Sometimes I feel like I’m the only millennial who not only knows what carbon paper is, but also knows how to use it. For the uninitiated, carbon paper is a black, waxy sheet that you slip between regular pieces of paper in order to make a duplicate copy of the original that you’re typing on your typewriter. Make one mistake on that original with carbon copy paper behind it, and you have a real job to correct it. You quickly learn to be a devastatingly accurate typist. Anyone else been there, done that?
(Yes, I grew up using a typewriter. One that even my mom considered vintage.)
Computers and printers make life so much easier. No more typewriters or carbon paper. Want another copy of a document you just typed? Print it again, and again. Edit your document and print the new version. Convenient!
It’s all fun and games until your home printer runs out of ink, gives your computer the silent treatment, goes on strike or quietly dies. Or it just takes waaaay too long to print out a 10-page document.
The libraries have printers. But they’re closed, right?
Good news – you can now send printing jobs to the library to pick up curbside at your convenience! Here’s how it works:
- Email your print job to a library.
- Come during curbside hours.
- Pay for the prints.
- Take them home!
Black-and-white copies are 10 cents per page, and color copies are 25 cents per page. The default setting is B/W, 2-sided copies unless you specify otherwise.
Send your print job to the email address of the library where you want to pick up your prints: blueridgelibrary@botetourtva.gov, buchananlibrary@botetourtva.gov, eaglerocklibrary@botetourtva.gov or fincastlelibrary@botetourtva.gov.
If you’re not sure how to email your document (file) or website link, call us. We’ll be glad to help you through the process of attaching files or copy/pasting links.
Don’t have a way to email us? Give us a call, and we’ll try to find a solution!
It’s a good idea to call the library before you leave home, to confirm that we received your email. When you drop by curbside to pick up your prints, call us again to let us know you’ve arrived. Park and get comfortable, it will take us a few minutes to process your printouts.
The libraries also offer photocopy, fax and scan-to-USB services curbside. Drop by with your documents to copy, fax or scan. Photocopies cost the same as prints. Faxes are $1 per page outgoing (cover sheet free) and 50 cents per page incoming. Scanning is free, just bring a flash drive with you (small jobs only, please).
Maybe our modern printing process isn’t as glamorous as an old-fashioned typewriter, but it’s a whole lot faster. Let’s hear it for the forward march of technology! In the meantime, don’t hesitate to ask us when you need something printed.
-Julie Phillips
Botetourt County Libraries
