Sunday is Last Day to Prepare for No-Library Week

Avid users of the Seattle Public Library will know that Monday marks the start of a long slog through a week when our library cards will gather dust. Every branch of the Seattle Library will be closed. And they're serious about closing the system down: Even the online card catalog will be inactive.

SPL estimates that the closure will save them $650,000--over half of the budget cuts they're making this fiscal year. Impressive, and if it keeps the library afloat, we're all for it--but where else are we going to get our free media?

Our advice is to make friends with your local bookstore staff and start chatting up friends with deep record collections--and expect to see coffee shops packed even tighter this week.

If you rely on the SPL for internet access, try these locations (warning, these are PDFs):

• South
• North
• Central District

On the bright side, nothing's due during the week, so you can hang on to that overdue stack of books and DVDs for another few days without breaking the bank with overdue fees.