sleeping while I grabbed the mail at the post office or rolled down the windows and parked in front of the ice cream stand so I could jump out to get a soda for the road. I wouldn't do it anywhere but here, and I wouldn't do it without the keys in my hot little hand and her fastened tight into the booster seat. I'm guilty - I've used car care.

Which is why I'm all for the lazying-up of America. Drive-through windows? I love them. I never have to take a toddler out in the cold when I'm in dire need of caffeine. Drop boxes for the mail/library books/movie rentals? I don't care if the place is open - walking inside that building means waking the dragon in the backseat and enduring 10 minutes of screeching. The same goes for Pay and Pump credit card machines at the gas stations - pure genius.

Yes, I'll blame my ever-widening hind end on my daughter. Better that than car care.

Image: Edmunds

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The Biggest Driving Mistakes Moms Make

Amy Kuras — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:32:00 GMT

As responsible parents, we'd never drive drunk, tailgate out of road rage, try to apply makeup or read while driving, right?
But turns out some very common behaviors are just as dangerous. According to this story from MSNBC, a recent University of Utah study found that subjects using cell phones in a driving simulation had three accidents, while those who were drunk had none (although I take major issue with the story for this: "Tempting as it may be to use free minutes to schedule a playdate…." Sure. Because everything we do as mothers has to be about our children. It's not like we have jobs or friends or volunteer activities we might need to check in with, no, we're just shopping, cooking, cleaning, playdate-scheduling machines.).

Other dangerous behaviors are eating behind the wheel, drowsy driving, and tending to our kids while in the car (passing out snacks and handing over sippy cups, for example). It all comes down to driver distraction. Distractions of just three seconds cause fully 80 percent of accidents.

I know so far, I've been lucky – the multiple times I've reached or glanced back to tend to my kids while driving have resulted in other drivers not hitting me, (but probably wishing they could because I'm driving like an idiot). I must say, my cell phone's been broken for about a month now and while I miss the convenience of catching up on calls while I am out and about, I'm glad I have had a chance to break the habit.