Hi, everyone. Passing along some resources that may appeal to club members. Several libraries around NY give NY State residents free access to digital resources, which may include some with running-related content. I’ve included three solid options below. One additional note is that the Libby app is very convenient for searching for and downloading library ebook and audiobook content running off Overdrive software.
Onondaga County Libraries (onlib.org): Includes Overdrive ebooks and audiobook content and access to the Hoopla app for movies, ebooks, audiobooks and comics. Note that Hoopla’s license structure enables no waiting list for content in contrast to Overdrive.
Brooklyn Public Library (bklynlibrary.org): Includes Overdrive ebooks and audiobooks.
A personal favorite, Matt Fitzgerald’s Running the Dream, is available there.
Queens Public Library (queenslibrary.org): Includes Overdrive content, RB app for magazines (including running and trail running magazines), and video sites like Great Courses.
I’m a huge fan of Libby too, though I didn’t realize we could sign up for these other library systems. I use the Finger Lakes Library System and the massive New York Public Library. Anyone in New York State can get an NYPL library card and use Libby and their other digital resources.
What you probably won’t find are older books on running because they wouldn’t have been digitized. For that, let me recommend the FLRC Lending Library, which has books from Diane Sherrer’s and Jim Hartshorne’s collections, among others.
And to make this even more topical, when I was in sixth grade, my middle school library had a contest called “Reading Jogs the Mind” and you got a little paper shoe cutout for every book you read. So I’ve long associated books and running.
Thanks for sharing, Aaron. I’ve been using Libby for years and have borrowed a dozen or more running-related books through it. You can easily use it to link your library accounts from Cornell, TCPL, and NYPL, and it’s super easy to send your loan to your Kindle if you have one. The Libby app itself has a decent ebook reader function if you don’t want to send to a Kindle or other device.
Finger Lakes Running Co. also has a variety of running and triathlon books you can borrow for free for as long as you want.
