{"id":16564,"date":"2026-02-27T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/?p=16564"},"modified":"2026-02-26T22:40:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T03:40:30","slug":"bookish-side-quests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/bookish-side-quests\/","title":{"rendered":"Bookish Side Quests"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Sometimes you need a break from life’s main missions, so we have side quests! I’ve assigned myself some bookish side quests to accomplish by the end of this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Near the end of last year, I finally got around to getting myself a local library card. One of my friends is a massive proponent of libraries, and, though not her intention, her advocacy of them made me feel a bit ashamed that I have had a library card in… um… hmm… decades?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having secured a card, I promptly set up a Libby account and was suitably impressed by how easy digital borrowing is. I don’t read physical books; I’m an eBook devotee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The downside to libraries \u2014 versus buying books or subscription services like Kindle Unlimited \u2014 is book availability. You could wait for weeks or even months<\/em> for a copy to be available. So, I started looking for ways to improve my access.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

I started out by looking for free non-resident cards. There aren’t many, and you usually have to apply in-person or go pick up the card. So, I went looking for a way to see what libraries around me had the best digital catalogs \u2014 with regard to my interests. If you’re wondering, Fairfax County and Arlington County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Next up, researching the fees and requirements for both. And that’s how I discovered library reciprocal agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grew up in Southern California. I don’t know if things have changed or if I didn’t understand all of the library benefits as a kid, but I never knew about reciprocal agreements between libraries. If you’re also unfamiliar with them, they are partnerships between library systems; some allow direct borrowing, others allow non-residents to get free library cards, and, seemingly, everything in between. Apparently, virtually all California libraries currently have reciprocal agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through my research into the Fairfax County library system, I discovered the extent of reciprocity in the D.C., Maryland, Virginia (DMV) area. Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Falls Church City, Loudon County, and Prince William County in Virginia; D.C.; and Anne Arundel County, Baltimore County, Howard County, Montgomery County, and Prince George’s County in Maryland all have reciprocal agreements with each other. On top of that, Maryland library systems all have reciprocal agreements as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here enters my bookish side quests. I’m on a mission \u2014 technically 10-12 life side quests \u2014 to get a card from the DMV library systems listed above that are in areas Jim and I generally travel through in a year. Then I can go back to searching for libraries that offer online-only application processes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For now, here is my side quest progress:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Virginia<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2611 Alexandria City
\u2610 Arlington County
\u2611 Fairfax County
\u2610 Falls Church City
\u2610 Loudon County (maybe)
\u2610 Prince William County (maybe)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2610 D.C.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maryland<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2611 Anne Arundel County
\u2611 Baltimore County
\u2610 Howard County
\u2610 Montgomery County
\u2611 Prince George’s County<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, did you know that the Baltimore Pen Show hotel is 5-15 minutes away from three different library systems? I get to check off more side quests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Do you have a library card? If yes, how many? If no, are you interested in getting one? Let me know in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks for reading to the end, I hope you enjoyed my post. Make sure to subscribe to my blog<\/a> or follow me on Instagram<\/a> so you don\u2019t miss any posts. I generally post at least once a week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Attribution: The image I used in the share images for Instagram and Facebook is an amalgamation and edit of several different images by Matt Cole<\/a>, licensed through Vecteezy<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes you need a break from life’s main missions, so we have side quests! Find out what side quests I’m undertaking.<\/p>\n

Keep ReadingBookish Side Quests<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[115,107],"tags":[39],"class_list":["post-16564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-blogger","category-about-me","tag-books","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/bookishSideQuests_featured.jpg?fit=288%2C288&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Z77k-4ja","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13657,"url":"https:\/\/racheldelafuente.com\/blog\/pen-porn-cats-books\/","url_meta":{"origin":16564,"position":0},"title":"Pen Porn: SPS Cats and Books","author":"Rachel","date":"October 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"I've got to share this hand-painted pen with you all. 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