I feel like I’ve said this a hundred times, but it came up again recently and I just wanted to spend a couple minutes talking about how awesome it is to use your library!
Jack and I were at Costco, and OF COURSE we wandered into the books section. And I started grabbing books, reading the backs and liking them. And Jack started grabbing books and throwing them in our cart. Which I then throw them back out of our cart. Because even at Costco prices… books are expensive!
Instead, {PRO TIP} I started taking quick photos of each of the books we liked:
(Jack did end up getting one book while we were there, because we have a hardback collection of all the Last Kids on Earth books and a new one came out.)
Okay, so those quick photos? Yeah, when I got home I logged into our local county library, did a search for each title, and then added myself to the “hold” list for each one. Sure, some lists were long… but others only had one or two people in front of me.
In fact, within less than a week, three of the books from our Costco trip were waiting for me at the library to pick up.
If we end up borrowing all 5 of the books we looked at, that will save us a total of $61.95. Which is more than 6 Costco watermelon. Or a heck of a lot of snowballs this summer!*
There are even more options for those of us who have e-readers. In addition to searching the library for books you’ve seen, you can also search digital catalogues like OverDrive (different link by state but here is the one for Maryland OverDrive, and Hoopla for free books to borrow.
Anyways. Save some money and use the library this summer!
* For those unfamiliar, in Maryland we have these crushed ice snow cones called snowballs that are delicious on a hot summer day.
Thanks for this! I’m an avid reader and love books as well, but, yes–definitely check with your libraries to see what they have even beyond books! My library offers magazines, audiobooks, CDs, DVDs, videogames, hotspots, laptops, Kindles, a seed library, circulating STEM toys, crafts, events (speakers, storytimes, animal programs, etc.), electronic resources (Ancestry and Consumer Reports digital access, ebooks, downloadable movies and music, etc.), etc., etc., etc. Also, don’t forget to sign up for summer reading programs at your local library!
(Source: Am very proud public librarian.)
Thank you for this! I remember when my brother and sisters were little, my mom would borrow STEM toys from the library! And now I need to check to see if my library rents out hotspots. =)
I have gone back to the library, too! I love ours, and will be going back this week. My niece is a librarian, so we all have a great reverence for books, and the library system.
YES! Such a wonderful resource to have!